I have an Everpure H-104 filter feeding a drinking water faucet in a bathroom. Periodically we will get some green growth coming out the faucet. A Q-tip confirms it is growing inside the faucet. I disconnected the feed tube and put a few drops of chlorine bleach in it, but a month or two later it's back.
Why would it choose to grow in there? Any ideas for a cure?
TIA
Ed
It is possible that the filter needs cleaning and replacement. Don't wait until it's black rather than green.
It's been in about 2 years. I thought these were supposed to last longer than that. The H-104 is just a cartridge, not a storage tank. Never heard of cleaning a cartridge. But, I'll check it out with EverPure.
Thanks.
That filter has a replacable cartridge, and yours is no doubt WELL past time for replacement. When these types of filters get old, they actually become worse than having no filter, as they become incubators for bacteria.
" When these types of filters get old, they actually become worse than having no filter, as they become incubators for bacteria. "
That reminds me, certain type of reverse-osmosis filters are to be used on chlorinated supplies, for just this reason.
Dave
I would guess that you are far beyond the recommended replacement time. The specs say 1,000 gallons. That is not that much. I would say that even if you are not at 1,000 gallons two years is too long. Six months would be the limit for me.
Consumer reports, some years ago, did some test and found that the estimated replacement for most filters was greatly over estimated. Run to the limit they often ended up with greater contamination figures than the incoming water.
My guess would be that all the garbage filtered out of your water sits in the filter and grows....which is why I bugged hubby until he threw out the filter he put on our kitchen faucet. I don't know how small stuff has to be to get through a filter, but logic tells me that they trap bacteria, an occasional fish scale, a tiny bug or two, and eventually are soupy enough to multiply. Yuck! (Let me know if you would like to hear about roaches, cat boxes and kitchen cupboards :o)
oooo. My suggestion is to replace it without looking at it. If you see it you will be disgusted at what you have been drinking :o
But on the bright side, it shows that we humans can ingest a great number of things without becoming ill.
I seriously doubt all that stuff is there in the first place. And if it is, surely it's better to filter it out rather than ingest it on a daily basis.
That said, it is true that RO filter systems (which we have in the kitchen but not the bathroom) remove the chlorine, and that will allow any bacteria that happen to survive both the water district treatment and the RO process to grow in the storage tank that this type of system always has. That is why you are supposed to drain the RO tank after return from a trip of a week or more, and periodically put a few drops of chlorine bleach in the tank. I've never heard of this requirement for a non-RO (i.e., non-storage) system.
My theory is our algae is growing in the spout only, after it makes the U-bend down towards the sink. The water trapped in there when the faucet turns off gets oxygen from the air, allowing any fungus spores that may be in the bathroom to grow. In other words, it's no different from that which tends to grow around the grout lines in the shower.
I have sent e-mail To EverPure on the matter and will report back here when they reply.
Ed
Here is what EverPure tech support has to say:
"The cause of the algae is first, the chlorine is removed from the water and the oxygen getting to the tip of the faucet. I would suggest replacing the cartridge and the sanitization of the line and faucet. "
I then asked for clarification because I did not know that the H-104 removed the chlorine. The reply:
"The H-104 does remove 96% of the chlorine, see attached document. You are correct to sanitize the tubing and faucet, put in the chlorine and fill the line and faucet, let set for at least 15 minutes a hour would be better, then flush.
Thank you for using Everpure products.
Regards,
Everpure Technical Services
1-800-942-1153Ed
In the name of fear, people put all this junk in their plumbing and drink bottled water that they waste money on, not to mention pollute our environment with billions of plastic bottles and disposible filters and in the end they get worse water. Bottled water has been proven to have more bacteria than tap water, and you just proved the same for your filter. Drink it straight from the tap, or dont drink it at all, and get another source of water.
Mark
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