Water filtration system

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by larrylarry, 26th Nov, 2018.

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  1. larrylarry

    larrylarry Well-Known Member

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    Do you have water filtration system under your kitchen sink?
    What brand is it?
    How often do you have to change the filters?
    Any recommendation?

    I'm currently looking at this: Water Filters Sydney | Clean & Clear

    Would love to hear about your experiences.
     
  2. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Nowhere near the recommendation. Why? We have low water pressure and rarely use it.

    Twin cartridge unit - the soft cartridge is meant to be replaced more frequently eg annually.
     
  3. larrylarry

    larrylarry Well-Known Member

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    I’m looking to get a filtration system. Never had one so don’t have much idea what is good.
     
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Dual cartridge is the standard (disposable filter gets the big bits, the charcoal filter gets the nasties like giardia). The rolls royce systems use reverse osmosis - fair bit more expensive but hospital grade.

    You might consider a combined chilled/boiling water unit If you make lots of cuppas or prefer to chill.
     
  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    We have hospital grade system under the sink which removes everything. It was sold to me as being much more effective than a reverse osmosis system. We pay for it to be removed and serviced once a year. It wasn't cheap (I think around $1k several years ago) and we pay around $1 a day I guess with servicing of sink and two shower filters.

    The "taste" of perfectly pure water took a bit of getting used to. I never thought Brisbane water had any taste, but I cannot drink it now, unless I'm desperate. I carry my water with me most places rather than drink tap water.

    We have filters on our showers as well that remove chlorine and other nasties but not to the level of the kitchen tap (same company, different filter system).

    My neighbours with reverse osmosis just serviced gave me a water sample when our guy was coming to service ours, and it still had things in it after being through their filter. I was shocked at what his test kit showed about the water that comes out of our tap.

    I wouldn't like to be without pure water if I have a choice.
     
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  6. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

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    Sounds great, interested to know what type of system it is?
    When I worked in water filtration (years ago) the only way to remove close to everything was Reverse Osmosis (5 stage), then add back in good minerals after. Although RO still did/does not remove some VOC's and pesticides.
    For your counter top or under sink systems, anything with 0.1 micron filtration or less is pretty good, most standard carbon/charcoal/ceramic filters won't do that, usually they are 0.5 micron
     
    Last edited: 26th Nov, 2018
  7. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

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    Depends on how often you use it and the quality of water coming into it, most recommend every 12 months - IMO you should replace filters based on usage not time, the issue with some filter cartridges are that once they are 'full' they can actually give you back the bad bacteria, minerals etc you've been filtering out.
     
  8. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I have some paperwork about it, but cannot find it. Our chap trades as Pure H2O.

    If you are wanting more information I'm happy to find out more. There is a Pure H2O British website but our system looks a bit different and is in a very large stainless steel sealed unit with another large stainless steel canister, a leak detector and a control knob. It takes up half of our double cupboard under the sink.
     
  9. larrylarry

    larrylarry Well-Known Member

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    Looks like some reading for me tonight. Thank you all!
     
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  10. Ouga

    Ouga Well-Known Member

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    "Trying is the first step towards failure" Homer
    Interested if anyone knows a recommended seller & installer in Sydney?
     
  11. Greg McDonald

    Greg McDonald Active Member

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    Yep I got a 7 stage reverse osmosis with alkalising and remineraliser. Gotta get that nice clean water into you!
     
  12. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    ....UKI nth nsw ....
  13. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    After drinking really clean water, you’ll never choose tap water again. :D
     
  14. balwoges

    balwoges Well-Known Member

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    Does it get rid of the fluoride? The difference between my teeth and the younger generation's teeth is amazing - wouldn't do it if I had young children.
     
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  15. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    The drinking tap filter we have gets rid of everything. The filters on our showers removes the fluoride and other nasties (our skin drinks it all in).

    Our son still at home drinks from the normal tap. Go figure.

    It took me a good three to four weeks to get used to the "taste" of pure water. I didn't enjoy it at first. Now I carry my own water with me. Of course, if I'm out and need water, I'll drink tap water, but it tastes nasty.

    We gave our kids fluoride tablets for their teeth in their early years on advice from the paediatrician. Nobody ever suggested it might be bad for them (other than their teeth). If I had young kids now, I'd have to do a lot of research to make that decision again. Thankfully I don't have to think about it.
     
  16. craigc

    craigc Well-Known Member

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    Given most of the population has had fluoride water since the 60’s & 70’s (except Qld) why would you need to add fluoride tablets?
    I can see the benefit with my Dad’s teeth who grew up without fluoride compared to our & the next generations.
    Is there any claimed negatives to fluoride? I’ve not heard of any.
    Quick research found this:
    www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/water/water-fluoridation/fluoride-information
     
  17. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    We just did what the paediatritian suggested. It was the done thing.

    And there are plenty of downsides to fluoride. It helps teeth though. Like plenty of other choices in life - weigh each one up on its merits.
     
  18. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    We had our water filter serviced and reinstalled today. I asked if I could film the process where he places electrodes into the water to bring impurities to the surface. Both glasses looked clear to start with and I started filming a second or so after he turned the power on.

    The pure water from our filter read at 0.0 impurities per million. Our tap water measured at 280 per million. He said that is about normal for Brisbane. Some water has been tested at 1300+ per million and those communities have major health issues.

    I filmed this as it happened, but cannot upload the clip for some reason. This photo shows the end result of his test to show the muck drawn to the surface of the glass.

    I showed our son the clip and the glass and he is wavering. I reckon he might even give the filtered water a try.
     

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