Looking for a water filter

September 19, 2006 1:04 PM

Please recommend a plumbed-in water filter.

Our home (owned, not renting) has a well and the water tastes terrible. At the moment, we're drinking bottled water and using tap water only for showers and dishes and so forth. We're about to get a refrigerator with an ice maker and would like some sort of water filter to pass the well water through before it goes into the refrigerator. Ideally we'd tap the output of the filter to the kitchen sink as well, if the filter could be easily bypassed for dishwashing etc.

The main objective is to improve the taste, since we had the water tested a few years ago and no nasties were evident. I've searched quite a bit on the Internets but I am clueless about how many stages are appropriate, whether we need reverse osmosis or charcoal filter or x vs. y micron filters, whether we need one of the units with a holding tank, etc. Can anyone recommend a filter that is suitable for this application? Thank you!

posted by harmfulray to home & garden (8 comments total)

After watching an epidose of Good Eats last night, Alton recommended a filter with a 1 Micron width filter. Also, he cited two different numbers that meant the filter was qualified at a 1 micron width.

What does a 1 micron width filter give you? Basically, it traps out all of the mineral junk, as well as harmful bacteria.

Quite honestly, though... I always loved well water.. it doesn't taste like chlorine. Many people who previously drank municipal water complain about the taste, and I'm the opposite. I'd _love_ to have fresh well water again.
posted by triolus at 1:39 PM on September 19, 2006

(sidebar)

triolus - "well water" doesn't equal "good water" ... right now, we're dealing with well water that has a pretty high iron count (well, at least, we can taste the iron pretty strongly; the actual count isn't that high. We also have a higher-than-desirable hydrogen sulfide count.
posted by Alt F4 at 1:59 PM on September 19, 2006

To actually give some value ... you might just want a water softener, not a filter.

I'm not the most knowledgeable on this topic; if you have a water treatment company in your area, they can probably come out and do some on-site tests, to determine what your needs are. Obviously, it's an area where you don't know a whole lot about it (nor do I), so try to find a reputable one (if you have a feed 'n' seed store in the area, they can probably recommend a good one). Water treatment systems can vary widely in terms of cost and actual purpose. For our hydrogen sulfide issue, there's a mechanical treatment that would be around $950. A water softener, which would focus more on the iron, would be more like $500.

Out of curiosity, what does your water taste / smell like?
posted by Alt F4 at 2:09 PM on September 19, 2006

I was researching a way to get rid of my Brita with something more built-in, and found this company. I notice one of their options discusses how to handle well water problems.
posted by bigmuffindaddy at 2:48 PM on September 19, 2006

I've used multi-pure water filters for years. I moved and even bought a new one. They are solid blocks of carbon. Unlike brita, which allows little rivlets of water to get through unfiltered, all water must pass through the media before exiting the tap. You can taste the difference. (I have no affiliation with the company.)

I just checked out their website and they were rated as a bestbuy by consumer reports...which means there is a consumer reports article out there you can read.
posted by about_time at 3:57 PM on September 19, 2006

The hydrogen sulfide is what is causing the odor, but its cause may either be organic bacteria growing in the well, or naturally dissolved gas in the ground water. Various treatment strategies exist, depending on the concentration of hydrogen sulfide, and the amount of water you use.

Iron in well water is usually present due to the activity of various bacteria, which pose no health hazard, but are difficult or impossible to eliminate. An iron filter, in stage with chlorination and hydrogen sulfide treatment, and then water softener treatment and perhaps final solids/charcoal filter, is generally the best way to get consistent quality water for your household needs.

If you don't mind running well water for toilets, bathing and wash (and get acceptable performance with laundry and decent life from faucets and appliances), you can cut your treatment system in only for your kitchen loop, and perhaps your water heater, which will tend to exacerbate odor and iron problems by making heated water.
posted by paulsc at 6:21 PM on September 19, 2006

Like paulsc said, you could go with a whole house filter, but probably don't need to. I personally found it more effective to just filter the water we drink, because you can afford to filter to higher levels of purity that way. I have used both the Home Depot brand Omnifilter with the carbon block filter(I think CB3 is the model number) and the sears brand undersink filter as well. They make similar deals that you clip into the supply line for your fridge, which I have used and which I think work well. So you could just go to your nearest big box home improvement store, or you can order them, but the stuff available online is mostly the higher-end stuff, which may not be necessary.

The brita tap filters and pitchers don't work all that well, so I recommend you avoid those.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 9:08 PM on September 19, 2006

Alt F4, it doesn't have any smell or a taste I can identify more specifically than "yuck." I don't think the water is hard; soap lathers with it readily, for example.

Triolus, I've had tasty well water as well -- just not from our well :)

Thank you one and all, and if others have products to recommend or warn against (preferably first hand) please chime in.
posted by harmfulray at 9:16 AM on September 20, 2006