water filtration system - worth it? problems? etc

LuvSpudz

Hi all,

My wife and I are considering getting these guys to install their water softener/water filter systems in our home:
http://www.ewtechnologies.ie/our-water-filter-range.php

We live in a small estate in a village but the water system is terrible, with no sign of the council doing anything about it anytime soon, we have decided to take matters into our own hands!

There is a lot of limescale in the water and there are frequent boil water alerts for the area, to be frank the water is unusable for most things (we brush our teeth with bottled water at this stage).

I am aware that the water softener will not affect the whole 'boil water due to bacteria' thing, but would the water filter fitted to the kitchen tap be effective in allowing this water to be drank? I rang the company and they assured me it "would remove all pathogens", but I would like independent opinions.

I have also heard that these systems can sometimes remove the good minerals etc from the water as well, which can have a bad effect on your health, but compared to not being able to drink or use the water at all I would consider that a good thing. Should I consider supplements to cover this aspect?

So to summarise: I'm looking for people's opinions on these systems, good/bad points etc, anything to look out for. Any help appreciated before we take the plunge with our hard-earned cash!

corkgsxr

How much are they. I used to work for one of them company's. Honestly you dont need anything in the water. Drink away.

Reverse osmosis filters do work. Between the 3 filter they remove almost everything.

Its the service thats expensive. And you do have to yearly change the first carbon filter or the reverse osmosis will get damaged.

And acuathin have one too but there always trying to sell ya **** at a service. Donno are this crowd the same


But any questions fire away

TPM

It might be worth getting the water tested to see what is in it, Although on "mains" supply ir would be more of a guide due to the changing nature of the water supply.
I agree with Corkgsr, and like he says check the initial cost but more importantly the maintenance costs and and periods, If you end up changing filters every two weeks wouldnt be practical or cheap.
Sometimes a higher initial outlay is better valve when maintenance costs are taken into account.
Would a UV unit be an option?

LuvSpudz

Thanks for the replies guys

Cost is as follows (according to the sales person I talked to):

Initial installation €649 - includes water softener for whole house and water filtration unit for kitchen tap
Yearly service - €95
cost for 10 bags of salt (apparently yearly supply) - €80

I admit I am a lay person and have only started to research this side of things this week - I am unfamiliar with UV treatment, how does this work?

Just realised what you mean by the filters - you mean the water filters for the kitchen tap - That is one cost I didn't get, must ring up and ask that!

TPM

UV (Ultra Violet) treatment kills bacteria/bugs in water they can be slightly expensive to install but are very good and generally have a long life with little maintenance.

Just a quick link from google, picked a uk one as not to look like I am promoting a particular one

corkgsxr

TPM wrote: »

It might be worth getting the water tested to see what is in it, Although on "mains" supply ir would be more of a guide due to the changing nature of the water supply.
I agree with Corkgsr, and like he says check the initial cost but more importantly the maintenance costs and and periods, If you end up changing filters every two weeks wouldnt be practical or cheap.
Sometimes a higher initial outlay is better valve when maintenance costs are taken into account.
Would a UV unit be an option?

i know the acuatin service plan. is about 180 euro with parts warrenty (expensive imo) but one plus is it doesnt matter the condition of the water. if they have to change the filters every month thats there problem not yours.

TPM wrote: »

UV (Ultra Violet) treatment kills bacteria/bugs in water they can be slightly expensive to install but are very good and generally have a long life with little maintenance.

Just a quick link from google, picked a uk one as not to look like I am promoting a particular one

the uv leaves limescale and all the otheres. just kills bacteria. and if theres additional filters for the rest your still stuck with yearly service





anyway i rang that crowd to ask the details for ya. (not afiliated with anyone just faster this way, now ill be rang 7 times a day now with super special offers i cant miss that are only today )

the 650 deal is a softener unit for the house ans a i think s200 unit was the name but basicly its a sedimant and carbon filter. which is feck all use, itll just make it taste better and take out non dissolved solids.

if your gone on the softener too and want the proper osmosis unit. its 950ish

and both servises add up to 120 a year inc warrentys and 4 bads of salt. a special offer apparently. :rolleyes:

the osmosis on its own i think she sed was about 400. and 95 for service.


seems much cheaper than acuatin anyway. but same sales sales sales push push push manner.


any unless you know you have a limescale problem i wouldnt bother with the softener

LuvSpudz

anyway i rang that crowd to ask the details for ya

Wow thanks a lot, was gonna do it after work! Boards is once again shown to be a great place for people helping people

We have definite limescale issues, have to descale our shower head about every four weeks, so I think a softener would be a good move to keep the house from clogging up.

So UV or osmosis is the way to go, cool, more expensive, but no point in paying half and not getting what I want.

Lots to consider here, thanks to all who have written here or pmed with your thoughts and advice

Could you get the UV treatment for the whole house? Kitchen tap is all well and good, but what about showers, brushing teeth, shaving etc, I'd prefer not to have to do these things where I wash me dishes!

mona.lisa

hi luvspudz
Did you go with EWT for the deal?
I am currently thinking about going ahead with them for the same €649 deal incl the softener and the sink filter.

pixbyjohn

Sorry to jump in on your thread. Has anyone experience of the Aquabion unit for limescale water treatment for domestic use?
http://www.hwl.ie/aquabion.htm
Any advice or help much appreciated

Xantia

Here is one that I would like to find out more about.
Don't think it does ph balancing but is that even to be considered?

shane0007

Xantia wrote: »

Here is one that I would like to find out more about.
Don't think it does ph balancing but is that even to be considered?

Looks very interesting alright. I'm wondering is it anything to do with that guy in the UK that invented a sanitation system for third world countries that can turn any water into safe drinking water a few years back. He won a shed load of awards for it. Can't remember his name though.

If that product works, it could certainly be a runner for here. What I am wondering is why other countries have not all gone mad on conserving rainwater for our homes & they all have water metering for years.
Could it possibly be that you will be charged anyhow so investing in expensive harvesting systems, expensive maintenance & other add ons is just not worth it? I still think it is only suitable economically for non-domestic situations.

Xantia

shane0007 wrote: »

What I am wondering is why other countries have not all gone mad on conserving rainwater for our homes & they all have water metering for years.

I think it might have to do with our perception that it is always raining in Ireland except for the 2 or so weeks during the 'summer' when the tourists ask - how is it so green !

paddy147

Xantia wrote: »

Here is one that I would like to find out more about.
Don't think it does ph balancing but is that even to be considered?

What sort of price for that rainsafe unit?

shane0007

paddy147 wrote: »

What sort of price for that rainsafe unit?

It says running costs are approx €135 per year!

http://www.rainsafewater.com/benefits/low-running-costs

shane0007

Purchase cost looks like €3,500. It doesn't mention installation costs so don't know if this includes installation. Doubt it as every house would be different for location of unit & collection area.

http://www.dabpumps.com/dep/RAINSAFE.pdf

Add that to the running costs & everyone will still have a standard meter/usage charge. I really can't see the benefits.

Xantia

Thanks for that, If I was to get one it would be self install.
However I think all of the items in it would be possible to get seperately and cheaper.

LuvSpudz

mona.lisa wrote: »

hi luvspudz
Did you go with EWT for the deal?
I am currently thinking about going ahead with them for the same €649 deal incl the softener and the sink filter.

Hi mona.lisa, sorry about delay, wasn't near a PC lately!

No we didn't go ahead after all, other expenses showed up which put the kibosh on our plans.

Interestingly my wife got our water tested in a local lab where she works - they said that our water was too pure, as in it was cleaner water than they use when sending out their diagnostic solutions to customers; no microbes good or bad, way too much chlorine. They stated that this is what's causing our high amounts of limescale.

It seems that the council is flooding our water with chemicals making it too clean, rather than the other way around.

Anyway, we fully intend to get a filtration system put in at some point in the future, just not sure when yet!