Water filters

[johngalt]

The water quality here in town is terrible and is barely fit for flushing the loo, let alone drinking. I have one of those Brita filtered water pitchers which helps some, but I think it is intended to clean biological contaminants. The water here is very hard with lots of minerals. It leaves dark brown rings in everything it touches. Dishes come out of the dishwasher with a gritty film on them and the glasses are cloudy.

Is there a better filter I can use, or just switch to bottled water? Apparently a lot of people here just get those 5 gallon water cooler units to deal with the problem.

 

[Arik]

Berkey

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[sunnyd]

Same problem where I live. I installed an in line charcoal filter where the supply enters the house in the basement. Helps a lot.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Sounds like you need a whole house solution.

 

[arjay]

Had a house with water (community wells) like that years ago before whole house filters were available.We used bottled water for drinking and cooking.Its cheap enough.

 

[Tom S.]

The charcoal whole house filter will help, but you might consider installing a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink for use there and the dishwasher. The reverse osmosis systems are, to my knowledge, the best filtration system on the market, but going whole house would be quite costly.

 

[raisedin99]

I would guess about 12 years ago we installed a Ispring rcc7 reverse osmosis water system, thus any water that goes into our mouth has gone through four graduated filters as well as a membrane. It produces around 60 or 70 gallons per day of bottle quality water. My wife was having some kidney issues and the use of the system has helped her dramatically.

Installation was easy and straightforward with minimal tools I would guess the most difficult aspect of the install was drilling the stainless steel sink for the filtered water faucet that is included.

Runs in my mind we paid about $150.00 for it with the first filters included, filters are changed out every couple years as needed and run around $25.00 for the two of us so I guess that is dependent on the amount of consumers.

Another thought is our coffee pot has never had to be de-limed therefore it operates more efficiently. Do your own research, but let me warn you there a bunch of water filter companies out there, we chose ours after much research and the reviews by others at Amazon

terry

2/17/21, we have had an issue with this system! See my post #31

terry

 

[johngalt]

A major problem is I live in an apartment, so I can't do a 'whole house' system. The property manager is aware of the problems, and has discussed with the owner the possibility of installing some kind of water filtration system for the entire complex but has done nothing yet.

I have not personally complained to the city, but I have read that complaints are met with the response 'we meet the minimum required federal standards', so they don't care.

My folks have a place in northern wisconsin with its own well. The water pumped out of the ground and direct to the tap, with no treatment of any kind, is far better quality than the 'treated' city water here.

 

[Tom Beavert]

RO water filter

Remember a good reverse osmosis filter removes EVERYTHING from your water, good and bad. A selective filter system is very expensive.
Be your own best judge
tb

 

[2152hq]

We used Brita water filter attached to the kitchen sink for a few years. Used it for drinking water, coffee, filling the pets water dishes, cooking, ect.
Figured we were doing the right thing. Changed the filters when the little light went from green to red,,yada, yada.
Well, the unit itself had to be replaced a couple times, It started to leak around the fawcet connection and wouldn't swivel like it was supposed to so we decided to try something else.
We went to the Zero Water thing. Entirely different in that it's a plastic dispenser that you place in the fridge. You fill it with tap water in the top and it runs down through a replaceable filter into the bottom and from there you can use a push button tap to fill your cup, bowl, ect.

Kind of a pain pulling the thing out of the fridge and filling it up,,keeping it filled up, but we got used to it very quickly and now it's just part of the daily routine. It does take up a side of one shelf in the fridge,,so consider that.

It comes with a 'water solids indicator' for lack of a better term.
Just a digital indicator thing (like a large 'pen') you turn to on and place one end into the water to get an instant reading of the solids contained in the water.
Yes it does register .000 in the filtered water.
We checked the out of the tap water and it was something like .629.
We then checked the Brita filtered water (new filter installed the day before) and it registered .624.
That was an eye opener...

The non believer in me made me buy another water checker thingy (I didn't realize they were so inexpensive). It confirmed the readings of the one supplied with the Zero Water kit.

It says to change filter when the water registers '.006 solids' but my God I was drinking stuff 600 times that and I'm still around! So I let it go a ways further.
But I do admit the coffee tastes so much better as does a plain glass of ice cold water. We feel better that the puppys and kittys are getting better water too.

It may be a good solution for some one not wanting or needing to rig the whole house up to an R/O system which was our case.
We just wanted some better tasting drinking, cooking and water for the dogs and cats.
Hope this helps.

 

[Snapping Twig]

We live in Pacifica, California.

The water here is said to be real good. I disagree.

Since I made this from two whole house filters and installed it on the incoming water line, our water has been excellent.

We have had mud, cryptosporidium, rocks, bits of rag, etc caught in it since installation. I used to change the filters every three months, but the last couple years, we're lucky to get 1 month out of them before they plug up.

Please note the filter on the right - it is a WHITE spun cotton element. Shows just how dirty our water supply is, changed it right after this photo.

Also, this keeps crud out of the water heater, solenoids for the washer, faucet aerators and I don't need to change the refrigerator filter.

 

[islamoradamark]

living in the middle keys all the water is piped down from florida city thats close to a 100 miles. We have been drinking bottled water for years if i go to a restaurant they bring us water it stinks so bad of chemicals. i just pull out a bottled water right there and drink. I have done the filters they clog just remember what happened in flint,just cant trust anybody these days

 

[bigwheelzip]

A major problem is I live in an apartment, so I can't do a 'whole house' system.

If you have a kitchen sink with an additional spray handle or in-sink soap dispenser or the knockout for one, you can install an RO system, using the extra hole for the dispenser. If your sink is stainless, there are cutters to make the hole, and filler plugs to seal it when you leave.
For the shower, there are in-line filters. Unscrew the shower head, install the filter in it's place, screw the shower head to the filter. Perhaps the shower filters could also be adapted to washing machines and dishwashers.

 

[seagill]

A few months ago our water started smelling like pool water and developed a foul taste. This seems to work well.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BJU9Z6E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: Aqua Elegante Advanced Tap Water Faucet Filter - Best Chlorine Removing Filtration System & Cartridge For Kitchen And Bathroom - Chrome: Home & Kitchen[/ame]

 

[41]

Check out Pure Earth for water filters and good technical information.
I have been using his filters since the early 90's.

Water Filters, Water Purifiers and Water Softeners

41

 

[S42N8]

+1 on the ZeroWater pitcher. About the same size as a Brita pitcher, but it does far better than a Brita filter.

 

[DWalt]

Fabric/cellulosic type filters alone don't do anything to remove dissolved minerals or organics, only particulates. Charcoal filters will remove more things, such as organics, and combining regular filters and charcoal filters will do about as good a job as possible without going to RO or distillation units. If you are concerned only about water used for drinking and cooking, the best bet is to get a small under-sink RO unit. Or use bottled water.

 

[Old TexMex]

Alexapure or RO.

 

[carpriver]

there are a lot of good filters on the market. I did research for my area and installed a hold house system. We have lot of minerals in the water and it kills water heaters dishwashers and washing machines, ice makers, power washer etc,.

 

[gamboolman]

We have Berkey Crown. Would recommend