We had Ecowater installed by the previous owners. I would not recommend. They use proprietary filters and it was constantly flashing to tell us that we needed to replace them. Whatever sensor they use does not really monitor how much water passes through it. We replaced it, I'm not sure of the brand.

What are you trying to filter out?

I have a Hydroviv under my coffee bar sink, connected to the cold water only. We've lived here just under 5 months and changed the filter for the first time recently - it was easy to change. Hydroviv doesn't come with its own faucet like some under counter filters do; you can use your choice of faucet. I drink a lot of water and I'm happy with it, but to be honest I haven't tested the filtered water.

Thanks to you all. I am trying to filter out chlorine, floride, any forever chemicals that might be in our water. The nitrates do go up seasonally in the spring, if memory serves me right. I'd also like to have the filters that replace some minerals to improve the filtered water taste. Currently we use the Britta pitcher filter system for coffee and drinking, along with bottled water. We have been using the bottled water for 6 months on insistance from my DH. But I am apposed to the plastic waste with this plan so I want to be looking at other setups.

We have the A O Smith Claryum two stage filter. It definitely removes chlorine, and we have been happy with it.

For nitrates, you will need to either go the distillation, reverse osmosis (RO), or ion exchange unit route. Britta, carbon, etc., will not filter out nitrates & nitrites.

ETA: Looking at Ecowater's site, it looks like they offer RO. I don't know about the other two.

@Jake The Wonderdog - I am about to research this same issue - thanks for adding your post. Very helpful!

Thanks Jake. I looked at the water stats from our municiple treatment plant and really don't see any problems with the water. Are you saying that if I just continue to use the Britta, I will remove the chlorine and the PFAS chemicals? I'm good with the Britta or equivalant. I get what you are saying about the "rabbit hole". Fortunately for me, I can only stay down in that warren for a few days, then I need to get the heck out.

Buehl, nice to see you! Thanks for the help. I think i am getting over the water issue.

I have attached the water values for my municipality from 2020. I suspect they havent changed, as the watershed hasn't changed which is mainly large monoculture agriculture.

The previous owners of our house had installed all the filters. The under sink filters were the worst pain to replace, so I did away with them to see if the water was any worse/better. It was the same with and without the filter. I should mention that all I cared about was the taste. San Antonio has pretty good water but lots of calcium and magnesium. They also had an old Culligan water softener. I could definitely tell the difference in taste and, of course, hardness, when the salt ran out on the Culligan. The Culligan was getting nasty so I replaced it with a Fleck as described elsewhere in this Plumbing forum. The softener cost about $550 at the time, and I installed it myself. Our water needs no further filtering, so I guess I'm suggesting that if your house is plumbed for a softener and you don't have one, get a softener FIRST before getting any other filters.

So you have the basics already, you’re either going to use a filter, or you're going to use an R/O system, which also uses filters plus an R/O membrane and tank. This leaves installation and maintenance to consider.

I was looking at Hydroviv as well - it removes toxins and PFOAs, and whatever your regional water supply data indicates as problematic, fits under the sink cabinet, doesn’t alter your plumbing permanently, and it filters the (cold) water before it reaches your existing faucet. Maintenance is filter replacement (average is every 6 months), checking the cartridge O rings and replacing if necessary, and occasionally cleaning the cartridge housing with a damp cloth.

Just like not all filters remove lead, not all R/O systems remove toxins. You have to also know the rating if you want it to remove lead and chromium 6. R/O systems require professional installation (your plumbing will change, as will possibly your counter), use filters and membranes, and feed a dedicated drinking faucet from a reservoir/tank. They require filter changes every 6-12 months, a membrane change every 12 months, and a regular sanitization of the reservoir/tank every year, usually when you swap out the membrane. You have to be diligent about this or you can ruin your R/O system without knowing it.

A filter system will likely be less expensive to install, own, and operate. I don’t like not knowing when filters ought to be changed (e.g., for a family of 4 vs. someone living alone) but I like the fact that with a filter when you do change it you are golden, whereas with an R/O system if you wait too long to change your prefilter, you’re drinking tap water again without knowing it.

@enduring

How it works is that EPA requires a water company to test, report and mitigate down to a certain level, a list of pollutants. (Primary Drinking water regulations)

It's not every possible thing that could be in the water, but it's a pretty good check list. Of course there will be people who may think the list isn't comprehensive enough.

There's also a list of non-health related regulations that don't have to be met (secondary regulations) and a list of contaminants that are on a "watch list" orContaminate Candidate List or CCL. I'm oversimplifying - but you get the idea. It's the process of how contaminates become regulated in drinking water.

A good quality carbon filter will remove taste, odor, chlorine, PFAS and many other things like many VOC's and pharmaceuticals. They are the right answer for someone who has municipal water but wants it to taste and smell better - and wants general assurance that they cleaning up much of the other stuff.

if your water provider uses chloramine instead of chlorine for disinfectant, you need a carbon filter that is catalytic carbon to remove that. Yours uses chlorine though.

There are specific things that a carbon filter will will not remove - lead, nitrates and some others - but unless you have an issue with lead pipes in your home, those aren't going to be an issue for most people with municipal water. However, If you have an older home, particularly if you have children, have your water tested for lead.

This all assumes that your municipal water company is adhering to EPA regulations. There are situations where they don't - specifically where a utility is severely distressed. We saw it in Detroit, in some minority counties in Mississippi and I've seen in some tiny rural utilities that couldn't get nitrates under the limit.

So, yes a Brita pitcher will do most of what you want it to do. So will any one of a million under-sink carbon filters. These don't need to be expensive or complicated. You do have to change the filters regularly.

I use a standard filter holder and then I can install any one of dozens of carbon filters from various suppliers. But you can also use a specific brand if you wish. As I often say - this is commodity technology, there's no "special sauce" here.

Last night I went and bought the under sink Hydroviv filter, as I had been on their mailing list for several days and they sent more discounts over the days. So I went with that system. I bought one for under the kitchen sink. I can always install something else later if I want to go with an RO system. I didn't break the bank. I had considered buying one for the bathroom near our bedrooms, but there isn't much room under the sink so I skipped that. I

I'm glad I added our water test table above for you all to see.

Our main line system from the water plant, to our house is only about 20 years old. We live in a rural area. Our house plumbing has always been copper and newly plumbed again with copper 10 years ago.

DH is disapointed the system I bought doesn't take out floride. He's more of a hard liner than me and I get what Jake says above:

• "Don't go don't the rabbit hole of "absolutely pure water" - because NOTHING else that you are going to eat, drink, inhale or touch is chemical free. Simply getting into a car is far more hazardous than your unfiltered municipal water - let alone driving your car anywhere."

I appreciate everyones input. Thats what I have always loved about GW/Houzz; such a supportive community.

Good, I think you will be happy with that system.

About the rabbit hole of pure water: Presumably none of us are a large team of epidemiologists, chemists, biologists, medical doctors, with access to large data sets, peer review, etc. that we would need to really weigh the risk / cost / benefit of various chemicals. And you CERTAINLY won't find that on a website selling water treatment. Those people exist in universities, the EPA, Health Departments, etc.

People are very bad about weighing relative risk: I once had a co-worker who was going on about residual chemicals on the apple I was about to eat. Of course I had washed the apple off, and I do recognize that we want to minimize exposure to that - but this co-worker was a smoker.

Her smoking was hundreds of times worse for her than whatever was left on that apple.

Same with the automobile example: That "new car smell" is off-gassing from dozens of chemicals from the plastics, foam, paint, fabrics, sealants, coatings etc. The interior of a new car is a "huffing bag" with a stereo and comfy seats. Actually driving someplace is statistically very dangerous. And lord help us on a motorcycle.

We tend to downplay the risks where we think we have control, such as driving. We also downplay risks based on their reward. We accept the risk of driving because it gets us to work and the grocery store. We elevate risks we don't understand - such as chemical residue.

There are very boring things that we can do to dramatically improve our health and live a long active life: Stop smoking, lose weight, be more active, improve our diets, dramatically reduce alcohol use, and get guns out of your home - particularly if you have children, young adults or middle age or older men in the home. Fluoride in the water is not on the list anywhere... but that, and things like it, is what distracts our attention from the real risks.

Jake, very well said (last paragraph) about the things we can control in our lives that improve our health and wellbeing.