Author Topic: Teach me about water purification systems (Read 10945 times)

Nitrogen · « **on:** February 21, 2009, 11:37:02 AM »

I'm looking for a water purification system to primarily get rid of chlorine/chlorate and other bad tastes that come through the water. Since our water comes from a manmade lake, algae blooms can make it taste quite odd at times. My wife keeps liking to buy bottled water, and I think that's just silly.

Here's our latest available water quality report:
http://www.cityofsachse.com/publicworks/2007%20water%20quality%20report.pdf

cassandra and sara's daddy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2009, 11:41:05 AM »

i'm looking too supposded to be a guy sells a real decent deal for under 700 for diy. with setup instructions

Bigjake · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2009, 11:44:59 AM »

How crazy are you going with this? Whole house, or just at a kitchen sink?

Physics · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2009, 12:35:32 PM »

http://www.multipureco.com/mpad.htm

That's what my wife and I use. Expensive at first, but the filters last quite awhile, and aren't too expensive.

charby · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2009, 12:44:37 PM »

Have you thought about a Brita water filter pitcher?

My wife used to live in Iowa City and they heavily chlorinate their water since it comes from the Iowa River, out of the tap it was nasty tasting but tasted like clean water with you drank out of the Brita water filter. She had a pitcher in the fridge and one on the tap for cooking with and so forth.

I'm glad where we live now the city draws their water from wells.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2009, 01:21:39 PM »

The simplest and cheapest solution would be an activated charcoal filter on a sink-mounted dedicated drinking water tap. That will remove most funky tastes and some impurities. The are also multi-filter systems designed to take the basic charcoal cannister setup to the next level.

The best, though is a reverse osmosis system. It takes out pretty much everything. A decent system will run you several hundred dollars, but after that it's simple filter maintenance.

You can also lease a system (I have Culligan). They will install and service the unit. It's more expensive than buying your own, but still cheaper than bottled water.

I also have a softener from Culligan. I likes my soft waterses.

Brad

Balog · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2009, 02:02:08 PM »

Quote from: Charby on February 21, 2009, 12:44:37 PM

Have you thought about a Brita water filter pitcher?

My wife used to live in Iowa City and they heavily chlorinate their water since it comes from the Iowa River, out of the tap it was nasty tasting but tasted like clean water with you drank out of the Brita water filter. She had a pitcher in the fridge and one on the tap for cooking with and so forth.

I'm glad where we live now the city draws their water from wells.

We use the big (2 gallon?) unit with a little tap. Easier for us than the tiny pitcher. I wish we could do the sink mounted unit like we used to, but our apt has one of those funky faucet heads that isn't compatible.

Physics · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2009, 02:04:28 PM »

I've heard Brita is crap for actually removing impurities. Don't know how true that is though, so a grain of salt is advisable.

Larry Ashcraft · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2009, 02:46:14 PM »

Our well water is hard as a rock and full of iron (shallow well). We use a sediment filter, then a water softener, and for drinking and cooking, a reverse osmosis unit. The water out of the RO unit is quite pure and good. I installed the RO unit myself in a couple of hours. The water softener took a little more plumbing, but we installed it in less than a day.

At the shop, I have city water. I keep a pitcher in the fridge, I think its a Pur but it may be a Brita. Either way, it takes the chlorine taste out of the water.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2009, 02:55:43 PM »

Pur/Brita pitchers = activated charcoal filter.

Brad

41magsnub · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2009, 03:01:12 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on February 21, 2009, 01:21:39 PM

The best, though is a reverse osmosis system. It takes out pretty much everything. A decent system will run you several hundred dollars, but after that it's simple filter maintenance.

You can also lease a system (I have Culligan). They will install and service the unit. It's more expensive than buying your own, but still cheaper than bottled water.

I also have a softener from Culligan. I likes my soft waterses.

Brad

That is exactly what I do, best water ever. I have a separate tap at the sink and the water chiller/ice maker in my fridge is tied into it.

K Frame · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2009, 03:04:47 PM »

I drink naught by the pure morning dew collected from butterfly wings.

That, and diet Coke.

cassandra and sara's daddy · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2009, 03:07:00 PM »

does that reverse osmosis unit do the hole house? or just a tap or 2? ironically my deep well has iron neighbors shallow bored well is sweet

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2009, 03:21:51 PM »

Residential RO systems are pretty low volume. I think mine will process roughly a gallon an hour. I have a dedigated spigot on the kitchen sink with a line plumbed to the ice maker.

The softener treats the whole house.

Brad

Nitrogen · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2009, 05:30:47 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on February 21, 2009, 01:21:39 PM

The best, though is a reverse osmosis system. It takes out pretty much everything. A decent system will run you several hundred dollars, but after that it's simple filter maintenance.

Do they make good reverse osmosis systems that are just under-the-sink?
That would be perfect. If I got this route, are there any pitfalls I need to be aware of in choice?

Yes, I'm looking at going just under-the-sink and not whole-house unit. IT'd also be nice if I could splice the under-the-sink unit for the fridge, but that would be a plus and not required.

I'm decently handy with these things, and I CAN search, but I appreciate professional opinions of those that know more about these things and have experience.

EDIT: How about something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kitchen-Under-the-Sink-Reverse-Osmosis-System-_W0QQitemZ200301767502QQcmdZViewItem

Marnoot · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2009, 08:13:42 PM »

Quote from: Nitrogen on February 21, 2009, 05:30:47 PM

Do they make good reverse osmosis systems that are just under-the-sink?

Absolutely. We have this Microline unit under our sink and have been very happy with it. I have a line going from it to our fridge (ice/water). Fridge needs higher pressure than the pressure tank delivers, so I put a small demand-pump in the middle to boost the pressure. Works great.

Doggy Daddy · « **Reply #16 on:** February 22, 2009, 09:53:49 PM »

Two points:

1) I've been told that it's not a good idea to install an RO unit if you don't have some kind of pre-treatment going on before the water gets to the RO.. i.e a water softener. Thoughts?

B) This thread prompted me to go out and buy a Brita pitcher filtration system. Reading the package, I see that the filters use an ion exchange process (along with the charcoal) to filter the water. Does this mean that I can "recharge" the filters instead of buying new ones by using brine water? Not that $5 for a filter that lasts (supposedly) 2 months is gonna break the bank.

Firethorn · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2009, 11:38:07 PM »

Quote from: Doggy Daddy on February 22, 2009, 09:53:49 PM

B) This thread prompted me to go out and buy a Brita pitcher filtration system. Reading the package, I see that the filters use an ion exchange process (along with the charcoal) to filter the water. Does this mean that I can "recharge" the filters instead of buying new ones by using brine water? Not that $5 for a filter that lasts (supposedly) 2 months is gonna break the bank.

The charcoal part eventually breaks down though. I'd say that any savings from 'recharging' the filter wouldn't be worth it from the standpoint of dubious filtration after the design period, expense and effort from the recharging method. I mean, you'd have to force several pitchers worth of brine through it, then rinse. Besides, the brita

Personally, I have an activated charcoal/particulate whole house filter- much cheaper than similar faucet level ones, filters last longer/are cheaper as well. After that I have a water softener, not so much for drinking as to keep my appliances from becoming clogged with deposits.

I have a brita filter as well, but at this point I don't really notice the difference between it and tap water now.

A question DOES come up with the
Brita FAQ

Quote

Water softeners do use a form of ion exchange resin but this is regenerated in the household using common salt (sodium chloride). In this way the calcium ions in the temporary hardness are replaced with sodium ions, thereby increasing the sodium content of the water. Due to the increased sodium it is not recommended that sodium softened water is used for drinking, cooking or food preparation. A separate tap with untreated water should be provided.

Is this being dishonest? While my softener does use salt to regenerate the resin, doesn't it flush out the salt? I certainly don't taste saltiness with my water.

Jim147 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2009, 11:44:41 PM »

I have rural water running to my house now.(Smells like they pore bleach straight in it.) Still have the well for the garden and washing the car and emergency use. (Garden hose hooked to the cold valve for the washer when they had a main line break kept us in running water that week.)

I have used britta pitchers for over 10 years. One one the counter and a big one with a spout in the refrigerator. They work very well but I change the filter based on use not time. It might be once a month in the summer or every three or four in the winter. I don't think you can clean all the bad stuff out of them so it's better to just buy the bulk packs of filters.

The reverse osmosis units work good under the sink but you should look at the pump Marnoot is talking about if you want to run to the refrigerator. I have been on many a no ice call in my day that went back to the system not providing enough pressure to the ice maker to keep the fill tube from freezing.

Doggy Daddy · « **Reply #19 on:** February 23, 2009, 12:04:28 AM »

Did a little Googling.

Here's a link to instructions on how to modify your Brita filter, making it into a refillable charcoal filter. This wouldn't be applicable to all needs, but if you're mainly looking to improve the taste this looks like a possibility.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-refill-a-disposable-Brita-brand-water-pit/

Marnoot · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2009, 12:47:24 AM »

Quote from: Doggy Daddy on February 22, 2009, 09:53:49 PM

1) I've been told that it's not a good idea to install an RO unit if you don't have some kind of pre-treatment going on before the water gets to the RO.. i.e a water softener. Thoughts?

The only reason (assuming decent municipal water) is that the RO membrane won't last as long with hard water as it scales up the membrane over time. We have a softener before our RO system.

Doggy Daddy · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:01:28 AM »

And we do have hard water here in Las Vegas! 275 ppm or 16 grains/gallon.

Nitrogen · « **Reply #22 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:42:35 AM »

Bought the system and installed it last night.

I let it basically run and flush for a few hours, and the water tastes great.

I didn't hook it up to my fridge because I'm a dummy. The waterline I thought went to my fridge was really hot water to go to my dishwasher. My fridge has its own outlet right behind it.

The water tastes very good, but still has a slight taste of chlorine to it, but it tastes almost as good as bottled water, enough that I'm very happy with it so far.

alex_trebek · « **Reply #23 on:** February 23, 2009, 08:44:39 AM »

Quote from: Firethorn on February 22, 2009, 11:38:07 PM

Is this being dishonest? While my softener does use salt to regenerate the resin, doesn't it flush out the salt? I certainly don't taste saltiness with my water.

It is honest, albeit exaggerating. As stated earlier, water softeners use ion exchange resin to "soften" water. Softening is defined as removing minerals that qualify has "hard," these being mainly calcium and magnesium. The "hard" minerals are only partially soluble in water, as evident by scaling you may have noticed (especially with hot hard water, solubility of these minerals is inversely related to temperature). Sodium is very soluble in water, actually it prefers being dissolved in water over being a solid metal.

On the microscopic level imagine one or two sodium atoms attached to a long polymer chain of carbons, making an ion exchange resin. On the macroscopic level, the resin looks like very large grain sand. when magnesium or calcium come into contact with this chain, the sodium ion is replaced. Once the resin is saturated with hard minerals, it is regenerated with a sodium chloride (brine) solution. Since the concentration of sodium is much greater than that of the calcium and magnesium on the resin, these minerals leave. Eventually the resin does break down and needs to be replaced.

So yes water softeners do replace calcium/magnesium with sodium ions. If you are real concerned have the water hardness tested and as a worst case scenario assume all hardness is replaced with sodium. This will give you some idea of how much sodium you are consuming, i really doubt that it is much compared to your diet.

Typical water softeners only remove positive ions (cations). You can buy a water softener that removes both, but I haven't really looked into the resins that remove anions.

More info from wiki

cfabe · « **Reply #24 on:** February 23, 2009, 09:22:58 AM »

It's true the softeners do increase the sodium content of your water, but not enough to make it taste salty. I forget the actual math but I read that even if you drink an abnormally large ammount of tap water, it will only be a couple hundred milligrams a day of sodium, compared to 2000mg per day dietary suggestion. So it's something to be aware of if you are very sodium sensitive, but usually not a problem. There is also potassium salt available for use in water softeners which works just the same, but check with your manufacturer to make sure your resin will work with potassium.

News:

Author Topic: Teach me about water purification systems (Read 10945 times)