Installing a whole house water filter by myself? (not a pro)

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BellaCassels

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Is this feasible for an amateur? I run a website that advises people on water filters for their homes, and I was wondering about doing a promotion where I install a whole house water filter by myself and post about it. Is this a good idea or am I going to fail spectacularly? LOL. Thanks for any advice.
 
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Sylvan

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Why would any sane person want to filter the water used for lawn sprinkler or flushing down a toilet?

OK you place a filter on the house main and then realize you have other heavy metals that the piping is adding to the potable supply such as lead joints in copper tubing or zinc from yellow brass piping

Point of use filtration is great as you can cherry pick what you want to remove from the water supply, sediment, chlorine, copper, mercury, floride, chlorine, microscopic protozoa ?
 

WorthFlorida

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Whole house filters come in many sizes and if you're on a city water supply, filtration is rarely needed. You have to look into the type of filter, sediment or a carbon filter. Those counter top filters as shown on your web site are all carbon. They absorb chemicals such as chlorine in the water, therefore, it seems to improve the taste. But a whole house carbon filter, water softener tank size, are very costly and not a DIYer for the most part. But the bigger problem is they remove the chlorine, a disinfectant, and water laying in the house pipes perhaps for days may lead to stagnate water or algae to grow.

The most common whole house filter to add is a sediment filter. They can be installed by the DIYer and it is something you can do but if you never did it before, hire a plumber to show you how to do it and as an advisor. The one problem with this type is the size of filter. The filter cartridge is good for only a few thousand gallons. Two people living in a home will use two to three thousand gallons a month (my own water usage). A family would be well over five thousand gallons. At a minimum, the filter would need to be changed every month, $10-$20 a pop. Here is exactly what you want to accomplish.

Good luck.
 

hj

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EVERYBODY wants to be a plumber and show how EASY it is, and how THEY can do anything as long as they have a pair of pliers and a bunch of fittings.
 

CountryBumkin

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The one problem with this type is the size of filter. The filter cartridge is good for only a few thousand gallons. Two people living in a home will use two to three thousand gallons a month (my own water usage). A family would be well over five thousand gallons. At a minimum, the filter would need to be changed every month, $10-$20 a pop.

I have the same whole house filter (or similar) to what is being installed in the video. Mine is a Whirpool https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-10-in-Whole-House-Complete-Filtration-System/50412472 and the filter is good for 6 months. I don't know now how many gallons a month we use but so far there have been no issues going 6-months between changes. Also, I'm on a well so I see a lot of sediment in the filter.
And the replacement element is around $32 (so $64 a year).
 

WorthFlorida

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EVERYBODY wants to be a plumber and show how EASY it is, and how THEY can do anything as long as they have a pair of pliers and a bunch of fittings.

You forgot the duct tape and drywall screws.
 

Smooky

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Is this feasible for an amateur? I run a website that advises people on water filters for their homes, and I'm thinking about doing a promotion where I install a whole house water filter by myself and post about it. Is this a good idea or am I going to fail spectacularly? LOL. Thanks for any advice. (I would be installing the iForce mentioned in this article on the homepage - http://justaddcleanwater.com )

I never saw anything called an iForce in the link you provided. I would not install a water filter unless I needed it for some reason. What problem are you having with the water? First thing I would do is to take a water sample to determine if there are any issues. Water samples can get expensive depending on what you choose to test for. Most people would choose to test for bacteria and inorganic chemicals at a minimum. What I would install would depend on the results of the water sample. It could be simple or complicated and then you could decide if it is something that you want to tackle.
 

Matt Peiris

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I agree with Smooky. If you are on municipal water in US, your water is already purified to meet EPA primary standards.
Well or surface water consumers will need to get a water analysis first. Depending on the results, you may or may not need a filter.

Here are some common water issues and types of filters to use.
  1. Taste and odor issues - Activated carbon and/or KDF-85 filters
  2. Chlorine - Activated carbon
  3. Chloramine - 0.5 micron carbon block or catalytic carbon filters
  4. Arsenic, fluoride, chromium, lead, mercury, copper - Reverse Osmosis
  5. TDS -Reverse osmosis
  6. Bacteria - Reverse osmosis and UV/Ozone/Chlorine injection
  7. Organic & inorganic chemicals - Activated carbon
  8. Acidic water - Calcite filters
Undersink and faucet mount filters are fairly easy to install. It gets complicated when tapping in to your water lines to install a whole house filter.
 
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