Today I share a SIMPLE Tool from EWG that’ll help you determine the best water filter for you, your family, and your home.
Plus
- the two filters I’m using
- why I chose them
- the cost of maintenance and
- my experience so far
In response to the post: Purified Water Whenever, Wherever. Simple. Effective. Practical.
When I shared the Grayl GeoPress water bottle/filter, a subscriber emailed:
“Great info! Thank you!! What do you recommend for an in-home filter to remove fluoride etc., from our own drinking water?
Love your newsletter!“ C.M.
Clean Water: Wherever Whenever
This Purifies Water SIMPLY, Effectively & is Practical when on the go, in times of emergencies, international travel…
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My Response
I’m so delighted you enjoy the emails and posts. I appreciate your kind words. Your question is a great one!
These past few months, I’ve been contemplating how I can best serve you, and all subscribers when answering this question since each home’s filter needs vary greatly.
HERE’S WHAT I CAME UP WITH so you know how to choose the best water filter:
- Use a tool by EWG. I link to it and show you how simple it is to use in less than a minute. It is a GREAT place to start because it will list the contaminants in your town.
- Armed with the contaminant list specific to your town’s water, you can match the filter that best suits your needs.
- I’m sharing the two filters I chose for my home along with why, as well as the cost and links.
FIRST, How to Know What Contaminants Are In Your Area’s Water Supply?
Our water filtering needs are determined by the location and type of filtration system the area we live in uses.
To arm each of you with what you need to know to choose a filter that will remove the contaminants in your water, I’ve provided the direct link to the EWG Tool right below the video. (I know many of you live outside of the US. There may be a database in your country. I’d definitely begin with a search).
EWG Water data Tool
In this video (no sound), I quickly show you the two ways to find the water contaminant list for your town.
I videoed my screen as I typed in a couple of Zip codes so you can see how:
- to do it and how
- wildly different the needs are.
Below the video is the link to the EWG water contaminant tool for you.
This is an amazingly simple-informative tool!
Screenshots of how to use the EWG Tool:
You can look your town up in 2 ways:
1. You can use the interactive map.
After you choose your State, the Towns will be listed alphabetically.
or
2. Use your Zip code. Click on your town.
Scroll down for the list of contaminants.
Using the EWG database is the first step I’d take.
The EWG water database can help you understand your home’s contaminants.
This provides a starting point when picking the filter system that best serves you, your family, and your home.
You can compare the filter list of what it removes to the list of contaminants you need to be removed.
The 2 Filters I have and Why
Filter 1: BEV-300 under counter filter- NOW BEV 500. (A month after this post, my filter needed repairs. I ended up upgrading to the BEV 500).
Over two decades ago, for a good five years, I tried every type of water filter on the market, from pitchers to distillers and everything in between.
After a ton of research, I found the company’s pure water systems and chose their BEV-300 for my under-sink filter.
Why This Under-counter Filter?
First and foremost, it removes every impurity from the water I needed and more.
From Pure Water System Website:
“Our water filters provide complete removal of ALL contaminants from drinking water, including:
Fluoride, Radioactive Particles, Arsenic, Hexavalent Chromium, Lead, Mercury,
and all other heavy metals.
Chlorine, Chloramines, and Disinfection By-Products (DBPs)
Drug & Pharmaceutical by-products
Nitrates & Nitrites
Industrial chemicals and solvents like TCE, MTBE, VOC’s, etc.
Herbicides and pesticides
Bacteria, cyst, virus”
“Never be concerned if your water filter will remove the next exotic chemical found in your water supply. Other brands selectively remove only certain contaminants, leaving you vulnerable.
Our multi-phase water filters combine carbon adsorption, reverse osmosis, and deionization—ensuring complete removal of fluoride, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, as well as nitrates and bacteria, cyst, and virus.
We’ve been selling water filter systems meeting BEV standards for over 20 years, and have evaluated dozens of approaches to creating pure, healthy, bio-compatible drinking water. Our research exposes a very serious problem: every other water filter on the market leaves you defenseless to one class of contamination or another. Only the correct combination of technologies can ensure absolute purity. “
This was and continues to be my filter of choice.
I feel confident that we’re drinking, washing our produce and cooking with clean, healthy water.
The water system is backed by a lifetime warranty. Bob Vineyard writes the system is meant to last for decades.
I can vouch that ours is a good decade and a half now, and outside of replacement filter sets, it has been maintenance-free. No repairs ever needed.
– UPDATE June 2023 –
I’ve removed the links for BEV 300 and 500 for now because the company is under new ownership. Their website is not up and running yet.
If you decide to consider the BEV 300 or 500 system, Let me know here. 😉 I will send you the information to connect with the new owner until he gets the website up and running. As of Mid June, the new owner anticipates another 60 to 90 days.
Cost of maintenance:
As I mentioned, I have not needed to repair anything.
I replace the filter cartridges every 12-18 months. Many of my clients averaged a similar 12-18 month timeline.
Each time I replace the filters I buy the next Annual Filter Set to have at the ready. The entire filter set is $ 135.00. Shipping runs around $20.00. UPDATE (not sure if these prices will remain the same)
How do I know when to replace the set?
The cartridges become physically darker, making it easy to spot when a change is needed.
But it’s dependent on your water. I had a client that lived next to a farm, and I was astounded how quickly her cartridges became VERY dark in a matter of six months! Mine have never come even close to that color. She was so happy to know her water was purified.
One Tip About the Filter System
Call your Town Water Department to double-check the water pressure going into the house if you do not know what it is. Ours was HIGH. (Over 110 or whatever the too high limit was for the filter)
We needed to get a flow reduction piece.
What is a Flow Reduction Piece?
“A flow reduction piece allows water to flow at a constant rate in and out of systems that operate better with consistent volumes of water, such as water filters, irrigation systems, and tankless water heaters.”
It isn’t typical from what I understand, but had I called and asked my water department, I would have avoided having to re-set up the filter system.
Just thought I’d pass that learning experience on. You could verify with (the new owner) what the water pressure range is. The OLD website is still up where you can explore the information: The NEW Owner website is still being developed.
How to Contact
UPDATE JUNE 2023: The website: purewatersystems.com, you can explore the product information. You just cannot place orders anymore. I’m happy to send along contact info; just let me know here.
They have ALWAYS been great responding to my questions or client questions via email.
Next Came a Whole House Filter
This is what it looks like:
Filter 2: Why Did I add A Whole House Filter
Three years ago, I became more frustrated about the fact that I would receive a water notice informing me that there was another ‘over the limit’ contaminant like haloacetic acids, or lead…
The EWG data report showed my local water has 8 contaminants.
I did not like the idea of bathing, brushing my teeth, or even having my dogs drinking out of and laying in the kiddie pool during the summer when I knew the water had ‘over the limit contaminants’.
And honestly, the most bothersome to me was not knowing until after the limits were exceeded.
That’s when I decided to research and add a whole house filter.
The Whole House Filter
I invested in the Whole House Filter.
In writing today’s article I reached out to them.
If you are interested in a whole house filter and have questions, I have a contact person as well as a coupon code for $500 dollars off for subscribers. You can use this same form and click whole house filter.
Here is What It Removes
These are just a few of the contaminants 7-STAGE FILTRATION PROCESS filters out of your water.
If you do not see the contaminant on the list, they encourage you to contact them.
- 1,1-Dichloroethylene
- 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
- 1,1,2- Trichloroethane
- 1,2-Dibromo
- 1,2-Dichloroethylene
- 1,2-Dichloropropane
- 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP or C3H5CI3)
- 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene
- 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
- 2,4,5-TP (silvex)
- Alachlor
- Arsenic (organic complexes)
- Atrazine
- Benz(a)anthracene
- Benzo(a)pyrene
- Benzene
- Beryllium
- Bromate
- Bromodichloromethane
- Bromoform
- Carbofuran
- Carbon tetrachloride
- Chloramines
- Chlordane
- Chlorine
- Chlorine Dioxide
- Chlorobenzene
- Chloroform
- Chlorite
- Chromium (organic complexes)
- cis-1,2- Dichloroethylene
- Dalapon
- Di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate
- Di(2ethylhexyl)phthalate
- Dibromochloromethane
- Dichloroacetic Acid
- Dinoseb
- Dioxin(2,3,7,8-TCDD)
- Diquat
- Endothall
- Endrin
- Ethylbenzene
- Ethylene Dibromide
- Haloacetic Acids (HAAS)
- Heptachlor
- Heptachlor Epoxide
- Hexachlorobenzene
- Hexachlorocyclopentadiene
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Iron
- Lead
- Lindane
- Methoxychlor
- Nickel
- O-Dichlorobenzene
- Oxamyl
- p-Dichlorobenzene
- Pentachlorophenol
- Picloram
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- S-chloropropane (DBCP)
- Simarzine
- Styrene
- Tetrachloroethylene
- Toluene
- Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
- Toxaphene
- Trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene
- Trichloroethylene
- Trichloroacetic Acid Acetic Acid
- Xylenes
FYI: All these contaminants are removed by all of the whole house water filters they sell.
Cost of Maintenance
None. Right now I have owned the filter for 4 years. There have been no issues.
There is no filter to change.
It has a self-cleaning back washing system we have set up at installation.
Do You Need Both Filters?
Do I Really Need Both?
No. I started with the kitchen under-sink filter because I did not have the budget for a whole house filter 15 years ago. Plus they seemed complicated and had maintenance I knew I couldn’t keep up at the time.
As it was- I scrimped to save up for the under-sink filter, which served our drinking, cooking needs beautifully.
For those 12 years I did not have a whole house filter I added the below shower and tub filters.
As Water Contaminants Increased & I Saved Up for the Whole House Filter
As our water contaminants increased and my budget allowed room for saving, I opted to add the whole house filter.
Plus AquaOx came on the market and was:
- SIMPLE.
- Had no maintenance.
- Removed the contaminants and more.
BTW another benefit of the whole-house filter I recently realized is it is extending my under-sink kitchen filters’ life.
What About the Installation of the Filters?
My husband used the instructions/video(s) provided by each of the two companies to install both the under-counter and the whole house filters.
Some clients did their own others hired their local plumber for the installation(s).
Here is the Link to the Instruction Manual for the BEV-300 System.
Here is the Link to the Youtube Channel for the AquaOx has a few Installation Videos.
There you go!
- A SIMPLE Self Care Tool from EWG that’ll help you determine the best water filter for you, your family, and your home.
- Two filters I’m using and why I chose them.
- The cost of maintenance
- My experience so far with each company
I’m so happy for the question and appreciate you emailing me C.M.
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