Whole House Water Filter System

9 years ago

Hello Everyone,

I am looking into installing a whole house water filter system. We have the following problems:-

1. Scale build up in bathrooms.
2. Chlorinated water.
3. Fishy smell in water that is left standing [with or without a point of use water filter in place].
4. Skin/hair dryness/flatness.

We have yet to get our water tested. What would be the best place to do that? I have heard Sears does that for free?

Should we get a water softener installed?

After reading through other forum posts, it looks like the recommendation heavily favor a Kinetico system with a softener, a R/O filter, a pre-filter with GAC and a pre-filter for chlorine and bypass exterior outlets?

Is that correct?

We also have a tankless water heater with a flow rate of 7Gpm installed. Will whole house water systems have sufficient capacity to maintain that?

Thanks,

Vijai.

Comments (4)

priyavijai
Original Author
9 years ago
I failed to mention, we live in the Sammamish, WA area (98074 zip). Our water comes from the City of Sammamish whose WQA is here:

http://spwsd.org/waterqualityreports.asp
User
9 years ago
If your intention is to treat the water in your home today I recommend you get your water tested by a certified independent lab. A certified independent lab will provide you accurate results, not a range, of the water conditions in your home TODAY, not a year ago.

at minimum test for...
iron (ferrous and/or ferric)
manganese
chlorine
pH
sodium
TDS
hardness
arsenic

With those test results and the following information we can speak intelligently regarding the water treatment you need and the treatment you want.

We need to know...
1. diameter of the plumbing at the softener installation location.

2. # of people in the home

3. # of bathrooms in the home

4. SFR of the plumbing. If you don't know how I can give you instructions.
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priyavijai
Original Author
9 years ago
Will do. A quick in home test showed primarily medium hard water with traces of manganese. However, no details.

As for the other stuff:-

1. Plumbing at softener installation is 1". Rest of house/appliances is 3/4".
2. 2 permanent adults; 2 adults visit on and off. 1 child.
3. 2x 3/4 baths (no bathtub); 1x 0.25 bath (a powder room basically).
4. Energy efficient appliances (fridge, dishwasher, washer, tankless water heater).
5. Tankless water heater has a flow rate of 6gpm.

I looked up the definition of SFR. Assuming that, I am guessing about 42 gpm? Here is how:-

3x Toilets @ 5.0gpm = 15.00gpm
2x Showers @ 5gpm = 10.00gpm
Dishwasher @ 3gpm = 3gpm
Washing machine @ 5gpm = 5gpm
3x Faucets @ 3gpm = 9gpm.

Total = 42gpm.

Does that sound right?
User
9 years ago
Calculating Your Service Flow Rate... you will need a watch with a second hand and a 1 or 5 gallon container to measure your flow rate with the instructions below.

1. Using the bathtub as the measuring point, open BOTH the hot and cold water faucets completely open. If your tub has a single faucet then find a hose bib near the water service entrance to the home.

2. Place either a 1 or 5 gallon container under the faucet and measure the amount of time it takes to fill the container in seconds.