Crystal Quest SMART Whole House Water Filter, 9-13 GPM

This SMART whole house water filter from Crystal Quest sends pH-balanced, filtered water to every tap in the house at 9 to 13 GPM. It is built for the most filtration and performance possible while asking very little upkeep from you.

How SMART whole house filtration works

The heart of the system is Crystal Quest's SMART multimedia. Two kinds of coconut shell granular activated carbon, standard GAC and catalytic GAC, reduce or remove chlorine and chloramine as well as PFAS, PFOS, herbicides, pesticides, and byproducts of petroleum and pharmaceuticals. The carbon also targets the four trihalomethanes that chlorination leaves behind:

• Trichloromethane (chloroform), CHCl₃
• Dibromochloromethane, CHClBr₂
• Bromodichloromethane, CHCl₂Br
• Tribromomethane (bromoform), CHBr₃

Mixed into the carbon are Crystal Quest Eagle Redox Alloy® 6500 and 9500 and ion exchange resin. Together they cut heavy metals such as lead and mercury, make the carbon last far longer, and keep the media bed bacteriostatic.

Ceramic and tourmaline balls round out the blend: they add oxygen, raise the alkalinity of the water and help it reach a balanced pH. For drinking water, a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 is recommended.

Three stages, with an optional fourth

Stage 1: sediment pre-filter

Incoming water first meets a 20" sediment cartridge, which catches dirt, sand, silt and other sediment.

Stage 2: SMART media tank

The water then runs through the SMART multimedia described above: the two carbons with Eagle Redox Alloys® 6500 and 9500 and ion exchange resin for heavy metals, chlorine, chloramine and chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides and petroleum or pharmaceutical byproducts, plus ceramic and tourmaline balls for a more alkaline pH.

Stage 3: carbon post-filter

A 20" solid carbon cartridge finishes the job, reducing or removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and whatever insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents are left.

Optional: water softener or salt-free conditioner

You can pair the filter with a traditional softener or a salt-free conditioner to deal with hard water. The section below explains how the two differ.

What filtered water does for your home

• A fresh taste and smell
• Ice cubes that come out crystal clear
• Coffee, tea, drink mixes and meals with more flavor
• A good choice for soups, pasta and baby formula
• Suitable for plants, pets and aquariums
• All the clean water you need, in kitchen and bathroom alike
• No more carrying heavy cooler bottles
• Clean water for humidifiers, steam irons and chores like washing windows

Choose the version with a water softener and Crystal Quest lists these additional hard water benefits:

• Up to 29% better water heater efficiency
• As much as 70% less spent on soaps and household detergents
• Richer lather from soap and shampoo, for softer skin and easier-to-manage hair
• Up to 25% savings on personal care products like shaving cream and hair products
• Washing machines, dishwashers, coffee makers, humidifiers, water heaters and plumbing that last up to 30% longer
• Whiter, brighter fabrics that last up to 33% longer
• Dishes that clean up easily and dry without spots
• Less soap residue on kitchen and bathroom fixtures

Water softener or salt-free conditioner?

Hard water typically shows up as scale in appliances, plumbing and the water heater, and as a sticky film where it mixes with soap. Hard water poses no health risk. The problem is wear on plumbing, fixtures and appliances from scale, and a scaled-up water heater needs more gas or electricity to do its job.

The traditional softener

A softener trades the calcium and magnesium (the hard ions) for potassium or sodium ions, which are softer, so those minerals are actually taken out of the water. This happens in a bed of ion exchange resin beads that the hard water flows through.

The resin has to be regenerated on a regular basis from the brine tank, which restores its ability to take out hardness. Regeneration uses a brine of water and potassium or sodium chloride, which may add a little salt to the treated water.

Because it removes or reduces calcium and magnesium, a traditional softener stops new limescale from forming in pipes and appliances. It does not remove scale that is already there, and the water feels a little slippery.

Upkeep means topping up the salt, sodium or potassium chloride, from time to time. Potassium chloride costs more but is the healthier choice.

The salt-free conditioner

A salt-free conditioner leaves the calcium and magnesium in the water. Its media changes the calcium so it can no longer form limescale and does no harm to pipes or appliances.

Rather than ion exchange, it works at the nano-molecular level. Seen under a microscope the mineral looks like a crystal; the conditioner turns it into a nanoparticle, and in that form minerals dissolve and stay in the water. The +2 charge these molecules normally carry is also reduced or taken away, so calcium and magnesium can no longer stick to pipes and appliances, which prevents scale.

The conditioner also clears away old scale inside appliances and pipes and leaves a protective layer that helps stop new buildup. It needs no backwashing, adds no salt to your water, and the healthy calcium and magnesium stay in your water.

The saltless water softener

Crystal Quest's® saltless softener is based on a recent technology: it changes dissolved calcium into calcite crystals measured in nanometers. Being heat resistant and mechanically stable, those crystals stop forming lime deposits and simply rinse out with the water.

Calcium hardness leaves scale on appliances, in pipes and on other plumbing surfaces, so energy and heating bills climb and appliances need costly repairs. Bacteria can also grow in scale, which matters for drinking water.

On top of that, it tackles old scale on heat exchangers and in pipes (descaling) and guards against new scale forming (scale protection). Water at 25 gpg (grains per gallon) and above can call for extra media or a pre-treatment stage; a specialist can advise.

Good to know

Test the hardness after a traditional softener and the reading will be lower. Test it after a conditioner and the reading stays the same, because the calcium remains present; it has only been made harmless to plumbing and appliances. If spotting on dishes bothers you, a conditioner will not prevent it.

About hard water

Water counts as "hard" when it carries a lot of dissolved minerals, mainly calcium and magnesium. More than 80% of homes in the country are estimated to have hard water, yet plenty of homeowners have no idea whether theirs is hard or how to test it.

Hardness is measured as the combined grains of calcium and magnesium per gallon: the more grains, the harder the water. Rainwater starts out soft and collects these minerals on its way down to the water table, and water that passes limestone (rock made of calcium and magnesium) ends up far harder. Hard water affects you, your home and your wallet.

What untreated hard water can do

• Its minerals leave yellow stains on fixtures and build up as scale, which can eventually clog plumbing and cut up to 30% off the lifespan of dishwashers, washing machines and water heaters. Scale also makes these appliances less efficient, so energy and maintenance bills go up.
• It leaves hair dull and skin dry, and makes shaving harder.
• It can leave a cloudy film on dishes and glasses.
• It leaves a soap ring around kitchen and bathroom faucets that is harder to clean.

Optional add-ons

• 12 GPM UV Water Sterilizer: made for demanding microorganism control, from protozoa and algae to viruses and bacteria. Compared with chlorine, UV disinfects more quickly, without large contact tanks and without dosing chemicals into your water.
• Leak Detector Valve: detects leaking water at the system and shuts off the supply so your home stays dry.
• Vacuum Breaker: fitted in the line before the filter system as a precaution, in case negative pressure (a vacuum) ever forms and damages the tanks or housings.
• Metered Valve: systems ship with a timer valve that starts a backwash on a fixed day schedule, such as once a week (every 7 days). The metered version triggers it by water use instead, for example once 3,000 gallons have passed.
• Oxidation System: oxidizes water efficiently with ozone to improve its quality.

Choosing the tank material

Stainless steel tanks can get pinholes or rust when the air is humid, when salt is nearby, or when condensation is not wiped off the tank regularly. If any of that applies to your setup, or you won't be able to keep up that maintenance, Crystal Quest recommends the fiberglass tank.