Water filters for home use FAQs.

Tthis article series describes different types water filters used for drinking water purification both as portable filters and where installed on building water supply systems, including both municipal water supplies and private well water systems.

Q&A on Water Filters Used for Drinking Water Treatment

These questions & answers about water filters used in homes and other buildings were posted originally at WATER FILTERS, HOME USE - be sure to see the water filter types, choices, and troubleshooting advice given there.

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On 2018-03-20 Kayla said:

My dad thinks that lately, the water in our home is not safe for drinking because it tastes different.

My brother suggested having a residential water filter and shared this article with him. It says that some water contaminants can be absorbed by the filter and make sure that the water is clean.

On 2017-09-20 by john

i have a 7 stage water filter.
I only use it once/day to fill a 7L bottle, so do i have to unplug the filter because the filter is only used once every 24 hours or is it okay to keep it plugged on ?

On 2017-09-20 by (mod) - do I have to unplug the 7 stage water filter?

I'm not quite sure what you are plugging and unplugging. The filter is basically mechanical device that filters are particles or perhaps of charcoal filter that removes chemicals in odors from water..

Are you referring to unplugging an electrically operated pump that sends water through your filter?

On 2016-06-22 by Jacquelyn - what's wrong with our well or filter system?

I am in need of guidance as to what could be wrong with our well or filtration system.

We are renting a house and we are also the first ones to use a new well that was installed last summer when this house was on the market to sell. Long story short, we were in need of a house to rent and the owner was willing to take it off the market in order to rent to us.

Anyways, we moved in here in Oct 2015 and we haven't had any major water problems. We have a water softener and we decided to put it on Bypass because we didn't know anything about water softener's. However, ever since we did so, our dishes from the dishwasher still have salt like residue.

So that is the only water problem we have had until now. We live in Michigan and I started to water the grass about a month ago and that is when we noticed problems with the water filter.

Our filter is just like the ones in your post. Meaning, it is located right after the pressure tank and right before the water softener on the water line.

(Again, we are not using the water softener and it is still on bypass,) After watering the grass for about 10 minutes I lose all water pressure.

My husband then goes down in the basement to check the filter and I'll be darned, it's completely filled up and clogged with what looks like very thick clay.

He then changes the filter and if I don't continue to water the grass it is fine for a few days. However, if I continue watering the grass, it gets clogged right back up.

For example, he put a new filter in the system last night at around 6pm and at 7:30pm I went outside to water the grass and flowers. By 8pm I lost all water pressure and he went and checked things out. Yep, the filter is clogged up again.

He puts a new filter in and I went to bed. This morning I decided to finish watering the part of the grass that didn't get watered last night. After about 15 minutes this morning, I lost all water pressure again. Out of frustration, I just gave up with watering.

Therefore, I am trying to figure out if it is this brand new well that is the cause or is it the filtration system. The well was drilled and installed last summer. The old well was in a totally different area on the property. Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

On 2016-06-22 by (mod) - why are there variations in water flow rate or pressure

IF pressure and flow are sometimes good and other times not, the problem isn't the filter, as the filter isn't jumping in and out of place in the water flow path; more likely you're running out of water.

On 2016-06-06 by jean - city water suddenly gets dirty

the city says it uses 3 different wells and all at random.i have never had this problem before but the last two times the cartridage was very dirty. I change it every 6 to 8 months.

city says we are on 3 different wells.i guess they switch off and on. this just started about I year ago.ichange it every 6 to 8 months. last time and this time it was very dirty.

On 2016-06-06 1 by (mod) - suddenly city water is dirty

The answer from your city - using different wells - does not answer the question: is the municipal supply or municipal piping a source of sediment or debris, or was work on the piping system releasing debris that your filter is catching?

Or is your filter downstream from rusting old metal piping at your own property?

6-8 month filter changing interval does not sound excessive but of course we have no data on water volume used, what is the type of filter, what it is designed to trap, nor its size nor rated capacity. In sum we have no objective data.

On 2016-06-05 by jean - what makes my filter get so dirty?

I have a whole house pure air water filter. we are on city water. what makes my filter get so dirty? should I be concerned?

On 2016-06-05 by (mod) - whole house pure air water filter.

Jean: I agree it's worth asking what's going on. Municipal water, unless "city water" in your case is a tiny number of households, is regulated by the Federal Clean Drinking Water Act and requires regular testing as well as assuring water quality such that you ought not need a filter at all;

an exception is on occasion some communities are a bit high in disinfectants and people don't want to wait for natural aeration to remove chlorine.

I can't know from a simple e-text what's in your water that clogs your filter.

Perhaps rust from old iron water pipes, or silt and sediment entering from work being done on the water mains. Ask your city water department for advice and consider having your water tested to identify the type of sediment you're seeing, as that may point to a source.

Keep me posted

Daniel

On 2016-05-05 by Daniella - which valves to close when changing a water filter

We have a pentek BB 20" whole house water filter. Would you recommend shutting off the main water valve to change the filter or just bypassing the system and using the pressure buton(the latter is very messy---lots of water everywhere)?

On 2016-05-05 1 by (mod) - Changing a Pentek BB 20" whole house water filter

Daniella:

Given your report of the messy trouble using the pressure button on your water filter, you might try

1. shut off water to the building

2. if there is a shut-off valve between the filter output and the building supply piping, close that

3. now when you press the pressure relief button on the BB 20 whole house water filter, the volume of squirt-out will be much more limited\

Let me know how that works for you.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: high-iron water in Nevada

(June 15, 2015) Judie Smith said:
we have a well. we are in north west nevada. the well water is very high in iron and other things. we changed the water filter and it seemed to clear the water up. the next day the water pressure was way down. it came back up on it's own. it did it again but seemed to fix itself. until today. now we have no pressure. we have taken the new filter out and cleaned it with no results. the pump is working. what is wrong.

Reply:

I don't know, Judie. Perhaps iron crud has clogged a pressure control switch sensor port. If the pump is not running I'd start there. If the pump runs then I'd be looking for loss of water in the well itself or a foot valve or strainer or pump impeller problem.

(June 15, 2015) Anonymous said:
thank you for your quick answer. it seems to have started with the filter change so we are starting there. i thought it needed priming after changing the filter but my friend says it only needs priming if there is a problem with the pump. the pump seems to be working fine.

Reply:

I agree with your friend.

If your water system pressure gauge shows pressure and/or the pump runs then the problem may be that during filter canister installation someone left a valve shut that should have been re-opened. Look for a shutoff or bypass valve in the wrong position.

If the filter system was already in place and just the filter element was replaced then try taking the new one out for a test to see if water flow returns.

Question: tightness of water filter cartridge connections

June 23, 2015) Kim Claybound said:
How are tight connections made to the top and bottom of the cartridge in a typical house water sediment filter (which is nominally 2-1/2" diameter by 10" high)? I ask for two reasons:

First, I've used several models of cartridge whose lengths are short of the nominal 10" length by as much as 1/4", yet I am told by an expert that I don't need to add shims (o-rings or washers). The cartridge slides into place with little or no resistance.
Also my filter, whose head has Bypass, Off and Filter positions, acts as if it's being bypassed although the head is in Filter position. The filter is roughly 40 years old. Is failure at that age reasonable?

Reply:

Kim

The sediment filter top and bottom slip over a protrusion in the water filter cartridge against which the filter will be tightened properly once you screw the canister top or bottom in place. But I share your concern about "short" filters that might be sold by a third party vendor.

I suspect that even 1/4" may be OK as the filter swells slightly when wet and as the canister protrusions extend about 1/2 inch into the cartridge. But it should be easy to see if the filter is leaking: you'll see debris coming through the system.

If your filter head is acting as if it's being bypassed you'll see that showing up as absence of visible flow of water through the filter, lack of accumulation of sediment on the filter exterior after a few days of use, or debris showing up in the water supply. It's possible that an O ring or seal in the filter head has failed. I'd replace the unit.

Question: lightning strike shorted the pressure control, now water is dirty

(July 24, 2015) Anonymous said:
A couple weeks ago, we had a lightning strike and long story short, it shorted out the pressure control switch and got it replaced. Anyway, since then our whole house water filter has been getting VERY dirty within 24 hours of replacement. We usually could go 5 months or so without replacing it. Any solutions?

Reply:

Before offering a solution let's diagnose the cause of the trouble. A lightning strike could also have damaged a well casing; if the casing is split or damaged not just dirt but other contaminants could be leaking into the well. I'd ask for help from a local well service company to see if they can find th dirt source rather than just adding a better filter.

Question: best way to get rid of high iron or magnesium content in water

(Aug 6, 2015) PRIYANKA SENGUPTA said:
I have low water pressure & high iron content,what U would u suggest me to buy, bacterial contamination is not prominent,i mean I am a budding microbiologist and we don't hv any fecal contamination..which type of filter would be ideal for us?

Reply:

Priyanka

This article contains the information you want WATER FILTERS - SEDIMENT & IRON

Also see this PDF file: www.inspectapedia.com/water/Iron_Manganese_RemoveNDSU.pdf

Question: impact of clogged water filter on pump and tank life

(Oct 6, 2015) Anonymous said:

I bought a house recently and was told the whole house filter had been changed a month before I bought it. I knew the bladder pressure tank was old and would have to be replaced sometime soon

. My water pressure became worse and worse over the next two months.

When I went to change out the filter it had obviously not been changed for a long time. My question is: If a filter is not changed out and the well pump is trying to pump against that resistance, can it decrease the life of the well pump or damage it?

Reply:

My OPINION is that ultimately the pump life can be affected by a clogged water filter; with modest pressure resistance of a partly-clogged filter the pump has simply to run a bit longer to reach the cut-out pressure and you're probably operating within its heat and duty cycle design range.

But if the pump starts to run for very long intervals (hours for example) then you may overheat it and reduce its life.

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Continue reading at WATER FILTERS, HOME USE - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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