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T

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#2 ·
We had one when on city water in our last home. They were doing work on the historic mains in our town that kicked up sediment. The charcoal/sediment cartridge it knocked down the chlorine taste. Worked well and we kept it. A word of caution - I understand the cartridge must be changed on a three month maximum interval to avoid creating an environment for bacteria. The standard size unit was perfect for our use as the cartridge life near matched three months perfect.

I put one on our current well, but took it out after getting tired of changing the cartridges. My wife didn't know or notice until I told her near a year later.
 
R

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#3 ·
You put in a filter for a reason. Do you have a reason?
Test the water to understand if there's a reason to install a filter.
 
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D

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#5 ·
You get the water tested by taking a sample to a laboratory, you can look up the closest certified lab on the internet. As noted, you cannot make an intelligent decision about what type of system, if any, you need until you have a water analysis done to determine what contaminants, if any, you have in your water.
 
Nik333

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#6 · (Edited)
It can be very expensive, depending on what you want to test for. >$1000. If you can, look up news regarding your city water. Most cities test the water carefully, but of course there has been some terrible news about a US town, lately. If you were on a well, it's a whole different story.

Brita filter pitchers don't test for lead. I only found this out after years of using them. The Purel filter on the faucet does, if I spelled that right. They are competing brands. Brita does now make a faucet filter. ( You attach it to the faucet) But, be aware that kids may drink the water in the bathroom, that may not have a filter.

I just lived in a house with a contaminated well, near huge quantities of animal fecal matter.. I was sick, my cats died, but I think that's an unusual story. Groundwater seems to be getting more contaminated.

Find out the reputation of the city water & do some research. Good luck!
 
WhatRnsdownhill

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#7 ·
throrope said:
We had one when on city water in our last home. They were doing work on the historic mains in our town that kicked up sediment. The charcoal/sediment cartridge it knocked down the chlorine taste. Worked well and we kept it. A word of caution - I understand the cartridge must be changed on a three month maximum interval to avoid creating an environment for bacteria. The standard size unit was perfect for our use as the cartridge life near matched three months perfect.

I put one on our current well, but took it out after getting tired of changing the cartridges. My wife didn't know or notice until I told her near a year later.
Click to expand...
thats false about bacteria, then inside every pipe and faucet and water heater would have to be changed every 3 months, thats nonsense...
you dont have to test water to put a water filter in, most are put in for sediment reasons, so all the crap in old water mains in the street doesnt clog your faucets, and if a main breaks in the street or they do work its cheap insurance to keep the dirt out of the house piping and faucets....$40 bucks for a housing and about $6 bucks for 2 sediment filter cartridges.....
 
Nik333

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#11 · (Edited)
ShtRnsdownhill said:
Ill clarify that....there are no harmful bacteria that will grow in a whole house water filter..bacteria is everywhere....Better? also on 30+ years in the plumbing trade..:smile:
Click to expand...
Yes :smile:, thanks, but you left out the part about the filter contents, There must be a reason they recommend a change in three months. Possibly because it loses it's ability to filter the water by getting clogged up with sediment, etc.

Then there is Listeria :devil3:, just teasing the plumber.
 
G

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#12 ·
We have a whole house filter on city water. It helped with rust staining from the old iron pipe (everything after the filter is plastic now). My wife is also sensitive to chlorine and it helps with that as well.

I probably change it every 6 months because the flow starts to slow down. When I put the new filter in, I can notice the difference in better flow, so I should probably be changing it more often.
 
WhatRnsdownhill

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#13 ·
Nik333 said:
Yes :smile:, thanks, but you left out the part about the filter contents, There must be a reason they recommend a change in three months. Possibly because it loses it's ability to filter the water by getting clogged up with sediment, etc.

Then there is Listeria :devil3:, just teasing the plumber.
Click to expand...
yes , as the filter stops solids your water flow will diminish...so depending on that you may have to change it every month, all depends how dirty the water mains are, but for about $3 a filter, even every month is cost effective...:biggrin2:
 
L

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#15 ·
I looked into this but mainly wanted it for clean, filtered water. Ours had a chlorine taste to it. I ended up putting a RO system in and put a faucet downstairs and one upstairs. Only a couple hundred if your only looking for drinking water


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
raylo32

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#16 ·
I use an under sink filter mainly to improve taste for cooking and drinking by removing the chlorine. I don't need an expensive water test to tell me it works. Anything else it removes is gravy. And no I don't change them as per the package every 6 months. I do it once a year or if/when the water flow diminishes to an unacceptable level. No issue with bacteria. For the OP - I would go with one of these instead of a whole house filter unless you have a major sediment issue. Washing machines and dishwashers don't care how water tastes. And people don't drink significant amounts from bathroom faucets and such.
 
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