Point of entry home water filter systems

[duff]

I know there are some experts here so any advice on good home owner water filtering.

I am on municipal water, fairly hard, has chlorine that my wife is getting paranoid about.

I was looking at a 3 stage filter with 5 micron pre filter followed with 2 carbon filters.

Any advice?

[beermaker]

My boss has a filter system along with a "scale blaster." He says it's every bit as good as a softener, but without having to add salt periodically.

We installed a 3 stage filter in a new house recently. Make sure you get a pressure gauge also. One that particular system, the gauge was the indicator as to when the filters needed changing. Low pressure = filter build-up. I think the material cost for that system was around $400.

[greghopper]

Buy cheap bottled water for drinking and be done with it......filters/salt are pricey and PIA...BTDT.

[esshup]

Feb 3, 2019 9:03:56 GMT -5 greghopper said:

Buy cheap bottled water for drinking and be done with it......filters/salt are pricey and PIA...BTDT.

and for cooking/making coffee. Local food ministry has bottled water for $0.05 per bottle.

I have to run a softener here because of the iron in the water and the high mineral content. I'm near the upper limit of what a softener can remove without having to go to a dedicated iron filter. I have a RO setup under the kitchen sink and use that for coffee and drinking water. Filters cost around $60 and I change them every 2 years, not yearly like they say.

[greyhair]

I run a softener to remove iron and calcium. Then, I have an under sink reverse osmosis system that we use exclusively for cooking and drinking. It has it's own little tap on the sink. RO really cleans it up, chemicals and all.

Surprisingly cheap. Around $250 at Menards I think.

I would recommend one

[treetop]

Bought a eco water softner very happy with it it learns your lifestyle and regenerats as needed 18 years old 1 repaire use very little salt but that can very with hardness and amount of people living in your home. I also buy good salt it does make a difference I also buy salt that’s got iron remover in it like Red Out

Also have a eco water RO hooked up it does ice maker and a faucet at kitchen for water coffee change two filters every spring about 50 bucks for both

I did my own install when I built my home I think I paid around 800 bucks for both units and filters

[bill9068]

On well water I had culligan put in the big blue filters, charcoal and sediment, then a uv light for bacteria. It's pricey but works well.

[HighCotton]

Feb 3, 2019 6:46:20 GMT -5 duff said:

I know there are some experts here so any advice on good home owner water filtering.

I am on municipal water, fairly hard, has chlorine that my wife is getting paranoid about.

I was looking at a 3 stage filter with 5 micron pre filter followed with 2 carbon filters.

Any advice?

Hey duff, a few questions to start:
What municipal water are you on?

Any idea of your current water hardness?
(I've been testing waters in Indiana for over 30 years and I've seen Bloomington-Bedford numbers ranging from a low around 5 grains to over 20 grains on city waters. That's typically 200-800+ mmHo's conductivity. If you find someone to test and get you some readings in TDS or CaCO3 as ppm or mg/L, I can convert those numbers to help you out).

Is the major concern Chlorine?
(If so, the route of a carbon block filter is definitely your best bet).

I have a ton of thoughts running through my head. I've literally presented papers on this and other water subjects through the years. So I could blabber on for days here which would be kind of crazy until I understand your situation a little better. I can help you here, so shoot me a PM if you want any help!

[duff]

Feb 4, 2019 8:23:49 GMT -5 HighCotton said:

Feb 3, 2019 6:46:20 GMT -5 duff said:

I know there are some experts here so any advice on good home owner water filtering.

I am on municipal water, fairly hard, has chlorine that my wife is getting paranoid about.

I was looking at a 3 stage filter with 5 micron pre filter followed with 2 carbon filters.

Any advice?

Hey duff, a few questions to start:
What municipal water are you on?

Any idea of your current water hardness?
(I've been testing waters in Indiana for over 30 years and I've seen Bloomington-Bedford numbers ranging from a low around 5 grains to over 20 grains on city waters. That's typically 200-800+ mmHo's conductivity. If you find someone to test and get you some readings in TDS or CaCO3 as ppm or mg/L, I can convert those numbers to help you out).

Is the major concern Chlorine?
(If so, the route of a carbon block filter is definitely your best bet).

I have a ton of thoughts running through my head. I've literally presented papers on this and other water subjects through the years. So I could blabber on for days here which would be kind of crazy until I understand your situation a little better. I can help you here, so shoot me a PM if you want any help!

I am on North Lawrence Utilities. I will check hardness and be in touch. Thanks

[blackmouthcur]

Feb 4, 2019 8:23:49 GMT -5 HighCotton said:

Feb 3, 2019 6:46:20 GMT -5 duff said:

I know there are some experts here so any advice on good home owner water filtering.

I am on municipal water, fairly hard, has chlorine that my wife is getting paranoid about.

I was looking at a 3 stage filter with 5 micron pre filter followed with 2 carbon filters.

Any advice?

Hey duff, a few questions to start:
What municipal water are you on?

Any idea of your current water hardness?
(I've been testing waters in Indiana for over 30 years and I've seen Bloomington-Bedford numbers ranging from a low around 5 grains to over 20 grains on city waters. That's typically 200-800+ mmHo's conductivity. If you find someone to test and get you some readings in TDS or CaCO3 as ppm or mg/L, I can convert those numbers to help you out).

Is the major concern Chlorine?
(If so, the route of a carbon block filter is definitely your best bet).

I have a ton of thoughts running through my head. I've literally presented papers on this and other water subjects through the years. So I could blabber on for days here which would be kind of crazy until I understand your situation a little better. I can help you here, so shoot me a PM if you want any help!

Any advice on Iron Bacteria? I have a bleach injection system directly into the well, an iron and sulfur filter, whole house filter, charcoal filter, a salt water softener and mechanical softener in that order. I can’t keep up with it. I’m now in the process of tearing out all the copper pipe throughout the house which is only 10 years old because of internal corrosion , had a pipe in the garage with pinholes. I usually have to dump 2 gallons of bleach every 3 to 4 weeks into the well. My next step is a new well after I get done replacing the copper with cpvc pipe. I have to cut out my walls and ceilings, it’s a nightmare. I used to have a dry well set up for the discharge from the iron filter but it plugged up 2 years ago so now I have rust colored grass. Any advice would be helpful, I’m even thinking of dynamiting. Thx.

[greghopper]

I wouldn't be drinking any of that water at all!!

[blackmouthcur]

Lol, we don’t.

[HighCotton]

Feb 4, 2019 10:01:57 GMT -5 blackmouthcur said:

Feb 4, 2019 8:23:49 GMT -5 HighCotton said:

Hey duff, a few questions to start:
What municipal water are you on?

Any idea of your current water hardness?
(I've been testing waters in Indiana for over 30 years and I've seen Bloomington-Bedford numbers ranging from a low around 5 grains to over 20 grains on city waters. That's typically 200-800+ mmHo's conductivity. If you find someone to test and get you some readings in TDS or CaCO3 as ppm or mg/L, I can convert those numbers to help you out).

Is the major concern Chlorine?
(If so, the route of a carbon block filter is definitely your best bet).

I have a ton of thoughts running through my head. I've literally presented papers on this and other water subjects through the years. So I could blabber on for days here which would be kind of crazy until I understand your situation a little better. I can help you here, so shoot me a PM if you want any help!

Any advice on Iron Bacteria? I have a bleach injection system directly into the well, an iron and sulfur filter, whole house filter, charcoal filter, a salt water softener and mechanical softener in that order. I can’t keep up with it. I’m now in the process of tearing out all the copper pipe throughout the house which is only 10 years old because of internal corrosion , had a pipe in the garage with pinholes. I usually have to dump 2 gallons of bleach every 3 to 4 weeks into the well. My next step is a new well after I get done replacing the copper with cpvc pipe. I have to cut out my walls and ceilings, it’s a nightmare. I used to have a dry well set up for the discharge from the iron filter but it plugged up 2 years ago so now I have rust colored grass. Any advice would be helpful, I’m even thinking of dynamiting. Thx.

Yep! You got yourself quite the situation there! Iron bacteria is a bear to deal with!
The system you have now is pretty typical. However, retention time on the oxidizer/ disinfectant can be tricky to set. If at all possible, I would start with a good and reputable well company.
Let them guide you down the path to a better water source if possible!

[freedomhunter]

Some of the deep well systems I've seen that have the bad iron and sulfur use the activated carbon as a last resort. It works but is expensive and kind of high maintenance. I know it is used in most pond systems, again a complex of many filters high maintenance and expensive. I like kinetico stuff but not sure if it will cure the chlorine problem.

[moose1am]

Feb 3, 2019 14:12:26 GMT -5 greyhair said:

I run a softener to remove iron and calcium. Then, I have an under sink reverse osmosis system that we use exclusively for cooking and drinking. It has it's own little tap on the sink. RO really cleans it up, chemicals and all.

Surprisingly cheap. Around $250 at Menards I think.

I would recommend one

I'm an environmental scientist and worked in a huge analytical chemistry lab and at the EPA.  The RO filter needs to be changed on a regular schedule and don't not remove all the ions from the water.  A cation and a anion filter with a charcoal filter and a bacterial filter also need to be use to clean up the water and get the purist water possible.  

RO works if you run a prefilter ahead of it to take out larger particles.  I had to change the Pre filter monthly and the RO every 6 months or yearly.  IIRC.  It's been over 40 years since I setup the Millipore water filter system for our EPA analytical laboratory.  

I have a Hach testing machine that can test the conductivty of water samples.  And after I calibrated the machine I tested some water from the local super market that had an Reverse Osmosis machine in the store. The grocery store sold big plastic water containers and you paid to get the container filled with RO filtered water.  So I grabbed a sample of their water and took it home and tested it for conductivity. It had a very high conductivity reading.  That means that there are a lot of ions in the water that were not filtered out by the RO filter.  Not sure why the RO filter was not working. Perhaps it was old and needed replacing or something. But the water was a bad as my home tap water which is not filtered at all. Our water at home comes from deep underground wells and it's treated for bacteria and then they pump it into the distribution system.  I don't have a water filter or a water softner to remove the calcium and iron or magnesium.  So my water is really hard. I've gone though 3 hot water heaters over the past 30 years. 

Just wanted you to know that the RO is not the be all to win all system. But  it's better than not having any filter system at all.  

Which is why it's so important to keep the Ohio River clean and not pollute the ground waters. 

[duff]

I am an environmental engineer and focus on water. Primarily industrial waste water but some cooling towers. We have a large RO System but it is treating 150000 gallons per day. We clean the membranes every other month.