What Filters Do I Need

[water witch]

I need a whole house filter(s) for three problems.
1. Rotten egg smell. I live on Virginia's eastern shore and this is a common problem, supposedly from decaying organic matter.
2. Light brown stains in sinks and toilets.
3. Water hardness is 120, based on one of Filtersfast water test kits. The water test kit did not show any other problem.
I have 2 1/2 baths, plus use water to keep a 24' above ground pool topped off, and for normal watering of flowers and a small garden. There are just two of us living in the house.

[Roxanne]

I need a whole house filter(s) for three problems.
1. Rotten egg smell. I live on Virginia's eastern shore and this is a common problem, supposedly from decaying organic matter.
2. Light brown stains in sinks and toilets.
3. Water hardness is 120, based on one of Filtersfast water test kits. The water test kit did not show any other problem.
I have 2 1/2 baths, plus use water to keep a 24' above ground pool topped off, and for normal watering of flowers and a small garden. There are just two of us living in the house.

Water Witch,

We definately have some options that could solve these issues for you! Before I make any recommendations though, please tell me if you are on well water or city water.

[water witch]

Well Water. Sorry I forgot to state that.

[Roxanne]

Well Water. Sorry I forgot to state that.

I would suggest a few different things for your particular situation. It sounds like you have minimal staining so you could probably get rid of that with a sediment filter (normally iron stains are orangish in color so I'm thinking your stains are a result of something else, although if you did have an iron problem we have something for that as well). What I would do would be to install a dual whole house filter such as the Pentek BBFS-22, and put a Sediment filter such as the DGD-7525-20 or the R30-20BB in the housing that the water will hit first. In the second housing I would put the WS-20BB which is a water softening cartridge. Now, it's important that you use a sediment pre-filter before the WS-20BB because if you don't it will get clogged fairly quickly. This whole house set-up should take most of the sediment and hardness out of all the water in your home. However, the water still may have some contaminants that would make it unsuitable for drinking. Therefore you will also need a drinking water system. I recommend a point of use system for anyone with a well. You never know what could be seeping in through your ground water. Point of use systems come in several different varieties. I've listed a few below. Click on the link to view their attributes and details..

Reverse Osmosis: this would be considered the "best" POU quality water

RO-3500
Kwik Change RO
Hydrotech RO

Carbon Filtration and Mechanical Filters: these remove different contaminants depending on the filters used

Doulton HIP
Aquasana AQ-4000
Omnifilter CBF3

Hope this helps. There are also more choices at www.filtersfast.com. Simply look under the "undersink filter" category or "whole house".

[Roxanne]

Sorry! I forgot to address your rotten egg smell. There are two ways to go about addressing that problem. You can put a filter on the whole house, but that would mean you would have to buy another housing, which is fine, but because it is supplying water to your whole house and you will already be using 2 other filters there is a possibility of decreased flow rate and you having to change the filter too often. What I would do is simply add a shower filter that you only have to change yearly...such as the Sprite SR-WH. Whatever undersink system you choose should take care of the odors for your drinking water. However, if you would like to just add a carbon filter to the whole house to take care of the odors at the source I would suggest getting the 3 stage housing BBFS-222 and putting a carbon filter such as the AP815-2 or GAC20-BB after your sediment filter but before the water softening cartridge.

[water witch]

Thanks for all the info. Once I decide on what filters to use, I'll send in my order.

[Andy CWS]

Great suggestion so far.

One caution, though. When dealing with sulfur gases you must determine exactly the source and intensity of sulfur gases. Are they coming from the hot water only, or both cold and hot. Has the water been tested and if so, how many PPMs did it read?

Simple filters may be a pain in the backside as replacing them continuously due to premature failure will be frustrating and regretful. It may require a backwashing filter with a regenerate to provide continuous and long service. These, of course or more costly, but a svaings in the long run and peace of mind that it eliminates the problem.

There are numerous methods to approach and conquer sulfur through oxidation processes. I am familiar with Virginia and Maryland waters and have treated sulfur there.

Good luck with your choices.
Andy Christensen, CWS