Point-of-Entry (POE) vs Point-of-Use (POU) Water Treatment Systems

POE vs POU water filtration systems

Confused about what water filter you should get?

Keep reading and find out what Point-of-Entry (POE) and Point-of-Use (POU) water treatment systems are
and

which one is better for you.

If your water is coming from the local municipality you are entitled to a water report every year. Did you read yours lately? And are you concerned? If so, you might already consider treating your water.

What is the difference?

Point-of-entry (POE) water filters treats all the water that enters your house - before it reaches your laundry machine, bathrooms or kitchen.

Point-of-use (POU) filtration systems clean water where you use it. They are attached to your kitchen faucet, bathroom tap or shower.

So, which one is better?

The answer is not that simple. It depends a lot on what you have in your water and your budget.

Let‘s look at some examples:

Too much iron in your water can stains your laundry and leaves a brownish residue when it comes into contact with fittings, sinks, your shower or toilet bowl. This would be a perfect example of a contaminant you would want to keep out of your whole house.

On the other hand, prescription drugs in drinking water are an example of a water problem that would not affect the color or smell of your water. You can use the water to flush your toilet and do laundry. But you probably do not want to drink it. So a kitchen water filter might just do the trick.

Additionally, there is another problem with contaminants like over-the-counter, prescription and recreational drugs.

You do not exactly what you are dealing with.

That makes it difficult to chose the right filter media. A combination of reverse osmosis and activated charcoal will reduce the amount effectively. But do you really worry about pharmaceuticals in the water you flush down your toilet? Would you consider paying extra for this?

Probably not.

Reverse osmosis systems produce a lot of waste water. There are cases - i.e. radioactive particles - where you might need to use it for all the water you in your house, but for a lot of water problems treating only the water you drink and cook with would suffice.

In some cases the best option is a combination of POE and POU water cleaning systems.

Let's assume your water contains sediment. If you use a (larger) POE filter to reduce the sediment, your could prevent the smaller POU filters from clogging and increase their ability to filter out the really nasty stuff.

In short:

POE water filtration is ideal to remove sediment, coloration, bad taste and odor. Typical POE water filtration systems include softeners and carbon filters. You have one system to take care of.

POU water filtration sytems are the best treatment option for all contaminants that require expensive filtration media or reverse osmosis. The downside is, that you might have to maintain several systems within you home like a shower filter and a faucet filter in the kitchen.