City water into my house

[Walter Cohen]

I live in NY and have always had a whole house water filter on the incoming city water line to my house. I use the GE Smartwater FXUSC sediment filters which work really well for me. GE states that under normal circumstances they should filter 16,000 gallons and last about 3 months. They are rated at removing particulate down to 15 microns.

I've found that they last me about 2 months at most (I have 4 people in my house, 2 adults and two kids) before they look too disgusting to tolerate and I replace them. Lately I've found they last about 4 - 5 weeks at best before I need to replace them. If I do not filter the water then at times the water has an odd smell to it and my white clothes washing sometimes is not as effective as I'd prefer. So something seems to be getting worse. Perhaps it might be a seasonal/summer issue but I don't know.

I want to try and get to the bottom of what is really coming into my house and why it is always so dirty. I don't think I should need to replace filters every month.

Should I start with my local water district office or perhaps the DPW of my town? I'm wondering if they'll even do anything as they may tell me that no other residents have complained. I'm wondering if I should have my water tested and even send one of my gross water filters to a testing lab (again I'd like to get the town to pay for testing but they probably won't).

Thanks for your responses.

Walter

[RBM]

I certainly don't know the nuts and bolts of municipal water systems, but a few years ago I did a job for the NYC water system. I was working in one of the shaft buildings which is just a building built over an open Pipe albeit a twenty foot diameter pipe and it was explained to me that the water comes from several sources which are constantly monitored for a number of things including turbidity. The shaft I was in was the last junction before the city so they checked here after actually mixing water from the different systems to keep it as clean as possible, but clearly the condition of the water was constantly changing. I would however assume that before it goes to a building for use, it would be filtered to some particular standard.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The town is required to test and to give you the results of the test. Problem is, the testing water is taken near the pumping station, not your house.

In my town, the water is great at the station, but then it travels through

100 year old pipes before getting to my street. It picks up stuff along the way and I filter it also. I'd be happy to get 2 months from a filter, I get 3 to 4 weeks at best. Seems like it is better at times of the year but when water use is high, I see more stuff getting carries to my house. To make it worse, I'm that last house on the line.

My guess is the town will be of little help, but it is worth a try. Perhaps they can do something to help, like more frequent hydrant flushing to clear the pipes.

[Walter R.]

My Water Dept. tests water at various hydrants around town. You can ask your Water Dept. for the test results at a hydrant near you.

Cons. Reports ran tests on bottled water vs. tap water some years ago. If I remember correctly, they rated NYC tap water higher than most bottled water.

I am not worried about a trace of sediments in my city water dept. As long as it is free from disease organisms, and it always is, why worry? Great way to get some of your needed minerals.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

When it gets beyond trace it is a problem. When I first moved here, the faucet seals/washer had to be replaced every six to eight months. I went through two fill vales on the boiler at $50+ each. After installing a filter, they have not been replaced in 15 years.

[EXT]

The GE filters that I have seen are quite small. With the particulate matter in your water you may want a "man sized" filter such as the "big blue". They make a filter housing that takes a 4 1/2" x 20" filter, which come in various micron ratings, with charcoal and other types. You may want to have a multiple stage filter with multiple housings mounted together, this way you can use a coarse filter to catch the big lumps with progressively finer filters to clean it in stages. This way you change the first filter more frequently, saving the more expensive filters from clogging.

Do a Google to find various distributors of the Big Blue.