Anybody tried the home water filter instead of...

I can't understand if you guys are bragging or complaining about the mistakes and hardships you had to endure as a child.

wanderingaimlessly wrote:

JWP127 wrote:
I drank from a water hose as a kid!

Ans It wasn't a white one neither.

And it was turned off and thrown on ground when we were finished. If I was down by the barn, I drank from the water spigot using a chipped porcelain cup that hung on a nail on the fence.

LeRoy

JWP127 wrote:
I drank from a water hose as a kid!

Ans It wasn't a white one neither.

That explains a lot.

I drank from a water hose as a kid!

I use a wholehouse cartridge filter adapted for hose connections in and out. It takes standard replaceable cartridges. I leave it connected inside my wet compartment with a cheap charcoal cartridge in it all the time. It removes bad taste and large debris from the water going into the motorhome - not much else. We use RO water in reusable containers for drinking - about $.20 to $.40 a gallon.

RO is the only way to remove as much **** from the water as possible without distilling it - which isn't all that good for drinking either. The lower the micron size, the more restriction the filter will present to the flow of water. The best cartridges are rated at 0.5 microns but you won't be able to get much of a shower using one of those to cartridges in your filter because it will restrict the flow too much. You could use a 0.5 micron filter under your sink connected to a special faucet for drinking only. It will take out harmful bacteria but won't do much for heavy metals.

The better cartridges seem to be getting harder to find but keep looking. You might need to order them online.

Carbon filters 'may' cause problems. They are known to support the growth of bacteria. Also from Wiki:
"Active charcoal carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, particles such as sediment, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), taste and odor from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic substances. "

They generally will not remove dissolved metals tho some specially treated carbon will reduce the levels of lead. Also from the WCP (the authority on water analysis and treatment):

"these research teams found significantly higher bacterial levels in water flowing out of activated carbon filters than in the corresponding influent water (Tobin, Smith and Lindsay, 1981). Over the normal useful lifetime of a water filter, naturally occurring bacteria present in the influent water colonized the activated carbon inside water filters. One significant cause of filter contamination is improper hygiene during filter installation. Using gloves to avoid hand contact with the filter and wetted housing components should be common practice during filter replacement."

20 micron is laughable anyway and would only remove the bigger chunks in the water. To remove bacteria a lab would use 1 micron down to 0.45 micron. Water passed thru a 0.45 micron is generally considered semi sterile tho some small virus will pass thru that. For general filtering of water I'd use a 5 micron. The problem with small pore size is that it takes more pressure to force water thru those smaller pores.

The blue ones that HelMart sells are I believe a 20 micron filter and do contain a carbon layer we used them for all the water for our pet shop with good results even for heavy metal removal.
For our trailer we use them too, but we still use a PUR dispensing filter for our drinking water.

The ones from Walmart or where ever. These consumer grade filters don't really give you enough info to make an informed choice anyway. I was a professional (lab) consumer of water filters for many years.

groundhogy wrote:
.. of those in line ones you buy that are made for the RV?

The in line units look like they cost $30 each.
The cartridges for the home units are like $7 at any hardware store.

If the cartridge fits your filter it's perfect. I buy my filters at Home Depot and similar local sources. A filter is a filter. Just look at the specs. They will be listed in microns. RV filters are complete BS. NO ONE makes RV filters. People sell "RV filters" but that is nothing more than a marketing gimmick!
As an aside, my RV is my home. Why would I use anything else?