Water filters?

[Who Dares Win]

Planning to get rid of plastic bottles and drink water from the sink which is drinkable where I live but kinda "dirty" from old pipelines.

Any idea? not necessarily small budget solutions.

 

[Billtx49]

Reverse osmosis systems are highly regarded. Units can be purchased through home improvement stores.
You mention old pipelines though, if they contain lead it’s a Big concern.

 

[Who Dares Win]

Cant really tell if heavy metals are in the water, the building pipelines are far from new and well kept which is why I dont trust drinking from there.

Is there any filter that can protect from lead and other heavy metals too?

Right now the choice is either estrogens mimicking compounds from the plastic or lead from the sink...

 

[Billtx49]

Google - ‘water filtration lead removal’
It’s a tool, use it…
I’m busy right now

 

[Bible_Belt]

Reverse osmosis under counter systems are about $150us. There is a cost per gallon with any water filter. Carbon removes lead and is simpler and cheaper than ro. In theory, if you bought activated charcoal, you could make your own filter as well, but it probably wouldn't be worth the effort compared to buying one.

 

[Mike32ct]

For a house, I like a "whole house" filter installed after your main water shut off (as opposed to one just under your sink). It also protects your appliances like clothes washer, dishwasher, water heater, boiler, etc. from picking up debris from the water supply.

For an apartment/flat in a building, the main water supply isn't under your control, so an under sink would be the best bet.

 

[Mike32ct]

My clothes washer lasted 25 years. My dishwasher is 25 yo and still runs. My boiler is 35 years old and still runs. I credit it (partly) to having used whole house water filters. The appliances didn't plug up with crap.

 

[graves992]

We also had the same idea, m installed filters on the faucet itself, and the water comes from the source, where it is already purified. thanks to that we do not need additional filters in the coffee machine or kettle. This is great. Not cheap, but it saves money in the future.

 

[johntab67]

Berkey filters - google them. Not inexpensive upfront but the filters last 11,000 liters each. Get a Soda Stream while you are at it. Quit lugging bottles of water and dealing with the packaging waste.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Personally I would not drink any form of city water. It’s reclaimed and has EE2 in it.
EE2 is the estrogen in birth control pills. Women urinate it out daily and water facilities cannot remove it.
Reverse osmosis removes particulates but not EE2. In fact some lakes and steams have to be stocked with fish because this estrogen has made it extremely difficult for male fish to spawn. Upon disease ruin and study, these male fish are changing with female fish biological anomalies.

You can get charcoal filtration and remove it. Search for the ones that target estrogenic substances.

Multi stage ro filters will have one or two carbon block filters in the system. The ones I have seen in stores here in the US are multistage, idk about everywhere.

 

[Lookatu]

Reverse Osmosis like others said but if you don't want to install something under your sink or spend that much, the next best thing is Zero Water filters/pitcher. It's under $30 and has multi-stage filtering. It comes with TDS water meter to analyze the amount particles in your filtered water. I've been using this for 10 years.

Just a quick data point.

My tap water registers around 130-150

PUR/Brita single stage filters only bring it down to around 60-70

Zero multi-stage filtering constantly brings it down between 0-1

Zero though needs pre-planning as it takes a few minutes for it to filter the water, so you need to do it in advance of you drinking it.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Planning to get rid of plastic bottles and drink water from the sink which is drinkable where I live but kinda "dirty" from old pipelines.

Any idea? not necessarily small budget solutions.

I use zero water and it works great

 

[Josh Davidson]

Planning to get rid of plastic bottles and drink water from the sink which is drinkable where I live but kinda "dirty" from old pipelines.

Any idea? not necessarily small budget solutions.

I have a Pur water filter that is fairly cheap and works well

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Planning to get rid of plastic bottles and drink water from the sink which is drinkable where I live but kinda "dirty" from old pipelines.

Any idea? not necessarily small budget solutions.

I like Zero Water...basically removes almost all particulates...they give you a tester...my sink water was like 129-140 depending on the day and time I tested...then I ran it through their filters and it was literally 0.

You change the filter when it gets above 6 or 10 I think. Which lasts a month or more depending on how much you drink...I drink a lot everyday so mine lasts a month or so.

Don't try and save money on the generic filters...they get clogged a lot and you have to basically shake them up all the time. The Zero Water filters have no such issues. You can also usually find a $5 or $10 coupon on their site to use if you order a 3 or 6 pack of filters.

 

[Dust 2 Dust]

80-90 percent of all bottled water is filtered tap water. I use a Brita filter and the water tastes just as good as many name brand bottled water. I use this 18 cup unit that goes in the fridge https://www.target.com/p/brita-extr...gYAkEyb5dGaszsoqYUaAl43EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#

 

[BackInTheGame78]

80-90 percent of all bottled water is filtered tap water. I use a Brita filter and the water tastes just as good as many name brand bottled water. I use this 18 cup unit that goes in the fridge https://www.target.com/p/brita-extra-large-18-cup-bpa-free-filtered-water-dispenser-gray/-/A-10997241?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tmnv&DFA=71700000079365801&CPNG=PLA_DVM+0060H00000uJFv8QAG-Clorox_Brita_Google+Search_2021_Flight&adgroup=PLA_Clorox_Brita&LID=700000001393753pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9012133&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9FqD5vGWJ7NpEx3rCmVRR1jKZi8gG_zgW7xBgYAkEyb5dGaszsoqYUaAl43EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#

Brita doesn't really do a lot in terms of pulling particulates out of the water. I used Brita for a long time and when I got Zero Water it gives you a particulate tester that you hold in the water...my tap water was around 130, Brita was about 115, and Zero Water was 0.

Brita is OK for taste but doesn't do much to remove that actual harmful substances from the water.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Reverse osmosis systems are highly regarded. Units can be purchased through home improvement stores.
You mention old pipelines though, if they contain lead it’s a Big concern.

Reverse osmosis systems are considered the gold standard but they are pretty expensive.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I have a Pur water filter that is fairly cheap and works well

Like Brita, it filters for taste not for health. It removes very few particulates from the water...mostly chlorine.

 

[RickTheToad]

I installed a three stage water filter along with a water softener. The water tastes great.

iSpring WGB32BM 3-Stage Whole House Water Filtration System w/ 20-Inch Sediment, Carbon Block, and Iron & Manganese Reducing Filter

&

GE Appliances 30,400 Grain, GXSF30V Water Softener, Gray

If you figure how much is spent on water bottles and such, it's not a bad deal. Tap water is about a penny a gallon. With the above setup, it pays for itself in many ways. Health wise, your skin is clearer, soap lathers better, clothes clean better and you have non of those nasty chemicals in your water. Nutrition wise, if you buy Smartwater, Fuji, etc., that can get very expensive. Take some tap, add some electrolytes and your good to go.

If you do not want to go this route, I've used the following items below in the past:

pH Refresh Alkaline Water Pitcher with Long-Life Filter – Alkaline Water Filter – Water Filtration System – High pH Alkaline Water Dispenser, 84oz, 2.5L

&

Gatorade G Zero Powder


The pH Refresh water pitcher is the best filtered water pitcher you can get. Blows Brita out of the water with the multi-levels of filtration.

HTH