# Whole home water filtration systems



## khayden10 (Apr 24, 2017)

Looking into buying a whole home water filtration systems and I am confused on witch one to get? We built a new house 3 years ago, I am on city water with 5 bathrooms. Any advice on witch brand to go with?


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## N LA Hacker (Aug 17, 2018)

I built my own using 3 big blue filter canisters. Whole set up was about $400 including filters and fittings.


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

We have 7 bathrooms in our home so we had to look for something big ourselves.

Decided on something that is pretty expensive but has been working great. We have a Rainsoft filter/softener.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@khayden10 what are you trying to filter out?


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## khayden10 (Apr 24, 2017)

@N LA Hacker, @fp_911 One thing I'm concerned about is loosing water pressure. Have you lost any pressure do to the filtration system? I took the "eco friendly" screens out of the shower heads and its made a Huge night and day difference so I don't want to lose that pressure.

@g-man Nothing specific I want to try and elemiate the hard water we have. My inlaws have it at their house and my wife says it makes her skin, and hair softer but I will admit it does. I also noticed their shower doors/heads do not have scum/build up on them.


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## Ylli (Sep 24, 2018)

To eliminate hard water, you really need a water softer - a filtration system will not do it.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

We got a sales pitch on one of those whole house filter systems when we built our house. It was nice, but expensive.

My suggestion is: 
1) Iron filter if you need it
2) Softener
3) Reverse osmosis under the kitchen sink
4) Chlorine filters at point of use, like at a shower head. Avoid the whole house chlorine filters because you want chlorine in your house pipes.

We have items 2 and 3. Wife loves the feel of her hair, dishes are spotless, and no buildup on pipes and appliances so they'll last longer. For less than $1,000 I think it's a great investment in your home and life.

ETA: Get a TDS meter and a Hach total hardness kit. I did and love them. Our water isn't very hard here in the Metroplex, but in some areas, it's hard enough to cause problems.


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## N LA Hacker (Aug 17, 2018)

khayden10 said:


> @N LA Hacker, @fp_911 One thing I'm concerned about is loosing water pressure. Have you lost any pressure do to the filtration system? I took the "eco friendly" screens out of the shower heads and its made a Huge night and day difference so I don't want to lose that pressure.
> 
> @g-man Nothing specific I want to try and elemiate the hard water we have. My inlaws have it at their house and my wife says it makes her skin, and hair softer but I will admit it does. I also noticed their shower doors/heads do not have scum/build up on them.


I can't honestly answer that. I installed the filters during construction of the house.


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## chrismar (May 25, 2017)

I've got well water, which comes with ~20 gpg hard water for free! Oh, and I've also got 6 bathrooms.

Right after the pressure tank from the well I have a 20-inch "big blue" filter with a 2 stage synthetic filter. I change the filter every six months or so. Immediately after the filter I have a 2.5 cubic foot, 65K grain softener.

I have pressure gauges before and after the 20" filter. When the filter is new it does show a few PSI (5-10) drop. I also have a variable speed well pump and controller. I currently have my controller set to 70 psi, which is enough for 2-3 people to be taking showers concurrently.

Been living with this setup for just about 4 years now. No hard water stains on any of my fixtures or shower walls. The water tastes and smells fantastic!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Do you send water samples to be tested at any frequency?


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

khayden10 said:


> N LA Hacker, fp_911 One thing I'm concerned about is loosing water pressure. Have you lost any pressure do to the filtration system? I took the "eco friendly" screens out of the shower heads and its made a Huge night and day difference so I don't want to lose that pressure.
> 
> g-man Nothing specific I want to try and elemiate the hard water we have. My inlaws have it at their house and my wife says it makes her skin, and hair softer but I will admit it does. I also noticed their shower doors/heads do not have scum/build up on them.


The water pressure was affected unfortunately. But by coincidence the city decided to install a pump house about a mile down the road and now we don't have any issues. But if we were running more than one shower at a time it did become very noticeable.

With the increased pressure from the source now though we don't have any issues. But if this is a primary concern then you're going to need something to increase your pressure somehow. Good luck!


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

khayden10 said:


> Looking into buying a whole home water filtration systems and I am confused on witch one to get? We built a new house 3 years ago, I am on city water with 5 bathrooms. Any advice on witch brand to go with?


Hi, khayden10 - after I entered our zip code into The Environmental Working Group's National Water Quality database we got a real eye opener! https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/

Water "hardness / softness" was / is not an issue for us (but, we have seen some minor improvements there, even though we were aiming for chemical filtration ...)

We went with a *Pelican High-Flow & Estate Home Whole House Water Filter* (IIRC the PC 1862, 3rd one over from the left in picture here: https://www.pelicanwater.com/water-filters/high-flow-whole-house-water-filters/

We determined which one we needed by going to each faucet, toilet and outside hose bib and using a stopwatch on our phone to determine how long it took each faucet to fill a gallon ... then we figured a "worst case scenario" (ie. Washing machine going while a guest upstairs showering while another flushes a toilet all at same time I am outside running garden hose! :shock: :lol:

NOW, WHAT I DID EXTRA WAS TO ALSO PURCHASE AND INSTALL A SEDIMENT FILTER AHEAD KF THE BIG, CHARCOAL FILLED FILTER TANK!

We assumed responsibility for positioning the tank where we wanted it and DID OUR OWN PRIMING (48-hour fill tank and pre-soak charcoal) and subsequent "first time (one time only) flushing" and then had plumbers come in and install the incoming and outgoing lines AND GUAGES (I had a gauge installed in between where the main line water comes into house and BEFORE the first filter (pre-sediment) and a second gauge installed after the second (charcoal holding). Info on all those logistics on pages 7 & 8 here: https://www.pelicanwater.com/pdf/Custom_Premium_1865_2162.pdf

(Neighbors counted on their plumbers to do the pre-soak and flush and boy oh boy did those mental idgets gum all that up (in hindsight, it makes sense, I don't know too many plumbers who're gonna arrive to do an installation and then take time to read an owners manual and say, "Oh gee, we need to fill this tank with the charcoal AND THEN with water and COME BACK IN TWO DAYS to flush the tank out for an hour or two ...!" Anyway, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, etc so, there ya go.

I just happened to have snapped a photo of the system yesterday as I am trying to figure out how I want to drain a couple water lines in the house and shut the main supply off when we are spending winters in FL ...:


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