Water Purification
There’s much written about water purification on the Internet. Fortunately for those of us living in and around Portland there is little to worry about regarding our water supply. Portland water comes from the bull run watershed which is one of the cleanest sources of municipal water in the country. However there are a few caveats. First of all if you live in Wilsonville, outer Tigard and Sherwood chances are you’re water comes from the Tualatin River . Because of farm and industrial runoff I highly recommend a whole house or at least drinking water purifier. Also if you live in an older house whose pipes or line from the street have not been updated, then I recommend a water purifier on the faucet you drink from. Also most water is chlorinated which can be toxic over time and is harmful to hair and scalp (dandruff and spending more on hair treatment, conditioner and shampoo), so a showerhead chlorine purifier is recommended.
Types of water filters:
Carafe
Pros: inexpensive and no installation needed. Water purification does not need to be: not super households require more than a couple of gallons of filtered water a day filter life is relatively short period
Price: $20-$40 plus $40 $200 per year in replacement filters.
Faucet mounted
Pros: easy installation and quick switching between filtered and unfiltered water.
Cons: slow flow rate. Can’t be used with most pull down or sprayed faucets.
Price: $15-$35 plus $30 to $100 per year in replacement filters.
Countertop
Pros: good for filtering large volume of water without plumbing modification.
Cons: creates clutter on the countertops and can’t be used with most spray or pull down faucets. Some models have fairly low flow rates.
Price: $50-$300, plus $50-$100 per year in replacement filters.
Under sink
Pros: filters large volume of water, doesn’t clutter the countertop and you don’t have to modify faucet.
Cons: take up cabinet space requires plumbing modification as well as a hole in the sink or countertop for the dispenser.
Price $100-$550, plus $50 $250 per year in replacement filters.
Reverse Osmosis
Pros: removes the widest range of contaminants, including arsenic.
Cons: requires plumbing modifications and periodic sanitizing with bleach. Latest three to 5 gallons of water for every gallon of filtered. Some are slow. Takes up cabinet space.
Price: $150-$900, plus $100-$200 per year in filters or pro-servicing.
Distillers
Pros: Removes everything but H2O.
Cons: can be time consuming
Price: $300-$1900, plus $38 per year for carbon filters
Today there are many inexpensive choices available on Amazon.com with free shipping as well as Lowe’s and Home Depot and Sears. These include:
Carafe
clear 20 CWS100A $30/yearly cost $60
Brita Smart pitcher OB 39/42632 $32/yearly cost $48
Faucet mounted
Culligan FM-15A $15/yearly cost $84
Pur vertical FM 3700 $25/yearly cost $29
Countertop
Crystal Quest CQE-CT-00109 $140/yearly cost $46
Aquasana AQ-4000 $100/yearly cost $100
Under-sink
Aqua pure AP-DWS1000 $450/yearly cost $190
American plumber WLCS-1000 $200/yearly cost $40
Whirlpool Gold WHED20 (Lowe’s) $130/yearly cost $64
Reverse-osmosis
Kenmore
elite 38556 $300/yearly cost $80
Whirlpool Gold WHER25 (Lowe’s) $150/yearly cost $60
Distillers:
For those who have auto-immune concerns and are chemically sensative Water Wise makes good water distillers, plus their free book on purified water is interesting: http://www.waterwise.com/productcart/pc/water-distillers.asp
For the shower:
Culligan WSH-C125 Wall-Mount 10,000 Gallon Capacity Filtered Showerhead, Chrome Finish $25
Culligan ISH-100 Level 2 Inline Shower Filter $19
Sprite Slim-Line Shower Filter Model #: SL-WH (Lowe’s) $20