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OT: need advice on filtering city tap water

PSU95alum

PSU95alum

Well-Known Member
Jul 27, 2006
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When I lived in PA and had well water, we used a reverse osmosis system. It worked great. I'm now back on city water, and our water tastes terrible in CLT. Ay recommendations other than Brita? We just need the drinking water filtered, so the fridge and possibly a POS at the kitchen sink. From my understanding, RO systems aren't economical for city water (when you have a water bill) as they continuously run water down the drain. Thoughts? Thanks.
 
PSU95alum said:
When I lived in PA and had well water, we used a reverse osmosis system. It worked great. I'm now back on city water, and our water tastes terrible in CLT. Ay recommendations other than Brita? We just need the drinking water filtered, so the fridge and possibly a POS at the kitchen sink. From my understanding, RO systems aren't economical for city water (when you have a water bill) as they continuously run water down the drain. Thoughts? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Environmental chemist here (although drinking water is not my area of expertise, so feel free to ignore me if you want)

Can you describe the terrible taste? Are you concerned only about taste or are you concerned about pathogens/metals?

I would personally not use RO if it was only a taste issue (you are also removing beneficial ions like Ca and Mg). I suspect you will get used to the taste (as a city guy, I find that well water taste terrible when I visit rural friends).

If you are concerned about pathogens and metals (not taste), then an in line filter (like for the fridge or on your tap) will be fine.

RO systems are about 25% efficient in terms of water wasted. Without knowing how your water is billed (e.g. most of my water bill isn't the water usage, it is the fees for infrastructure improvement, so if my water usage went up 50% my bill might only go up 10%), I can't tell you how big of an impact that would have on your bill, but you can probably do some calculations based on your bill structure. One way to look at that would be if it raises your bill $X per month, is that worth it to you to remove that taste?

If you do go the RO route, I think you'd want an under the sink RO system (not a whole house system) because you wouldn't want to waste water for showers/laundry etc.

A final concern would be environmental in nature (and maybe you don't care about this). I think Charlotte gets it's water from a lake/reservoir. It water levels are ever an issue (i.e during droughts), you might want to consider how you feel about wasting water for your RO system.
 
PSU95alum said:
When I lived in PA and had well water, we used a reverse osmosis system. It worked great. I'm now back on city water, and our water tastes terrible in CLT. Ay recommendations other than Brita? We just need the drinking water filtered, so the fridge and possibly a POS at the kitchen sink. From my understanding, RO systems aren't economical for city water (when you have a water bill) as they continuously run water down the drain. Thoughts? Thanks.
Click to expand...


I work as a Hydrogeologist, and my entire job revolves around groundwater. We put in a lot of production water wells and deal with water testing. First thing i would do is ask for the water testing results. They have to give you the sampling results and you will then know what was detected in your water. Then make a decision from there. If they cannot provide it to you, it may be worth it to reach out to a lab and get a quote for testing. I am not sure where you are located, but a simple google search should yield a few options (you can reach out to me to look into their credentials if you would like).

My hometown in western pa has awful water during the summer months. They add way too much chlorine and the water turns cloudy etc. In the winter it is alright, but my parents rely on bottled water for drinking. It is 100% safe to drink, but they hate the taste.
 
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PSU2UNC said:
Environmental chemist here (although drinking water is not my area of expertise, so feel free to ignore me if you want)

Can you describe the terrible taste? Are you concerned only about taste or are you concerned about pathogens/metals?

I would personally not use RO if it was only a taste issue (you are also removing beneficial ions like Ca and Mg). I suspect you will get used to the taste (as a city guy, I find that well water taste terrible when I visit rural friends).

If you are concerned about pathogens and metals (not taste), then an in line filter (like for the fridge or on your tap) will be fine.

RO systems are about 25% efficient in terms of water wasted. Without knowing how your water is billed (e.g. most of my water bill isn't the water usage, it is the fees for infrastructure improvement, so if my water usage went up 50% my bill might only go up 10%), I can't tell you how big of an impact that would have on your bill, but you can probably do some calculations based on your bill structure. One way to look at that would be if it raises your bill $X per month, is that worth it to you to remove that taste?

If you do go the RO route, I think you'd want an under the sink RO system (not a whole house system) because you wouldn't want to waste water for showers/laundry etc.

A final concern would be environmental in nature (and maybe you don't care about this). I think Charlotte gets it's water from a lake/reservoir. It water levels are ever an issue (i.e during droughts), you might want to consider how you feel about wasting water for your RO system.
Click to expand...
Thx for the reply. I would describe the taste as "dirty". It just has a funky dirty taste to it. Funny thing is, we lived in this house from 1998 to 2014, then vacated for a few years to go back to PA where we had well water, and now moved back into the same house. Been back about a year now. Previously, the water going through a standard fridge filter was sufficient for us. Since our return, the taste has been unacceptable. At first, I attributed it to our taste changing from being back in PA. I figured it'd take a few months to reacquire the taste of city water. But no luck. Even the coffee taste bad with the city water going through the standard fridge filter.
 
Limestone_Lion said:
I work as a Hydrogeologist, and my entire job revolves around groundwater. We put in a lot of production water wells and deal with water testing. First thing i would do is ask for the water testing results. They have to give you the sampling results and you will then know what was detected in your water. Then make a decision from there. If they cannot provide it to you, it may be worth it to reach out to a lab and get a quote for testing. I am not sure where you are located, but a simple google search should yield a few options (you can reach out to me to look into their credentials if you would like).

My hometown in western pa has awful water during the summer months. They add way too much chlorine and the water turns cloudy etc. In the winter it is alright, but my parents rely on bottled water for drinking. It is 100% safe to drink, but they hate the taste.
Click to expand...
FYI, I don't think CLT gets their water from GW. I think it's from Lake Norman.

But certainly the issues you cite are relevant ones. Thanks for chiming in.
 
PSU95alum said:
When I lived in PA and had well water, we used a reverse osmosis system. It worked great. I'm now back on city water, and our water tastes terrible in CLT. Ay recommendations other than Brita? We just need the drinking water filtered, so the fridge and possibly a POS at the kitchen sink. From my understanding, RO systems aren't economical for city water (when you have a water bill) as they continuously run water down the drain. Thoughts? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not sure your total consumption but I had a whole house filter on my place down south.

Something like the below. I changed the filter once every couple of months. Rust was the issue there.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Whole-Home-Water-Filtration-System-GXWH35F/100471274
 
PSU95alum said:
Thx for the reply. I would describe the taste as "dirty". It just has a funky dirty taste to it. Funny thing is, we lived in this house from 1998 to 2014, then vacated for a few years to go back to PA where we had well water, and now moved back into the same house. Been back about a year now. Previously, the water going through a standard fridge filter was sufficient for us. Since our return, the taste has been unacceptable. At first, I attributed it to our taste changing from being back in PA. I figured it'd take a few months to reacquire the taste of city water. But no luck. Even the coffee taste bad with the city water going through the standard fridge filter.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, the coffee comment gives me pause and coffee usually will cover up most minor taste issues.

Maybe an odd request, but can you try your neighbors water and see if you find the same taste?

I ask this because you can have issues with the pipes in your house (or your filters) that could be causing an issue.
 
PSU2UNC said:
Hmmm, the coffee comment gives me pause and coffee usually will cover up most minor taste issues.

Maybe an odd request, but can you try your neighbors water and see if you find the same taste?

I ask this because you can have issues with the pipes in your house (or your filters) that could be causing an issue.
Click to expand...

I've been meaning to do this, but haven't yet. I need to do it ASAP. Thx.
 
PSU95alum said:
Thx for the reply. I would describe the taste as "dirty". It just has a funky dirty taste to it. Funny thing is, we lived in this house from 1998 to 2014, then vacated for a few years to go back to PA where we had well water, and now moved back into the same house. Been back about a year now. Previously, the water going through a standard fridge filter was sufficient for us. Since our return, the taste has been unacceptable. At first, I attributed it to our taste changing from being back in PA. I figured it'd take a few months to reacquire the taste of city water. But no luck. Even the coffee taste bad with the city water going through the standard fridge filter.
Click to expand...

As for the coffee taste...I’m a big tea drinker (whole leaf like grinding your own beans for coffee guys) and while the water from the fridge filter tastes fine to drink ot makes awful tea. The reason why, and this may be affecting your coffee too, is that I live in a hard water area and the minerals make for a terrible cup of tea. So I buy bottled spring water that has been filtered down to one micron. Tea tastes much better with it. Might want to try that for your coffee. I don’t know if you have hard water but even if you find a filter that makes the water taste better it’s still possible that the coffee won’t taste very good.
 
Lion Lineage said:
As for the coffee taste...I’m a big tea drinker (whole leaf like grinding your own beans for coffee guys) and while the water from the fridge filter tastes fine to drink ot makes awful tea. The reason why, and this may be affecting your coffee too, is that I live in a hard water area and the minerals make for a terrible cup of tea. So I buy bottled spring water that has been filtered down to one micron. Tea tastes much better with it. Might want to try that for your coffee. I don’t know if you have hard water but even if you find a filter that makes the water taste better it’s still possible that the coffee won’t taste very good.
Click to expand...
We buy the large bottles of water at costco for coffee, and it tastes great. Coffee made with the fridge filtered water? meh. Coffee made with unfiltered tap water? Total swill. Garbage. Yes, we do have hard water.
 
We have a countertop ice maker, as my daughter and wife don’t like the large cubes from the fridge.
It makes a big difference in the taste of the ice using a Brita filtered water dose versus Costco bottled water.
BTW, a 36 pak of 16.9 oz bottles at Costco in Cbus cost me $2.97. That should be worth the cost for a good cup of mud until you resolve your issue.
 
TiredOldLion said:
We have a countertop ice maker, as my daughter and wife don’t like the large cubes from the fridge.
It makes a big difference in the taste of the ice using a Brita filtered water dose versus Costco bottled water.
BTW, a 36 pak of 16.9 oz bottles at Costco in Cbus cost me $2.97. That should be worth the cost for a good cup of mud until you resolve your issue.
Click to expand...
True, but although I'm by no means a tree hugging environmentalist, I prefer not to burn through so much plastic.
 
I use a Zero Water pitcher because I can't stand the taste of city water, too much chlorine. The filters aren't cheap ($15.00/filter) but you can save a little if you buy a multipack ($10-12/filter)
 
PSU95alum said:
True, but although I'm by no means a tree hugging environmentalist, I prefer not to burn through so much plastic.
Click to expand...
fwiw, when I was in Colorado, they are now selling 'water by the box'. Instead of a traditional water bottle, it now comes in something that looks like a cardboard milk container. I havent seen that around here, so I think it may be new.
 
PSU95alum said:
When I lived in PA and had well water, we used a reverse osmosis system. It worked great. I'm now back on city water, and our water tastes terrible in CLT. Ay recommendations other than Brita? We just need the drinking water filtered, so the fridge and possibly a POS at the kitchen sink. From my understanding, RO systems aren't economical for city water (when you have a water bill) as they continuously run water down the drain. Thoughts? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Installed a Big Blue 3 canister whole house system on our house 2 years ago. We do have city water but it has issues. I have a sediment filter, a carbon block and a charcoal filter installed. water is much better than it was before.
 
Fayette_LION said:
Installed a Big Blue 3 canister whole house system on our house 2 years ago. We do have city water but it has issues. I have a sediment filter, a carbon block and a charcoal filter installed. water is much better than it was before.
Click to expand...
Would love that if I had a basement or garage, but I have neither. It needs to be something that fits under the sink. Sorry, I should've specified that.
 
Your fridge should have a filter system on it. You can also buy filters for on your faucets or even to plumb inline. A charcoal or carbon filter will get rid of most contaminants that make your water taste bad. Make sure you replace them regularly.
 
PSU95alum said:
True, but although I'm by no means a tree hugging environmentalist, I prefer not to burn through so much plastic.
Click to expand...
I recycle 100% of my non food waste plastic and paper. I don’t believe it’s a strain on the environment.
When plant based compostable plastics become the norm it will be even better.
 
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When I lived in State College, I put one of the higher-output, replaceable charcoal filters under my sink on the cold water feed to the faucet in my kitchen. Better tasting water, the pasta cooked nicer, etc. It's a relatively easy DIY (assuming your faucet is plumbed correctly).
 
Limestone_Lion said:
I work as a Hydrogeologist, and my entire job revolves around groundwater. We put in a lot of production water wells and deal with water testing. First thing i would do is ask for the water testing results. They have to give you the sampling results and you will then know what was detected in your water. Then make a decision from there. If they cannot provide it to you, it may be worth it to reach out to a lab and get a quote for testing. I am not sure where you are located, but a simple google search should yield a few options (you can reach out to me to look into their credentials if you would like).

My hometown in western pa has awful water during the summer months. They add way too much chlorine and the water turns cloudy etc. In the winter it is alright, but my parents rely on bottled water for drinking. It is 100% safe to drink, but they hate the taste.
Click to expand...

LimeStone - I live in western PA and I drink the filtered water out of my fridge. Whenever I run my bathroom sink, however, it smells a bit like mildew. It is city water and the house is about 20 years old. Do you think this could be an issue with pipes? The water out of the fridge tastes and smells fine.
 
nitanee123 said:
LimeStone - I live in western PA and I drink the filtered water out of my fridge. Whenever I run my bathroom sink, however, it smells a bit like mildew. It is city water and the house is about 20 years old. Do you think this could be an issue with pipes? The water out of the fridge tastes and smells fine.
Click to expand...

That could be your pipes or just your city water. The filters do a good job of "cleaning" the water. I would assume the mildew smell is from the water itself and not your pipes, but that is 100% a guess.

I have friends and family that live in a nearby town (about 5 miles from my hometown) and they have major water issues. Their towns water supply comes from groundwater. It is overloaded with Iron and it is so bad that it stinks. It is "safe" to drink (you would never get me to drink it), but its so bad. Showering feels so counterproductive, and you would never convince me to cook with it.

Western Pa is typically pretty uniform in geology (in comparison to central/southeastern PA), but depending on your location groundwater can be hit or miss
 
Limestone_Lion said:
That could be your pipes or just your city water. The filters do a good job of "cleaning" the water. I would assume the mildew smell is from the water itself and not your pipes, but that is 100% a guess.

I have friends and family that live in a nearby town (about 5 miles from my hometown) and they have major water issues. Their towns water supply comes from groundwater. It is overloaded with Iron and it is so bad that it stinks. It is "safe" to drink (you would never get me to drink it), but its so bad. Showering feels so counterproductive, and you would never convince me to cook with it.

Western Pa is typically pretty uniform in geology (in comparison to central/southeastern PA), but depending on your location groundwater can be hit or miss
Click to expand...

Thanks Lime. Ironically, I moved up here from CLT (where the OP posted from) and I never had a problem with the water there.
 
Limestone_Lion said:
That could be your pipes or just your city water. The filters do a good job of "cleaning" the water. I would assume the mildew smell is from the water itself and not your pipes, but that is 100% a guess.

I have friends and family that live in a nearby town (about 5 miles from my hometown) and they have major water issues. Their towns water supply comes from groundwater. It is overloaded with Iron and it is so bad that it stinks. It is "safe" to drink (you would never get me to drink it), but its so bad. Showering feels so counterproductive, and you would never convince me to cook with it.

Western Pa is typically pretty uniform in geology (in comparison to central/southeastern PA), but depending on your location groundwater can be hit or miss
Click to expand...
I'll add to that, historic coal mining has destroyed many groundwater resources in Western PA. Although, some groundwater is just poor quality, regardless of mining being present or not.
 
nitanee123 said:
LimeStone - I live in western PA and I drink the filtered water out of my fridge. Whenever I run my bathroom sink, however, it smells a bit like mildew. It is city water and the house is about 20 years old. Do you think this could be an issue with pipes? The water out of the fridge tastes and smells fine.
Click to expand...
Are you certain it's the water that smells "musty"? It could very well be that the musty odor is coming from the drain pipe.

As water enters a drain, it displaces air sitting above the p-trap. I would remove and clean out the under-sink drain pipe to ensure there's no hair or other scum in the p-trap or near the trip-lever plug assembly and then I would flush the pipe with Drano to dissolve any scum beyond where the pipe enters the wall.
 
PeetzPoolBoy said:
Are you certain it's the water that smells "musty"? It could very well be that the musty odor is coming from the drain pipe.

As water enters a drain, it displaces air sitting above the p-trap. I would remove and clean out the under-sink drain pipe to ensure there's no hair or other scum in the p-trap or near the trip-lever plug assembly and then I would flush the pipe with Drano to dissolve any scum beyond where the pipe enters the wall.
Click to expand...

I'll give it a shot. Thanks.
 
PSU2UNC said:
Environmental chemist here (although drinking water is not my area of expertise, so feel free to ignore me if you want)

Can you describe the terrible taste? Are you concerned only about taste or are you concerned about pathogens/metals?

I would personally not use RO if it was only a taste issue (you are also removing beneficial ions like Ca and Mg). I suspect you will get used to the taste (as a city guy, I find that well water taste terrible when I visit rural friends).

If you are concerned about pathogens and metals (not taste), then an in line filter (like for the fridge or on your tap) will be fine.

RO systems are about 25% efficient in terms of water wasted. Without knowing how your water is billed (e.g. most of my water bill isn't the water usage, it is the fees for infrastructure improvement, so if my water usage went up 50% my bill might only go up 10%), I can't tell you how big of an impact that would have on your bill, but you can probably do some calculations based on your bill structure. One way to look at that would be if it raises your bill $X per month, is that worth it to you to remove that taste?

If you do go the RO route, I think you'd want an under the sink RO system (not a whole house system) because you wouldn't want to waste water for showers/laundry etc.

A final concern would be environmental in nature (and maybe you don't care about this). I think Charlotte gets it's water from a lake/reservoir. It water levels are ever an issue (i.e during droughts), you might want to consider how you feel about wasting water for your RO system.
Click to expand...
 
 
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