Hi dlfun1,
Water purification is a tricky subject, as there are many factors
which affect one's treatment approach. That said, knowing what's wrong
with _your_ water makes this a less difficult question. I don't think
there's such a thing as a universal 'best' water treatment approach,
but there should be a best strategy for dealing with the water in your
particular situation.
I was able to find one site which gives an overview of basic
technological strategies (activated carbon, reverse osmosis, etc.) and
the problems they treat. Before continuing on, you may want to open
the page in a new window so you can see visually what I'm about to
describe ( http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/water-purification.php
) -- depending on your browser you may be able to shift-click on the
link to open it in a new window.
As you can hopefully see, there's a table there with common water
problems broken down into categories and the success of various
technologies (keep in mind we're not comparing actual products yet)
with respect to each problem.
For your particular situation, it seems that single technology that
can solve the most problems at once is reverse osmosis. As you can
see, that will cover arsenic, bacteria (including e.coli and crypto),
bad tastes and odors, chlorine, floride, heavy metals, nitrates,
sediment, and some viruses and VOCs (which I believe are volatile
organic compounds).
I don't know if radon is a problem for you or not. You may want to
check with your local utility to see (if you don't already know). They
may already filter in concordance with the health standards published
by the EPA in 1996 ( http://www.epa.gov/safewater/radon.html ).
I was able to locate a map of radon risk by county in Georgia which
may also help in your assessment. (
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/zonemap/zmapp10.htm ) It is unclear
whether the risk is for radon in air or water or both, as both air and
water radon risks are listed under "indoor air" (strange). It's
probably a safe bet that the risk are somewhat related, though.
I'm going to assume since you didn't mention it (and you seem to have
a handle on your water's problems) that radon is not a problem. If it
is, you'll want to amend the rest of my suggestions by looking into an
activated carbon system as well. Similarly, if you discover there are
some bizarre viruses running through your pipes you may want to invest
in a UV system.
Also, before I go further, it's important to note that no system is
100% foolproof, and there are benefits to be had by passing your water
through multiple systems, particularly through a reverse osmosis
system followed by a UV system. If you're particularly at risk (i.e.
low immune system) you may want to consider that. A detailed
description of how reverse osmosis works and its limitations can be
found here (http://www.canada-shops.com/stores/ecopurewater/c11074.2.html)
As you've requested, I’ve researched whole-house (Point of entry or
POE filter systems) and following is what I've found. I should note
that you might want to consider putting RO filters at some taps and
not filtering water for the whole house. The filtering is expensive
and may be wasteful if used on water for showers, baths, washing
machines, dishwashers, and tap water that isn't going to be ingested.
If you want to remove some of the chemicals and soften the water
before running it through the pipes (to prevent deposit build-up on
your appliances, etc.) you'll want a water softener in your garage (or
somewhere where it can filter the water before it enters the house) in
addition to RO filters on your drinking taps. POE systems are usually
installed when there are exceptionally bad water conditions or high
risk of disease from dermal contact with water or inhalation (i.e.
from shower). See this link (
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wff/wsupply/filter.htm ) for more
information on this aspect of your question.
That said, you've specifically requested info for whole house filters,
so that's the direction I've taken my research.
Epinions, a site dedicated to user-based reviews of products, lists
three major brands for whole-house filters: Omni, Culligan, and Water
Pik. Only three filters have been reviewed, and each of them by only
one reviewer, so the information isn't comprehensive at all, but it's
a start ( http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Small_Appliances-All-Water_Filters-Whole_House
).
in addition, I have found products manufactured by Eagle Spring (
http://www.naturalsolutions1.com/eaglspr3.htm ), rain dance (
http://www.raindancewatersystems.com/ ), Crystal Pure Water (
http://www.purewaterexpress.com/wholehouse.htm ), and others (
http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/whole-house-water-filters.php
).
Although there are many whole house systems, those which incorporate
reverse osmosis are rare. The only ones I've been able to find are the
Compact I and II model series made by Crystal Pure Water (
http://www.purewaterexpress.com/wholehouse.htm ) (scroll to the bottom
of the page), and units made by Reo-Pure (
http://www.alphausasystems.com/rplpseries.html ).
As I've not been able to find consumer reports or similar on the
various options I've decided to post this as a comment instead. I
don't know if this is even the kind of information you *really* want,
as unless you're a very special case you probably would be happier
with under-the-sink RO systems at key points and a water softener at
the POE. At any rate, I hope this information helps you clean up your
water.
-gentryunderwood |
