Low-waste water filtration?

[donaly]

Hi all. My tap water is kinda funky (it's city water, so it's mostly chlorine mixed with the flavor of old pipes), and I would like to filter it. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a low-waste filtration option. I have used Brita filters in the past and they work well, but I always felt a pang of guilt whenever I had to replace the filter. There's a lot of hullabaloo about the wastefulness of plastic bottles, but where's the uproar about the plastics in at-home filters? Any guidance would be appreciated.

[Barry]

I prefer under-counter Reverse Osmosis systems. Mine is made by The Water Factory. The water tastes great and you only need to swap out the cartridges once a year (or longer if you want to stretch it). Some people are concerned that you are not getting enough minerals if you drink RO water, but I feel like I'm still consuming plenty of non-RO water one way or another throughout the day to not be concerned.

My dealer is Randy Weimer (707) 468-5469 - A good guy who has been at this for many many years. A good system costs someplace in the neighborhood of $400.

Hi all. My tap water is kinda funky (it's city water, so it's mostly chlorine mixed with the flavor of old pipes), and I would like to filter it. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a low-waste filtration option. I have used Brita filters in the past and they work well, but I always felt a pang of guilt whenever I had to replace the filter. There's a lot of hullabaloo about the wastefulness of plastic bottles, but where's the uproar about the plastics in at-home filters? Any guidance would be appreciated.

[JenniferP]

The Britta water filters can be recycled. The company Preserve that makes toothbrushes from recycled plastic will accept them as part of their gimme 5 recycling project. The filters are made of #5 plastic and when you send them in they give you money towards purchasing their products. According to the website, they can also be recycled at the Whole foods in Santa Rosa (it does not specify which one) at one of the Preserve recycling bins. Here is a link to the information... https://www.preserveproducts.com/rec...tafilters.html

[stuartdole]

I prefer under-counter Reverse Osmosis systems.

I installed an under-counter four-stage Watts reverse osmosis system I got from Amazon - I did the plumbing myself (not hard) and installed the special faucet in the sink (very hard - wrecked a hole-punch trying to cut through the stainless). Waste? Yes - it dumps about five gallons of water for every gallon you take out of the faucet (the waste is just plumbed to the drain). My longer-term plan is to pipe the waste line into the garden (with proper air gaps) and have a "wet area" in the garden.

It goes through two or three cartridges every six months (a sediment filter and a carbon post-polish), plus the reverse osmosis membrane every couple of years. Even so, it's cheaper than filling the three gallon jugs at the store, but the payback is about two years. And it's a lot easier than lugging the jugs!

I also need to sterilize the pressure tank every year (or it starts to taste funky) - a few drops of hydrogen peroxide seems to do the trick.

The water is fabulous - delicious, and makes great tea and coffee. So, yes it's wasteful (in a sense), but we think it's worth it.