Reverse osmosis system for well water

[Michigander]

Hi, does anyone have a reverse osmosis system on a well? If so, how do you feel about it? Does it work really well and help eliminate some of the well water taste?

I am considering purchasing one but want to know reviews from folks who currently have them. Our water is free of contaminants and we do have a Kinetico water softener already (as well as iron filter) but I still don't like the taste of the water. I am considering the Kinetico RO. Anyone have one and would like to share their experiences?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rich Heyn]

Our Michigan home has well water with some iron. Not enough to need an iron filter, as the water softener will remove small amounts of iron. However, my wife and I don't like the taste of softened water.

Bought a RO system from Lowes for about $200 and installed it myself, with a separate (small) faucet for the filtered water. Totally neutral taste, works very well.

You'll need to make sure your sink has an available mounting hole for the extra faucet. If not, you can get a main faucet that incorporates the sprayer and hose into the unit itself, and then use the (former) sprayer hole for the RO faucet.

 

[Michigander]

Thanks Rich, I had thought about doing one of those, but I want to run it through the refrigerator as well and have some water pressure. From the research I have done (which granted extends to reviews on the internet) the Kinetico should suit my needs the best, but I am really happy to hear that you and your wife found the water tastes fine. That is my biggest bugger-bear, the taste of the water (yuck) and that I am constantly buying water when we have it available naturally in abundance.

Take care! By the way, I really enjoyed meeting you and taking that class from you a couple of months ago. Hope to do another one soon.

 

[Rich Heyn]

You can run it through the refer and have a spout at the sink as well. The RO system can be mounted anywhere (mine is in the basement) and tapped into both sink and refer. Coffee tastes much better with the RO water (so does bourbon and water) and it's easier to fill the pot at the sink.

Glad you enjoyed the class. Doing two for the Lansing chapter in late January. One is the seminar on appraiser ID theft that you had, the other is on appraising for non-lending uses.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I still don't like the taste of the water

charcoal filtering.. or just add bourbon..too much water and you'll rust your pipes.

 

[Kristina Ledesma]

Serena,

I have grown up with well water my whole life. But over the last several years of having my own house, I have learned a lot about having/maintaining a well system.

We live in the "Lakes Area" and we are known to have pretty rough water, mostly just high in Iron Bacteria (there are two types of "iron water").
We have an eco-water system and a pre system filter (paper), it "works". Unfortunately, due to the high Iron bacteria, we have to replace the filter every 6 weeks. We found excellent filters that don't hamper the flow of water at Advanced Plumbing Supply.....it does help. Before with the old filers after a week or so, the water pressure would drop notably when the filter would start to get dirty.

Do you have a pre system filter to remove iron or an actual iron remover (tank)? Those I hear work much better than paper filters, but are also much more expensive-initially. I test the water every year or so to make sure my softener is set to the right settings and have found the hardness can fluctuate.

Some softened water tastes and smells just fine, others-while drinkable-regardless of what you do just smells and tastes "like well water". In that case, there are a few options:
You could get the RO system. Personally, I do not care for the water
out of that either. Some people love it, some don't. To me it tastes
weird, can't describe it much more than that-tastes like "distilled
water"...kind of flat? Personally, I'd recommend sampling it before going
through the effort...

You could get a stand alone purifier that has a spicket on it and can be
stored in the fridge-Brita makes a pretty good one. Once again the
water can taste a little strange (depending on which you go with) and
the expense and process can be cumbersome.

You could get one of those tank water coolers/heaters. I checked into
it when I realized I was spending a ton of money on bottled water.

Then there was our solution......we got the Kenmore fridge with the PUR
water filtration for both ice cubes and chilled water. Couldn't be happier.
It has been almost a year and we haven't had to replace the $39 filter
yet and we use a lot water and ice cubes......If going out
to buy a new fridge just for good water sounds insane, I would like to
think the PUR portable filtration would taste just as good. Our fridge died
on us, so it was a good solution for us and we're thrilled with it.

Good luck on the search for good drinking water

 

[Michigander]

Thank you Kristina, that is a very helpful assessment and something I hadn't thought about (the pre-filter). I have been working with the Kinetico salesperson since we bought the house, trying to come up with solutions for getting rid of some of the smells and tastes. We eliminated the rod in the water heater (helped loads) and installed an iron filter (helps tremendously as well) and have had the softener installed as soon as we bought the place. The water smells fine now, but I just can't get used to the taste (wonder if that has to do partly with the soft water). Will ask him about a pre-filter before I spring for the RO. Thanks

 

[Kristina Ledesma]

No problem!

Typically, the prefilter helps take the load off of the softener, your iron filter should be doing the job of removing that part of the water on its own (they are superior to the paper filters), but I have seen people still have both. I don't think that will take the taste out of the water for you though and may cost about only a little less than to have the RO installed-which may be your best option here. My parents have the Kinetico iron/softening system and RO system ($800 for the RO). They really like the water, but like I said, I found it to have a peculiar taste-not like well water, just "flat". But, I'm picky about water, there are few brands of bottled water I can tolerate-to me it should have NO taste!

On a side note, many years ago my aunt had bought an old farmhouse in Irish Hills (Hillsdale). All of their friends and family came out for the weekend to help move them in. My aunt was raving about the well water and how great (sweet) it tasted. Later that evening, everyone was violently ill and all the next day. They later found that the well was contaminated with bacteria.

 

[JTip]

We have a well at the house. Our goal was to get the water to a point to achieve smooth showers and clean clothes.
If you are trying to get the perfect drinking water and want to spend multiple hundreds or thousands of dollars, it can be done.
I would suggest using your local water supplier and go with 5 gallon jugs for your drinking and cooking. One jug lasts us 10-14 days. Thats less that $10 a month, a lot cheaper than paper filters and gamma radiation treatments.
I don't trust those water treatment salespeople. You will end up with every system in the book and still have 'off' water IMO. Get it to a safe point for domestic use and drink bottled water. Your toilet doesn't care if the water tastes bad.

 

[Kristina Ledesma]

You will end up with every system in the book and still have 'off' water IMO. Get it to a safe point for domestic use and drink bottled water. Your toilet doesn't care if the water tastes bad.

I agree.....all I wanted is good ice cubes and good water for drinking/cooking. So far our cost with the inline system (fridge) is $39/year. In regards to the softened water, it is nice to have shampoo/soap lather, to not get yellow clothes, or have to clean the rust lines in the toilet and shower. Salt with red-out additive can help too, if your softener system is allowed to have that type of salt (not all are).

It does help to flush the hot water heater every year or two to keep it running well. Especially after replacing a well. It is amazing what sediment/minerals can still pass through the filtration/softener system.

Also, we've found shocking (running some chlorine or bleach through) the pipes every few years helps with any build up and can make a difference with taste/clarity/smell (once it is completely flushed out of course!!).