1.29.2009

Thrifty Green Thursday: Whole House Water Filtration

I'm in the throes of a washer that won't drain water (of course in the middle of a load of dirty diapers), so forgive me if this post is a bit hasty. I've spent the morning manually draining water from the tiny hose in the front of the unit, and I'll be spending the next nap time taking apart the hoses that connect to the pump. I'm thinking there may be a baby sock or something yucky stuck in there. I actually enjoy taking stuff apart and figuring out what's wrong, but I'll save that for another post.

I was thinking of something to post for today's Thrifty Green Thursday, and remembered that my husband and father-in-law had recently installed a whole house filtration unit on our main water line. It's been wonderful, not having to use the bulky PUR sink filter or filling up a water filter pitcher. Here's what it looks like
That's the filter on the left, and the main water line coming in on the top right. The water goes through the filter before zooming around through the pipes throughout the house.
Please ignore the makeshift hanger for the filter (clothesline and some brackets). It would probably embarrass my father-in-law if he knew I posted a photo of that, since he's very meticulous and by-the-book in his work. Our local hardware store did not carry the proper hanging equipment when they installed this, but it'll be correctly hung soon.

The unit and filter were under a hundred dollars, and apparently one needs to replace the filter about once a year. We have a unit for a family of 4-5, but they make larger ones too.

Some of the benefits of a whole house water filter are
  • Not having to buy bottled water, since tap water is filtered (less plastic bottles in landfills)
  • Having filtered showers, so you aren't inhaling hot, vaporous chlorine from the water. Also, less chlorine in the water leaves your skin softer and not as dry (I've definitely experienced this)
  • Less residue in the laundry, sinks, showerhead and toilets (no need to use harsh cleaners to remove gunk)
  • I don't have to run downstairs in the middle of the night to get a glass of filtered water. I just go into our bathroom
  • Less buildup in your pipes from calcium and lime (which our water has a lot of)
If you're interested in buying one for your home, you can find them at home centers like Lowe's and Home Depot. Again, if you install it yourself, it should be under $100.

For more Thrifty Green Thursday, visit The Green Baby Guide. I'm off to work on my washer!


6 comments:

Naomi said...

Wow, that is quite a labyrinth. Sorry to hear about your washer. Hopefully it will be a quick and painless fix...

Jennifer said...

I need to show this to Steve. We use one on the tap and never buy water bottles. Having it off the tap would be nice.

•´.¸¸.•¨¯`♥.Erin.♥´¯¨•.¸¸.´• said...

Hope your washer is fixed soon :( That's no good!

When we get a house, we'll be getting one of these for sure. Right now we use one of the Pur filters for the faucet, but it makes filling out pitchers and our tea kettle a pita.

Joy said...

Isn't it wonderful to have a handy father-in-law around? The water filtration system looks like it would be a easy and helpful solution that wouldn't require too much time or money. Someday I would LOVE to get one of those systems that recycles bath water so that it can be used to irrigate gardens and flush toilets, but I think that's loads more expensive and complex. Thanks for joining us this week for Thrifty Green Thursday!

Muthering Heights said...

Again, super jealous of the filtration system - but not about the washer. I hope you can fix it soon!

Baba said...

I will need to put some kind of water filter in the Stone House but I'm not sure which kind as yet. Thanks for the post!

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