Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System Review

Filtering the water supply of the entire house is a significant and difficult task. The volume of water and the high amount of contaminants in it takes a toll on the filter’s life and water pressure. But as hard as it may be, it is very important for your house water supply to be filtered, even if the water is used just for bathing. Why? Heavy metals and chemicals such as chlorine have a very harmful effect on the skin and the body. Not just that, there is another common contaminant called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). These VOCs evaporate and enter your body through your lungs. So filtering water is necessary.

United States Water Systems, commonly known as US Water Systems, is a water filtration system brand specializing in making commercial water filters. The company has good experience in making machines that can filter large volumes of water. Their filters are bound to be more industrial, durable, and better at handling large amounts of contaminants.

The Bodyguard, on paper, has some awe-inspiring filtration abilities. This filter focuses more on toxic heavy metals, which is a great thing as they are some of the most dangerous contaminants found in the water. It also manages to remove the stubborn chemicals in the water efficiently. So we ordered this filter and tested it properly. Here’s the detailed review of the US Water Systems Bodyguard Plus Whole house water filter with all the pros and cons and their verdict if you should get it or not.

What’s In The Box?

Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System
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The filtration unit is a single cylindrical tank, and it is big. This filter stands at over 5 feet in height, and while the images don’t show it, the thickness added to the height makes it very big. We were shocked to see how big it was in real-life vs. in images.

The box in which the filter came was of great quality, and the packaging was done thoughtfully. The filter was well padded and protected to prevent any damage. A good unboxing experience goes a long way. It shows that the company cares. We are happy to say that the unboxing experience of the Bodyguard water filter was delightful.

Coming to the quality and looks of the filter, we have no complaints in this department. From the looks to the build quality, everything feels well thought out and premium. We love how this filter unit looks, with its dual-tone design, very elegantly adding the metallic finish with the dark plastic. We won’t say it looks as good as the SpringWell whole house water filter, but it is next to it.

The filter unit feels solid and heavy with proper weight distribution that makes it feel very premium. The plastic components of the filter (which also houses a digital screen) are made of tough and high-quality plastic. Everything about this filter feels sturdy, as it should. The Bodyguard water filter is made in the US, and it shows. Again, top marks for excellent build quality and looks. But looks only matter for a few hours, what about the quality that will matter the most; Filtration.

Filtration

The Bodyguard water filter uses a single chamber divided into multiple layers, each layer housing a different component. This filter has two filtration units; one is the coconut shell granular activated carbon, and the other is the catalytic granular activated carbon. This is the most commonly used filtration technology, and while we would have preferred if one of this used solid carbon, the filtration with granular carbon is decent enough.

These two strong filtration units are very capable. It can efficiently remove heavy toxic metals such as lead, chromium 6 (which causes nose and throat irritation), mercury, arsenic, etc. These are some of the most common metal contaminants found in the US water supply. The filter can also remove some common microorganisms.

Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System User Review

In the chemical contaminants department, the activated carbon can remove chlorine and chloramine easily. It is important because chlorine and chloramine are the prime culprits of ruining the taste and smell of water and also harm the body in many ways. And they are the most common chemical contaminants in the water. Along with it, this filter easily removes VOCs, pesticides, THM, TCE, PCB, industrial solvents, pharmaceuticals, herbicides, etc. It can cover almost all the common and rare contaminants in water, so you can be assured that none of them pass the filter’s secure gates.

These are the claims of the company, and the reason we ordered one for ourselves was to test these claims. Here’s how the tests went and what the results were.

Testing The Filter

Just like we test other filters; we prepared the water sample for the filtration. Since we are testing the whole house water filter, we did not hold back in adding contaminants. Lead, chromium, chlorine, VOCs, and pesticides were the major and minor chemical pollutants. The TDS (total dissolved solids) level of the sample was 780, which is way too much for any type of household water. The chlorine and chloramine did an excellent job of making the water smell utterly bad. We did not want to taste the water and put ourselves in the hospital.

But after a few minutes and frequent “hmmms” and “dmmm” of the filter working, we got the water sample out. From the first work, we were impressed. The smell of chlorine was gone, and we could see the water looking crystal clear. We were very certain that the filter had worked well. But nothing can be confirmed without testing.

Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System Review

The TDS level of the water was down to 112, which is very impressive considering it was brought down from 780. Testing for chlorine and chloramine, only trace amounts were left, and that’s perfectly okay for normal usage. Lead was completely gone, while chromium was present only in trace amounts. Pesticides, VOCs, and other minor chemical contaminants were also removed efficiently. Overall, the filter worked perfectly fine, even for such a contaminated water sample.

We recommend this filter for the quality and level of filtration it provides. The Bodyguard whole house water filter makes a great house water filter. Top marks for filtration.

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What We Liked About This Filter?

Pros
  • Great Water Flow Rate
  • Smart Filter
  • Warranty
  • Powerful Add-Ons
Cons
  • No Free Pre-Filter
  • Filter Changes

There were plenty of things we liked about this filter, apart from the powerful filtration. Here are all the best features of the Bodyguard whole house water filter.

1. Great Water Flow Rate

One of our gripes with most of these filters is the water flow rate. Since they filter the entire water supply of the house, more water outlets result in lower pressure. And the low water pressure is one of the most annoying things to have. Bodyguard’s strength here is the flow rate. It offers an impressive 10 GPM water flow rate as standard, which is great in itself. But you can make the water flow rate to 15 or even 20 GPM. We have not seen any other filter to offer such a high flow rate.

2. Smart Filter

The plastic housing on top of the filter has a digital screen that allows you to connect the filter to your smartphone via an app. This application gives you a lot of useful information. You can see the water usage, set the level of filtration, etc. A great addition to have in your filter, although we rarely found ourselves using the app.

3. Warranty

This is what makes the Bodyguard water filter one of the best choices in the market. We have said it again and again about the importance of a warranty on water filters. No matter how great a product is, it is only useful if there is a good warranty with it. What happens if it keeps breaking down now and then? Bodyguard comes with a great ten years warranty on the valve and (surprisingly) electronics as well. A five-year warranty on the media is also added. So you can be relieved knowing that the company won’t abandon you with a faulty product after a few years.

4. Powerful Add-Ons

Along with the great two-stage filter, you have the option to add a pre-sediment filter to remove the larger contaminants such as sand and silt. There are two options to choose from: one is the Magna filter which is a 5-micron pre-filter, the other option is the Interceptor, which combines the 5-micron pre-filter with a charged plate to remove bacteria, cysts, lead, etc.

What We Did Not Like About This Filter?

We could have called this filter the best one yet, if only there were not these unsightly and unfortunate negative things about the filter. Here are the cons that we found in the Bodyguard whole house water filter.

1. No Free Pre-Filter

You have the option to add the 5-Micron pre-filter or the Interceptor, which is excellent, but the problem is that other companies like Aquasana and SpringWell are offering a pre-filter for free! And that comes at a lower price than this filter. It is disappointing to see because a pre-filter is very important. They could have offered the 5-micron pre-filter as standard and kept Interceptor as an optimal upgrade. But it is what it is, and hence it sits on the cons list.

2. Filter Changes

We have seen and tested whole house water filters that could filter an impressive one million gallons of water. These filters would easily last for 8 years and could go as much as 11-12 years. But Bodyguard says that the filters be changed every 5-years. This is not worrisome, but it falls short by half when you compare it to other companies. Plus, the filter replacements cost as high as $900.

The Bodyguard whole house water filter is priced at $1,165 for the base variant, while the top-most version with the Interceptor filter and 20 GPM water flow rate would cost you $1,750.

Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System Review

Bodyguard Plus Whole House Water Filtration System is made with high-quality material and it is equipped with a single cylindrical tank which consists of two filtration units, which removes heavy toxic metals such as lead, chromium 6, mercury, arsenic, etc. The water flow rate is 10 GPM which is quite impressive.
 

Conclusion

The Bodyguard whole house water filter is an impressive contender in the whole house water filter competition. It delivers some great punches in some departments like water filtration, addons, looks, and quality. But it falls short in many departments as well, such as filter life and filtration (as it lacks a free pre-filter). It would have been a perfect choice if not for the cons. But we can say with confidence that this filter is a good option to choose. Not great, but good.

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