Water Filter Solution? (not faucet filter, not countertop, not...)

I have been using faucet water filters and they have served me well. Now, I have moved to a new apartment where the sink faucet has a shower head, so a faucet water filter is impossible.

The water here is pretty hard, so I would like to filter it for drinking and cooking. I absolutely do not want to buy filtered water bottles as my solution.

The filter pitchers are usually very slow and need to be planned ahead. The person usually need to there fill it again and again to get to the final volume.

Here are a few idea I like:

  1. Aquasana Water Dispenser is essentially like those pitcher filters, except the water is powered through the filter, so it can filter half gallon of water under a minute. It is loud during filtration, but I think I can tolerate the noise since it will only last a minute or two. Moreover, it can compete the filtration without additional intervention. I won’t need to be there to fill it over and over to get to the desired volume. However, there are complaints about water starting to leak over time, and this is something I cannot accept. Does anyone have experience with Aquasana? Is leaking a real issue or rarely happens?
  1. Nakii Water Filter Pitcher is much like any pitcher water filter except that it filters much quicker than most other pitcher water filters. I don’t think it filters as many contaminants but that is probably ok. I would still need to be there to fill the top about 3 times before it get to the final volume 1.8 L. It does not have a larger countertop version.
  1. pH Recharge countertop filter with three filters. It is large and the filtration will be faster with three filters doing their jobs at the same time. Again, a person will need to refill the top reservoir a few times before the final volume is reached. The filters are not cheap. In the long run, this can be a fairly expensive option.

Any other suggestions is welcomed. Thanks.

What’s your budget?

It is a balance. Altough, Acquasana is $130-150, it is very faster and the filter lasts long. So it is a balance between short term investment vs long term support. I would say maybe $200 initial cost as my initial budget unless something amazing.

I will be watching this discussion with interest. I too, have explored water filter solution. Our water here is from a clean source, and I drink from the tap these days. Though I don’t mind having such a solution to filter out e.g. metals that go into the water after the water leaves the treatment plant into the municipal distribution system.

We used to use the Pur 3 stage system. As a filter, its a simple solution. As a device, its hopelessly flawed in its design that render the device useless in any time frame over the short term. The plastic connector between the faucet and the filter device is not designed to hold the weight of the device plus the water within. Eventually leaks developed in the connector, usually within a few months and spray water everywhere in the kitchen. In other words, the device barely outlasts the filter. And the device is not disposable-cheap. Multiple aesthetic changes over a number of models in the product line retain the same design flaw.

So I looked into systems with multiple filters that one permanently installs underneath the sink, but those are relatively expensive with multiple filters to replace, and requires installation skills or installation costs, and is not helpful in your case.

I also looked at the mass market pitcher filter solutions, but I have not researched enough to find an appealing option. Mostly I don’t particularly prefer plastic pitchers. But that’s a personal preference.

Set that all aside, for filter solutions in a pitcher to provide water quickly without the water pressure from the municipal distribution system, there has to be a tradeoff in the filtration efficacy. The filter just can’t be that dense in order to keep the water flowing relatively quickly. So you will likely see, if the manufacturer provides the statistic, a lower % filtered number. With just gravity, you won’t get much water with a filter that’s filtering out 99.999% of everything in sight. A way around this is e.g. the Aquasana product you linked to that uses power to create the necessary water pressure to push the water through the filter.

I am also particularly interested in this topic because water filtration was a large part of my studies though its not something that I do.

Do you know which minerals are causing the hardness? Your water company annual water report should tell you that. Dependent on the mineral, and if hardness, but not other impurities, is your only concern, boiling the water may soften the water. In that case, I’d recommend a kettle :slight_smile:.

I too used Pur and like you also find it leaks too much. I moved to Culligan which has no leaking problem at all. They last for years, whereas the Pur lasted like … every few 2-4 months.

If it was a new home or a condo/coop I would suggest a heavy duty reverse osmosis (RO) unit to be installed at the main water feed for the home. The set of 3-5 cartridges would last a very long time, minumum of six months, but more like 2-3 years or more, and replacement cartridges are relatively inexpensive at around $15-25. Cost for a full unit is around $300-500 or so. Many units come with a whole second set of membranes and filters so you are good to go for as many as 5-8 years. This is usually true for both small and large units. Cost is not including installation. But if you have any plumbing experience it isn’t difficult. This type of residential/light duty commercial unit is high flow and doesn’t need a reservoir tank.

I had a second home in a large apartment in a small building with four units ten years ago. I spoke to the other tenants and the landlord, and he installed a heavy duty RO unit for less than $1000 including installation. He charged us an extra $20 a month for the first year to pay for the unit, and after that around $5 a month per year to cover filter and membrane replacement. The water was completely filtered clean at a level of 98% removal. 10-20 times cleaner than any PUR sustem or such can do. It did remove a lot of the minerals like potassium, etc., and the added fluoride, but the water was as clean and pure as it gets.

This is just one example:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ISPRING-Workhorse-300-GPD-Commercial-Grade-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filtration-System-w-Booster-Pump-and-Oversized-Pre-RO-Filters-RCB3P/206553341

For an apartment, maybe look into a smaller RO system for around $125-$200, like these, that can fit under a kitchen sink, some have a resevoir tank and you have to drill out an extra hole in sink or counter to install the special faucet. Others are higher capacity and can be installed inline for the whole apartment. Most of these, sink and whole house/apartment, filter at least 90%, most to 95%, and many even up to 98%.

Here are some examples:
80 gl. a day.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Olympia-Water-Systems-5-Stage-Under-Sink-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filtration-System-with-80-GPD-Membrane-OROS-80/303451010

100 gl. a day.

http://www.the-green-house.net/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-reverse-osmosis-water-filter-for-home/

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Curious- why specifically new home? New pipes?

What’s the size of the ispring system?

By new, I mean new to you. Where you own it.

What do you mean by size? The actual size of the unit? or the production rate? You would have to read the specs.
Also, some systems include a reservoir tank, some don’t but need one, and some don’t need a tank. Local water pressure has to be taken into account. Most systems work better at 70-100 psi., your local may be less. Then you either need a pump, or larger tank/reservoir.

I only threw out some examples. I’m not an expert. I would talk to either Home Depot, or a local water company, or ISPRING sales.

If you have a filter that you already like & trust, is changing the faucet or faucet head an option?

I have an Everpur under counter filtration system at the kitchen sink. In the door water at the fridge with cartridge filter. Our city water Dept uses a RO system to purify the water but before it gets to your house it’s passed through old pipes and it’s still chlor/florinated

I guess I can try to ask the landlord. I also have tons of other things need to be changed.

I got the Aquasana water machine. So far so good, I may write an update here in a week or two.

This kind of filters was proven to be the less effective of all the possible options. And the problem here isn’t only in filtering qualities itself, it’s just as slow a filter can be. I would suggest something like this https://healthincenter.com/best-waterpik-water-flosser/. It can be connected ditrectly to tap and you get a clean running water after all and it is the best option for taking care of dental health. Hope it helps.

My dad (a plumber) gifted us a water filter that fits under the kitchen sink. We have it set up to filter only the cold water. Our water is fine, but tastes better through the filter. It is several hundred dollars but lasts at least a year or two. We did Brita filters for year and the whole thing was annoying.

If you are interested, I can ask him the name. It is something that he bought at his plumbing supply store so I don’t believe it is something that would be available at Home Depot/Lowes/etc.

I would be interested to know!

Took a look under the sink since I am home today. We have the WX500 model from this site: http://www.waterx.com/products/

Personally, we don’t change out our filter yearly. More like every other year. We can taste it when it is time to switch out. Super easy install with quick connects. My parents don’t use one at their house. They have well water which tastes great but quite hard so they use a water softener.

Now I know why I like you…my daughter’s father is also a plumber! (since 1971!)

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:hugs: My dad has had his own business for 30+ years! He says he isn’t interesting in retiring soon either!

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I was fortunate to sell my company here in NYC 3 years ago, and get the final payment on Jan 1, 2019!..
It was a long haul, but well worth the relationships I made with over 6oo different employees over the years! And to boot was a real honest living, even at times managing 50 plumbers (headaches)… no regrets!

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