Whole house water filtration?

[Wee Hooker]

Several years back I built my family a new home which is fed by well water. While the water quality is otherwise great, I do get some sediment from the well. Currently, I have a 5x9" "whole house sized" cartridge water filter in line from the well to the expansion tank. It works OK, but I still get a little ultra fine sediment getting into the toilet tanks etc. I could add more filters at point of use but the pressure would likely drop (and that would mean 5-6 more filters to change.).
The tax man was good to me this year (and two new S&W's already have been added to the safe) so I'm thinking I'd like to improve my water system.

So does anyone have any input/suggestions on Reverse Osmosis and/or alternatives to take my well water to the next level?

 

[finesse_r]

I did a lot of research on this about 4 years ago and those systems were incredibly expensive and not worth the effort unless your water is really bad. A filter in the kitchen for the drinking water will work for most people and it will not cost very much, by comparison.

So I never invested in one. Maybe others here have some real experience to share.

 

[Rule3]

The disadvantage to RO systems is that it wastes a lot of water. Not sure of the exact percentage but something like for every gal of good water it dumps 2 gals of discharge water.

I do not have a system on my house but do use a big system for my marine(salt) fishtanks. It is a RO/DI system which makes PURE H2O with 0.00 ppm of particles. Now that would not be good to drink as there is no minerals in it and eventuality it removes minerals from you body. The pure water is mix with synthetic salt water mix.

Anyway, our entire City gets its water by massive RO plant, but the discharge water is pumped back into the aquifers.

The water is so clean that they then need to add minerals back into the water to control taste and acidity.

You may be able to get by with just better sediment and iron, carbon filters depending on how good or bad your well water is or just have RO for use for drinking and cooking water. You don't need it to shower or flush toilets.

I think member DeathGrip is in the "water business he may have more info for you.

I remember as a kid up North we pumped water right from a well in our basement and all it has was a sand filter, The water was perfect.

 

[DeathGrip]

I don't know about your water quality to start with but have a question for you.

What kind of pump and tank are you using?

I ask because down here the water quality is lousy and putting a filter between the pump and tank or even before the pump will reap havoc with the pressure switch.

If you want pure drinking water an RO under the sink is great if that's what you need but you're talking about sediment in the toilets. A whole house RO gets really expensive.

Try to find out what you have and maybe I can help.

30-30rimchester is really good too but I can't remember his location. I suspect he'll be along soon.

 

[cussedemgun]

Check on "sand filter" instalations at-

Sediment Backwash Filter 5900e 2.0 CF CWS SF002840: Clean Water Store

They are expensive to start but are self cleaning by reverse flow piping so there is no costly cartridges to buy. A flushable sand type filter will remove most sediment & save on cartridges. Back it with a 5 micron cartridge for the main line, & .5 micron carbon cartridge for drinking water & ice maker.

They have a chart for flow & use rate on this website, contact their tech staff with
any further questions. also, note the diagrams of suggested instillation.

 

[DWalt]

A whole-house RO system would very expensive and very wasteful of water due to the high rejection rate. Most municipal systems that require such treatment for sediment use ultrafiltration, not RO, but I have known one system which used both to meet SDWA requirements (i.e., it blended water from both treatments). I have not heard of any household treatment system which uses ultrafiltration, but they may exist. A single-faucet RO system for drinking water would be more practical. What kind of water disinfection do you have if you are getting your supply directly from a well?

So what's your objection to getting some fine sediment in your toilet tank? That's not at all unusual. If it's not presenting a health problem, I'd just ignore it.

Back in my youth (and long before SDWA suspended solids limits existed) our home water supply had quite a bit of sediment in it. My father put in a fairly large galvanized steel sedimentation settling tank, maybe 100 gallons, on the incoming water line. Think of it as a large hot water tank without a heater. He put a valve on the bottom with which he could flush out the accumulated sediment every so often. It seemed to work OK. You might talk to one of the water treatment people like Culligan to see what they say.

 

[Kevin J.]

I had the same issue with well water leaving a rust ring in toilet, even with a whole house filter. Place a second very fine filter at the toilet. It will cut pressure but that really only matters at the sink or shower for me. So the toilet refills slower, so what just poop slower and read a little more. I learned a few new things.

 

[Snapping Twig]

This is what I did, we're on city water but it's crappy.

All the difference in the world, a 5 micron spun cotton for gross removal, then a 2 micron activated charcoal.

Keeps things out of my solenoids - washer, dishwasher, faucets, refrigerator and water heater. Add to that, my water tastes excellent now.

 

[DeathGrip]

Perhaps a better description of sediment?

 

[bigwheelzip]

I might spec a whole house centrifugal water separator and sediment trap upstream of the filter.

Rusco Inc.

 

[leswad]

I am on a cistern and have been very satisfied with this solution:

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-449-pura-uv20-3-15730131-8-gpm-ultraviolet-uv-water-system.aspx

 

[sturtyboy]

My community water is not the worst...but I don't want to drink it, it has orodrs at times, and it has lots of minerals, causing terrific water spots.

30 years ago, I investigated solutions for my water. And since then, I'm still convinced of my choices.

I installed a "Kinetico" softener system that doesn't need an electric clock, but uses a patented mechanical system of measurement to recharge the tanks, called "Demand Regeneration" I've only had the unit rebuilt once in 30 years...a couple hundred bucks for everything. I also use this same system commercially in my restaurant. It works great!! Salt is minimized do to the demand regeneration aspect of the softener. I fill the bin...maybe twice a year at home.

I also added an RO system to my home with a very large sediment filter ahead of both the softener and RO units.

My drinking water tastes great. Our water usage for the RO system and the softener is negligible. The quality of the water for drinking, making ice and for washing is worth all that I spent back them and would do it again today.

I've even rinsed my dark colored cars on a hot day, in direct sunlight, with the RO water and walked away...not a spot. There's nothing in the water to cause a spot.

I call the RO water "fresh squeezed"

Check out the Kinetico system. You won't be disappointed.

...stu

 

[SweetMK]

I just read an article about chlorinating a well,,
ours is 200 feet deep with 100 feet of water in it.

There are symptoms (odors, slime in the toilet tank,,, etc,,,) that can be corrected with bleach.

Obviously not solids,, but, if I had any issues,,, the first thing I would do is bleach the well,,
maybe even a couple times.

They want you to bleach it in a way that some of the bleach even gets forced into the strata that supplies the water.

My well would only need 1/2 gallon of 12% bleach,,, I might do it for the heck of it,,,

 

[DWalt]

There is an electrolytic system available which converts salt water to sodium hypochlorite for injection into the water system. You just add salt occasionally. It's often used for large applications such as swimming pools, but some municipal water systems also use it instead of chlorine. I have some experience with it, and it works very well and takes up little room. I don't know if it is available for single households, but I don't see why it couldn't be.

 

[ladder13]

It took me awhile to get used to the concept of well water after years of living on city water.

I have a sediment filter in my house, as well as a UV light. A little bit of "grit" gets by but not so much to alarm me. My water tastes much better than municipal water, imo. Maybe it's the fine particles that taste so good, or the germs.

Anyways, just sold my house and moving to an area served by city water, so I'll have to adjust my taste buds once again.
I just hope there's a good Italian restaurant and pizza shop somewhere in town.

 

[ditrina]

It took me awhile to get used to the concept of well water after years of living on city water.

I have a sediment filter in my house, as well as a UV light. A little bit of "grit" gets by but not so much to alarm me. My water tastes much better than municipal water, imo. Maybe it's the fine particles that taste so good, or the germs.

Anyways, just sold my house and moving to an area served by city water, so I'll have to adjust my taste buds once again.
I just hope there's a good Italian restaurant and pizza shop somewhere in town.

Here's a few clues to help you along of what to look for

 

[Wee Hooker]

Thanks Gents, much to think on here. I didn't realize a RO system wastes that much water. That makes it definitely out ( I don't pay for water but I'm not going to waste it either.) I'm off to do more research. Perhaps if I could get one more whole house filter inline without more pressure drop it might be enough. I'd really like to avoid point of use filters as I would need close to 10 of them.

FWIW, I had the well pump Up-sized a bit when they installed it. The pressure tank seems upsized as compared to my old house but I can't tell.

 

[DWalt]

Indeed RO systems waste about 70%-80% or the water consumed. Therefore, they are far more practical for point-of-use installation rather than whole house. There are many different point-of-entry water filtration systems available, but you'd have to talk to someone who knows the pros and cons of each type a lot more than I do. I do know that there some filters made of compressed porous carbon blocks that are supposed to be excellent for removing about anything potentially harmful from water, in addition to sediment.

 

[sturtyboy]

Why waste water with RO? There's no need to waste a drop of water in an RO system. Point of use rather than a whole house...absolutely! But waste the water that makes it? NO!

Keep the waste water and use it to irrigate your garden etc. There's no need to waste it! Do anything you want to with it. There's nothing wrong with it. You just used it to make yourself fresh squeezed water to drink.

 

[manyguns]

After reading that the OP is happy with his water quality other than the fine sediment, I see no reason to do much more that install a sediment filter in the 1 micron range AFTER the pressure tank and switch. You want to be able to tell if the filter is dirty by a pressure drop in the house. If you have the filter between the well & the pressure tank the filter gets plugged and you don't find out before you cause the pump to run against what can be a severe restriction. The pressure switch does not get satisfied and eventually something gives. If you use a 4"x10" filter element and corresponding filter housing it will have the flow rate and sediment carrying capability to keep you filter replacement schedule reasonable. When that is installed take the element out of your current filter housing. As long as we are not dealing with a dissolved iron this should do what you want very economically. I have had my own water treatment company for 30 years with a background in whole house RO and many other forms of treatment. If the rest of the water makes you happy think of the guns you can buy with all the money you saved!