whole house water filter

[Cheeky]

anybody have a whole house water filter?

i have an iron issue and rotten egg smell via the well, and would like to start looking into a sollution.

any insight would be appreciated.

[Hellrazor]

Iron needs to be filtered with a 5micron filter. Any larger size and the iron still gets through.

The smell is probably caused by hydrogen sulfide, do a search for that on google. There is tons of information out there.

[rfisher7381]

We have the same problem (rotten egg odor) from the well occasionally. I called a local well driller in our area and they suggested pouring a quart of bleach down the well and then running a garden hose down into the well for 15 minutes or so. I do this about twice a year and it has been very helpful. I first installed a whole house water filter with a activated carbon cartridge and that worked great - for a couple days! then problem returned and the filters are not cheap.

[Deadhead]

anybody have a whole house water filter?

i have an iron issue and rotten egg smell via the well, and would like to start looking into a sollution.

any insight would be appreciated.

You've got several things going on here. I've been down that road already.

When I bought my current house about 5 years ago, the water looked fine. There was a filter system (1 or 2 tanks, I can't remember) already installed in the crawl space between the pressure tank and the house. There was also one of those home improvement store sediment filters in-line after the tanks.

Eventually, we started noticing that our whites weren't white anymore and the water looked dirty despite new in-line sediment filters. I called for service on the filter system (the phone number on the tanks - a "mom & pop" business) and they came out, replaced the media and and rebuilt the in-tank valves (or whatever) that were coated with what looked like orange mud. It was actually iron and they also informed me that I had the wrong filter system. The iron was so bad that it clogged the small piece of pipe supplying the pressure tank.

Long story short, I now have replaced the wrong system with an system specifically for iron, added a water softener, new pressure tank, new water heater, and still have a sediment filter as the last thing before water goes to the house.

Get your water tested (usually part of a free estimate) for 2 or 3 companies. We opted to go with a local company that my parents had used before. The company is larger than a "mom & pop" business but still not so big that they've lost touch.

[kwgeorge]

I installed a whole house filter years ago. I originally did it due to the occasions when the city cleaned their pipes. When they do this we normally end up with rusty water and gunk coming out of the pipes for a week. The funny thing is that we really did not know how much we needed this filter until I installed it. It is amazing how much crap is in the water that is city supplied. When I install a new filter it weighs very little and when I change it out it ends up weighing more than a pound! I just have a simple filter system that I bought at Lowes with just a single filter. I use the carbon filters and have to change the filter about every two months. The unit cost about $20 and the filters are 2 for $9.

Ken

[sacherjj]

I still haven't found a good way to install one of these. I HATE slab home construction. They do just enough to make everything work and it is impossible to modify systems with any add-ons. I'm trying to get one of those $20 whole house filters installed with the 2 for $10 Charcoal filters. I am trying to figure out how I can extend the main house water valve piping to allow for this and the magnetic style water "softener". I have put one of these filters on the washing machine supply line going into our LaundryPure and it works well. Very little flow restriction. I doubt it would last long with well water unless some serious pre-filtering was installed.

For my dream house, I want two sets of cold water. One just waste water going to toilets, etc. The other nice and filtered going to Hot Water heater, faucets, etc. With an actual manifold to control everything. If only money grew on trees.

[BigguyZ]

I have water issues as well. It's not from a well, but the water looks yellowish- even when filtered through my Brita pitcher! Also, is buils up a yellow-brown film in the toilet over time.

I drained my water heater recently (just for maintenance), and that took care of it for a while, but now the color/ odor/ film is coming back!

I'd definitely love to have a whole-house solution for this...

[Logan01]

Water Filter

It all depends on how much you're willing to spend. A water softener is a good way to go, you'll be filtering the water through a bed of resin so that'll take care of a lot of the problems. (that worked at my brother's house) We had "particulate" iron in our water, it wasn't dissolved, and had little rusty spots in the laundry. Tried the whole house filter route, but that was such a PITA we pitched the whole thing. My wife started using "Iron Out" instead of bleach, that got rid of the laundry problems, a little bit poured into the toilet tanks about once a month got rid of the iron bacteria growing in them. We just got used to the hydrogen sulphide smell, it did get pretty bad in the late winter when the water table was low. One more thing, flush your water heater monthly - at least every 3 months. There's a drain valve near the bottom of the tank, just connect a hose to it and open the valve for a few minutes.

[HarmsWay]

What's the recommendation for a whole house sediment filter? The water is soft, no iron problem, tastes alright (at least compared to our water in Saskatchewan when I was growing up). We have a filter on our fridge now, but we full flow through that for as little as two weeks and they cost $25. So I think I just need a sediment filter. I just want one that will be cheaper to buy filters for.

Bob

[Hellrazor]

A single filter canister with a 5 micron filter will work for that too.

[HarmsWay]

Thanks, I'll see what HD has on the shelf.

Bob