Anyone have experience with whole house water filters?
July 15, 2013 9:12 AM Subscribe
We are considering one. Seems like there is zero consensus on what type of filter is best - we feel like reverse osmosis is out because of the waste water it creates, but beyond that we're lost. Consumer Reports seems to prefer under-sink filters to whole house filters. Does anyone have any thoughts on the subject? We live in Los Angeles.
My parent have a whole-house system. It's a three phase system with two prefilters and a large activated carbon polishing filter.
Mom has skin sensitivities to the chloramine in the municipal supply, which have cleared up since they installed the system about a decade ago. Mom also raises orchids which are very sensitive to water quality. She can now water directly from the tap. This was a big deal for her as a single watering for her greenhouse(s) can take gallons upon gallons of water.
It costs near one thousand dollars every year. Dad does the filter swap in about an hour, once a year for the big one, a couple of times a year for the prefilters. It's low maintenance.
My parents are very happy with their system, but they have specialized needs: mom's sensitivity for showers, and the requirements of a moderately large orchid grow op.
One lesson: don't skimp on the prefilter system. It keeps sediment in in the water supply from messing up the expensive carbon filter tank (or RO membrane, if you go that way).
posted by bonehead at 10:02 AM on July 15, 2013
Mom has skin sensitivities to the chloramine in the municipal supply, which have cleared up since they installed the system about a decade ago. Mom also raises orchids which are very sensitive to water quality. She can now water directly from the tap. This was a big deal for her as a single watering for her greenhouse(s) can take gallons upon gallons of water.
It costs near one thousand dollars every year. Dad does the filter swap in about an hour, once a year for the big one, a couple of times a year for the prefilters. It's low maintenance.
My parents are very happy with their system, but they have specialized needs: mom's sensitivity for showers, and the requirements of a moderately large orchid grow op.
One lesson: don't skimp on the prefilter system. It keeps sediment in in the water supply from messing up the expensive carbon filter tank (or RO membrane, if you go that way).
posted by bonehead at 10:02 AM on July 15, 2013
We have both the whole house system and an under the sink reverse osmosis filter. The whole house system doesn't do nearly as good a job on drinking water, so we ended up with a second one. I wish we had just spent the money on the RO to begin with, but such is life. We are on a well, so I don't feel too terrible about the waste water.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 12:26 PM on July 15, 2013
posted by Nickel Pickle at 12:26 PM on July 15, 2013
Our house came with one (I don't know which type offhand), and the only problem we've noticed is the prevalence of harmless but mildly icky pink bacterial films (PDF) around the drains in our sinks when we haven't cleaned them for a while. Presumably because it removes the chlorine. But I can't say for sure, so it's just a guess.
The water tastes great: that is to say, of nothing at all. It doesn't have that faint off taste that we've found in the city water everywhere else we've lived in town.
posted by telophase at 2:53 PM on July 15, 2013
The water tastes great: that is to say, of nothing at all. It doesn't have that faint off taste that we've found in the city water everywhere else we've lived in town.
posted by telophase at 2:53 PM on July 15, 2013
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posted by sexyrobot at 9:55 AM on July 15, 2013