Undersink water filter recommendation

[g]

I'm thinking about an undersink water filter and have a few questions:

1) are they worth it? 2) do they work? 3) any recommondations or advice on what to avoid?

thanks in advance

g

[SJF]

If you have a problem, like bad tasting water, they can help. Use a charcoal cartridge.

If you haven't identified a problem, what will you gain. You're on a municipal water system aren't you. They're generally safe, healthwise. SJF

[limeylew]

I'm thinking about an undersink water filter and have a few questions:

1) are they worth it? 2) do they work? 3) any recommondations or advice on what to avoid?

[Abe]

----------------- Most definitely worth it for the clean taste and peace of mind.

I stand by the omni-filter 2 cartridge filter under my kitchen sink. The output from the filters goes to a tee that feeds the fridge's ice maker and a sink mounted filtered water spout. I change the filters every 6 months (I just mark my calendar). It's a great setup. However, if I were to do it again, I would have gone with a whole house dual filter system to protect the entire water run in my house.

The model I have is the OT32 Series A:

The filter combination I use is GAC1 for the first filter, then CB3 for the second filter:

I order the filters in six packs from either FilterPros.com or Omni-filters.com depending on who has the best overall deal at the time. By ordering 6 packs, I have 3 years worth of filters on hand, and save a bunch of money over buying them at Lowes or Home Depot: Hope that helps.

[Bob Bowles]

Your comment about 'playing inside the sink cabinet' reminded me of the following post;

Subject: If I needed a reason *NOT* to get a cat, other than my allergies, and not being at all fond of them, this would be it:

We've all had trouble with our animals, but I don't think anyone can top this one.

Calling in sick to work makes me uncomfortable. No matter how legitimate my excuse, I always get the feeling that my boss thinks I'm lying.

On one recent occasion, I had a valid reason but lied anyway, because the truth was just too darned humiliating. I simply mentioned that I had sustained a head injury, and I hoped I would feel up to coming in the next day. By then, I reasoned, I could think up a doozey to explain the bandage on the top of my head.

The accident occurred mainly because I had given in to my wife's wishes to adopt a cute little kitty. Initially, the new acquisition was no problem.

Then one morning, I was taking my shower after breakfast when I heard my wife, Deb, call out to me from the kitchen. "Honey! The garbage disposal is dead again. Please come reset it."

"You know where the button is," I protested through the shower pitter- patter and steam. "Reset it yourself!"

"But I'm scared!" she persisted. "What if it starts going and sucks me in?"

There was a meaningful pause and then, "C'mon, it'll only take you a second."

So out I came, dripping wet and buck naked, hoping that my silent outraged nudity would make a statement about how I perceived her behaviour as extremely cowardly. Sighing loudly, I squatted down and stuck my head under the sink to find the button. It is the last action I remember performing.

It struck without warning, and without any respect to my circumstances. No, it wasn't the hexed disposal, drawing me into its gnashing metal teeth. It was our new kitty, who discovered the fascinating dangling objects she spied hanging between my legs. She had been poised around the corner and stalked me as I reached under the sink. And, at the precise moment when I was most vulnerable, she leapt at the toys I unwittingly offered and snagged them with her needle-like claws.

I lost all rational thought to control orderly bodily movements, blindly rising at a violent rate of speed, with the full weight of a kitten hanging from my masculine region. Wild animals are sometimes faced with a "fight or flight" syndrome. Men, in this predicament, choose only the "flight" option. I know this from experience. I was fleeing straight up into the air when the sink and cabinet bluntly and forcefully impeded my ascent. The impact knocked me out cold.

When I awoke, my wife and the paramedics stood over me. Now there are not many things in this life worse than finding oneself lying on the kitchen floor buck naked in front of a group of "been-there, done-that" paramedics. Even worse, having been fully briefed by my wife, the paramedics were all snorting loudly as they tried to conduct their work, all the while trying to suppress their hysterical laughter--and not succeeding.

Somehow I lived through it all. A few days later I finally made it back in to the office, where colleagues tried to coax an explanation out of me about my head injury. I kept silent, claiming it was too painful to talk about, which it was.

"What's the matter;" they all asked, "Cat got your tongue?"

[Buck Turgidson]

I have the same filter and it is one of the best things I've ever purchased. You can see a difference in boiled filter water vs boiled tap water. The tap water has a milky look to it when it boils, while the filtered water is crystal clear. You don't notice it until you have a filter, then you'll notice it the first time you boil water and it seems "different".

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes

Yes, very well. I would not be without it due to the tase of our town water.

I have an Insta Pure and use the IR-10 cartridge. In my case I was able to mount the filter in the basement below the sink. I find it easier that playing inside the sink cabinet. If we did not have a filter we would be buying bottled water to drink.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Noted. Does anybody have any direct experience with beach water? We've been using bottled water for making coffee and that crappy tap water for everything else, including the icemaker. It's not the best to be sure. I'd love to stop buying 5 gallon jugs of bottled water if I could get that funny taste out of the tap water. The ice cubes ruin the taste of drinks as far as I'm concerned.

To the smart asses out there: "beach water" does not refer to ocean water; it's the water supplied at the tap in a coastal community.

[Paul]

Last summer they were repairing the mains on our street and connected us all to a temporary main via rubber hoses during the repair work. The water tasted terrible (like drinking out of a garden hose that sits in the sun all day)

I didn't have time to do a lot of research, so I went to Home Depot and grabbed the mid-priced GE dual-filter undercounter setup (under $100 IIRC). Very happy with it, it took care of the taste/odor problem completely.

FWIW, I wouldn't necessarily have 100% faith in the municipal water supplies anymore - seems to me there are more stories in the news lately about big screwups in the distribution systems that cause temporary boil orders, etc.

-- Paul

[Matt]

He's right. The forward osmosis units are complete crap.

[Duffaukid]

The reverse osmosis units are the only ones I would consider.

dk

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Charcoal filters remove the bad taste. RO removes more of the minerals leaving the water flat. May be good for some areas, but for most, in it not the best solution.

[creavolution]

They remove chlorine and chlorine byproducts, lead, toxic heavy metals, and many synthetic chemicals, and they improve the taste of water.

Mine does!

Avoid anything that's super expensive. You can get a quality undersink filter for just over $100. Aquasana is one of the most trusted brands. You can get a coupon code for Aquasana filters at

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[Tony Hwang]

> I'm thinking about an undersink water filter and have a few questions:

I installed one myself ~5 years ago. It has 3 prefilters and RO 1 after f filter and UV sterilizer. Water becomes 99% pure. It does work. You can taste the difference, coffee, tea, etc.