3 filter under sink - questions

hello everyone.

i have a 3 filter undersink system. Cant remember exactly what each filter is but hopefully the experts can guess by the following.

1st is in a clear enclosure. it is the white polyester(?) filter.
2nd is a carbon(?) filter. looks like a dark material inside wrapped in white fabric and finally a white mesh material.
3rd is solid plastic cover filter.

not 100% sure if that is the order they are in. i know when i change them i put them in the correct order. just cant recall if the carbon or solid one is in the middle.

I change them approx every 9 - 12 months. when the water flow starts to get too slow is when i change them. the last 2 yrs the water supply must be extra dirty as i had to change them after ~9months. used to change them every june. not really using the water more than other years.
the water filter guys said same thing that they noticed things clogging up faster.

with that said. my question is ... everyone probably knows after a time a dish wrag gets all smelly and has to be changed. i cant help but think that as the filters get full of the nastys....that i am essentially filtering my water thru stinky dishwrags :)

It sounds as though your filters are standard 10" x 2.5" filters.

Is there any models of the system?


The first filter is just a sediment prefilter. Then, a carbon block filter. Finally, the GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) filter to 'polish' the water at the end.

If you do use the standard 10" x 2.5", then you can use the following;

1)Pentek P5
2)Pentek CBR2-10
3)Pentek CC-10

The CBR2-10 will have the finest filtration. This is not the cheapest for this size cartridge, but it will filter out more contaminants than just chlorine/taste & odor.

Hello, I cannot see how to start a new thread, but hopefully this is OK.:o

I currently have two under-sink filters, fed by mains water and feeding only a pure water dispenser: [1] a "GE Smart Water" filter which I think removes solids and chlorine & taste & smell, and [2] an Omnipure K5655 Ion Exchanger. The incoming averages 240 ppm TDS (as NaCl) total hardness around 180 ppm, it stinks of chlorine (my eyes would sting for hours if I sent it to the shower head) and it leaves a slimy brown scum on anything it feeds. [I have a water softener with a built-in sludge filter and iron-chelating salt for general plumbing]. Under current usage of potable water, the Ion Exchange resin lasts about 3 months, and I don't really know how long the "general purpose" filter will last, nor how to find out.:(

What would be the recommended sequence for the two filters [I currently have the Ion Exchanger last (thinking to avoid clogging it with silt)]? Would you recommend an alternative to the GE? my main wish is to get very good-tasting/smelling & zero hardness water for making tea and coffee, about 10 gallons per month? Should I put a polishing filter after the ion exchange?:confused:

Thanks in advance.:)
--Grahame

You will want a sediment filter ahead of the ion exchange. You will want a sediment filter ahead of the carbon filter as carbon filters tend to clog up fairly quick if you have a lot of sediments.

I would recommend sediment filter first, DI filter second and the carbon filter to polish the water as the last step. The Carbon filter is the only filter that will help with taste/odor/chlorine.

Hope this helps!

I think you can do it in your own way but as you asked the better sequence is sediment,ion exchange and carbon filter though its not defined in a specific way to arrange the filter sequence but i think you should ask your water system expert because they are arranging them as per the water impurity level...