Recommendations for Faucet Filter
Hi everyone,
I live in a tiny house on wheels and I get my water supply by pvc schedule 40 and hose pipe that is ran from the main house.
I have a cheap RV filter (Camco 40042 TastePURE Inline RV Water Filter) that I have installed right before the water enters my house, but I don’t drink the water.
However, I do wash my dishes and rinse my vegetables in this water and I would feel a lot better knowing a have a high quality filter when rinsing my food.
I am looking at the Aquasana under sink filter but I would love for some other recommendations. Secondly, can I expect these filters to filter out all the junk that may be leached into my water from the pvc and hose?
I realize my setup is not code, but that’s the best I can do given my living situation.
Thank you!
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Replies
anyone? :)
What exactly are you trying to filter out? PVC in pipe is a pretty stable material, it's not going to hurt you. The hose MIGHT be an issue, you have to make sure you have one rated for potable water. If your hose is NOT rated for potable water, NO filter is going to reliably make your water completely safe.
If you need a cheap extension that will be safe, you can get some NSF rated polyethylene pipe (or use PEX), put the ends you need on it, and use that as your water line. If you're trying to use non-potable water, you can't use any normal filters, you need an entire treatment system that can get pretty expensive, and you have to maintain it right or you risk getting sick.
Bill
Hey Bill, thanks for the info. Isn't that what these expensive filters do, filter out the chemicals? Meaning if it was filtered from a toxic hose, it should filter out the chemicals? I am looking at the aquasana under sink filter.
Not a bad idea about the pex. Do they have hose thread adapters? Do you think that would be any safer than a potable water hose?
Chemicals that are dissolved cannot be filtered out. They won't make nonpotable water potable.
Can you explain what you mean here? I thought this is exactly what water filters do - remove chemicals from the water.
For example, If a chemical or metal is 2 microns and the a filter is .2 microns, it will filter this out.
What's the source water like? Water quality varies quite a bit depending on where you live so you might not need much filtering at all, or you might not want to use the local water for anything.
The city water reports seem to be pretty good, but I am worried more about the water incoming for 100 feet of pvc and garden hose.
I always lean towards the safer side and want to make sure I have the cleanest water possible in my house.
Your money is best spent on a potable water hose. If the city water is chlorinated that should take care of anything growing in the water.
Better than pex? Just for convenience?
And yea I am not concerned about bacteria. It's lead, PFA's, etc.
Pex would be fine. Shop in the plumbing section, look for fittings with the "NSF" logo. As long as you use stuff rated for potable water you should be fine.
Is there an alternative I can use that is just as safe, more flexible, and so I don't have to buy/clamp on the fittings?
Or, can you help me locate online the push to connect pex fittings I need? Just one that is the male hose thread and one that is the female hose thread.
If your water supply is coming thru a garden type hose you need to carefully select the hose you use it should be labeled “For Potable Use” most hoses are not.
Why do you feel you need a filter?
Most water filters are for things that will not harm you.
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-50ft-Premium-Drinking-Water/dp/B004RNR9QY
Walta
Thank you. I want a water filter to be assured I have the safest drinking water. I drink a gallon a day so I will pay for the peace of mind. PFA's are commonly found in drinking water now which is very important to filter out.
Typical water filters won’t really filter out chemical compounds that could hurt you. A full RO/DI setup is the best you can realistically get, and those have very low flow rates (gallons PER DAY), which limits them to drinking water supplies. Big commercial lab systems are available, but they’re EXPENSIVE and won’t leave much room for you in your house :-)
You need to replace that garden hose IMMEDIATELY. Many garden hoses have algicides in them to keep stuff from growing inside. You don’t want to drink water from those. You MUST use a hose rated for portable water (these are commonly available for RVs, and they tend to be white, but not always).
You can get threaded fittings for PEX and polyethylene pipe at any of the box stores, and it’s not expensive. You might have an easier time with polyethylene pipe since the barb fittings are more readily available for that in more variations. If you get polyethylene “sprinkler pipe”, make sure it’s NSF listed for potable water — most is, but not all. This pipe is commonly used with well pumps for peoples water wells so it’s easy to get, and 100 foot coils are usually around $20-30 or so.
Bill
Thanks bill. Would pex be any safer than a potable water hose?
Yes, I know I need to get rid of it. It's only 5 feet long, but still not good. I've actually has this hose there for 3 years. I do have a camco water filter into my house, so hopefully that removed most of whatever leached into that water from it. I also have a pur faucet filter ive been using.
I would say that PEX is generally safer than a flexible hose. The reason is that PEX is an UNmodified polymer, polyethylene (the “PE” part, the “X” means “cross linked”, meaning the polymer chains are joined together, basically) is one of these. MODIFIED polymers are usually things that are made flexible that otherwise wouldn’t be. PVC, for example, wants to be rigid like it is in PVC pipe. Flexible PVC used for things like hoses and extension cords contains plasticizers to make it flexible, and those are the things that tend to leach out over time.
If you use polyethylene and not vinyl you’ll have safer tubing. The tradeoff is less flexibility. There are some fancy laboratory tubing materials that don’t have this tradeoff, but they are in the several dollar per foot range so I wouldn’t consider them here.
A reverse osmosis system, properly maintained, is about the best filter you can get in terms of filtering out chemical compounds. These systems CAN filter out many chemical compounds. RO systems are even used to desalinate ocean water, because they are capable of filtering out the dissolved salt ions from the water. If you want the safest drinking water, one of these systems is your best bet. I like the systems made by APEC water systems. You can get a small system for around $200. Note that these systems will filter out most of the minerals that give the water taste, so be prepared for that. Note also that you should NOT use these systems to make non-potable water potable. To do that requires a more complex system.
Bill
What defines non potable in this situation? If I am worried about chemicals from a garden hose, wouldn't a .2 micron filter take care of that?
Most PEX isn't rated for long term UV exposure. If it's just going to be outside keep this consideration in mind.
What if I put a insulation foam sleeve over it?
As long as you prevent UV light (sunlight, basically) from reaching the PEX, you'll be fine. Insulation would work, black electrical tape (which can be found in 2" widths by the way), or even paint -- although paint won't stick very well so it won't be reliable.
You can also just use black polyethylene pipe ("sprinkler" pipe), just make sure it has the NSF rating for potable water use. Polyethylene pipe and PEX are very nearly the same material on a molecular level and have equivalent levels of safety in terms of what you're concerned with.
Bill
Thanks Bill. Does sprinkler pipe have more bend to it than pex?
Sprinkler pipe is pretty similar to PEX in terms of flexibility.
BTW, some people with RO systems use the waste water to water plants so that’s its not “wasted”. I have my system dumping the waste water into my sump pump. Ultimately it gets recycled back to my water well I suppose — nature is pretty good at recycling water :-)
Bill
That should work just fine, assuming it's taped up well at the seams and the ends. You can also buy it pre-insulated. A simple wrap of foil tape would also do the job.
Hey Andy, ya I'm going to put insulation over it :)
If you want a filter I say get RO or nothing. If your water pressure is under 60 I think you should get one with a permeate pump this saves a lot of waste water. Understand an RO system will waste 30-70% of the water.
Something like this $250 system is what I use.
Size wise not tiny house friendly .
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-STAGE-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-ALKALINE-WATER-FILTER-SYSTEM-PERMEATE-PUMP-100GPD-USA/274600999553?hash=item3fef7eba81:g:TsYAAOSwfTlcgM60
Walta
Where does the wasted water go for under sink set ups? Do you know of any outdoor setup I can get?
Ideally I would like my kitchen faucet water to be filtered with high pressure, so I can wash my dishes/veggies off with clean water as well.
No, you will not get enough pressure or volume to wash dishes and why would you need or want water that clean to do dishes.
This is for drinking water and maybe a little cooking.
The tank holds maybe 2 gallons and take a few hours to refill.
There is a lot of waste water at least 33% it goes down the drain in most installs.
This water is almost laboratory pure.
Walta
Gotcha. Any why? Because I like to have the purest water possible even on my dishes and veggies. I am a bit of a health nut, as you may have been able to tell.
So would something like this be my best bet for whole water filtration without affecting the pressure too much? https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Sediment-Bacteria-Chlorine-40631/dp/B00523AMBC/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=rv+water+filter&qid=1607623985&sr=8-9
You might be able to save some money with Pentek filters. All that RV filter is is a 5 micron particulate filter and an activated carbon filter (which is what does most of the work, the particulate filter just keeps it from clogging with solid debris). You can use the smaller “10 inch” size pentek housings and cartridges, just daisy chain two housings together with a particulate filter (you can get 1 micron cartridges too), then an activated carbon filter after that. Initial cost might be a little higher, but you’ll probably come out ahead after filter cartridge replacements come into play. I use 3-4 of the 20” particulate cartridges and one activated carbon cartridge per year, and I’m on a well. If you’re using city water, you should get lots more life out of the filter cartridges since the water should have less stuff in it to start with.
Bill
I actually found one that filters done to .2 microns! Going to give it shot
The tradeoff with filters with lower micron sizes is that they tend to clog faster, and sometimes also have a large room pressure drop across them (which means lower water pressure at downstream fixtures). If you’re starting with really clean water that makes it less of an issue though. In my own system, I use the pentek “2501” particulate cartridges, which are 25 micron at the outside gradually becoming 1 micron on the inside. This means particulates tend to get stuck in various places within the filter (smaller particulates get trapped closer to the center of the filter), and not just on the outer surface of the cartridge. This helps to make the filter cartridge last longer.
Bill
Yea the setup has a 5 micron filter before the .2 micron one. And before all that, I'll be using a 20 micron camco filter. Hopefully doesn't lower the pressure too much!