Filtrete Standard Capacity Whole House Grooved Water Filter 5 Microns Universal Filter Sump Style Drop-In Filter 2-Filters 4WH-STDGR-F02

My town has fairly good water, but I don’t completely trust what happens between the pumping stations and my house. I’m big into raising goldfish, building my own hydroponics systems, and gardening. I’ve seen the impact poor water quality and chemicals such as chlorine, chloramines, and other unknown chemicals have on fish (tumors, etc.) and plant growth rates and it can be pretty scary. So I’ve long been interested in researching water quality and finding economical ways to improve our water. The first line of defense is a Pressure Regulator Valve as we have extremely high water pressure by default. It was so strong that it was really pushing unwanted particles through the filters. Then I have two 3/4s whole house filters behind that. The first filter housing contains these 3M sediment filters. Our water by default has high mineral content (mostly iron), and the sediment filter drastically reduces the Total Dissolved Solids values in half from ~120 PPM to ~60 PPM. Also,I wouldn’t completely rely on a sediment filter to remove odors. The next filter is a 3M carbon filter which is where I remove most odors and smells. For the most part, this in itself is fine enough for cooking and showering and even drinking. With the filters on bypass, you can really taste the difference. As for the filters themselves, I’ve tried many different brands, combinations, and micron levels but always find myself coming back to these. To take things even further (which is arguably unnecessary unless you have a real water-quality problem or are on a well), I run the water through a whole house 12 GPM UV-C water sterilization system just in case something even smaller such as bacteria gets through. Next, I have under-the-sink Reverse Osmosis systems installed for drinking. These are hooked up to alkaline filters which reintroduce mineral content back into the water in order to make the PH more basic and taste less ‘sweet” since much of the salts were stripped out by the RO. With the Alkaline filter reintroducing mineral content, we’re looking at ~10 PPM which is very acceptable. Even just drinking out of the tap (which is filtered), you can still taste a big difference. Two other tips worth mentioning: 1. You may want to consider having check valves installed so you don’t have water being vacuum sucked back into a public water supply. I’ve seen my own water without them going in reverse back and it’s a little unnerving. You have to figure that there’s other neighbors out there that don’t have them, so things like medications, food, chemicals, etc. can be sucked back into the public supply which may enter yours—hence I personally think it’s prudent to install a filtration system. 2. Also always follow the manufacturer’s replacement instructions regarding these filters because after a while, the filters can degrade and become even worse than what they were trying to cure. Read more

It is so cheap nowadays to install your own whole house water system, I really don't know why so many people still deal with the nasty/smelly municipal water that tastes horrible, ruins appliances and fixtures (from all the sediment and chemicals), etc. The housings can be purchased for around $25-40/ea, and these filters are dirt cheap. The only other cost is some PVC pipe and fittings for installation. When all is said and done, you could have a whole house filtration system for under $100 (assuming you install it yourself). It's recommended to use a sediment filter inline *before* this carbon filter. The carbon filter's job is to remove the smells, chlorine, and other nasty chemicals, so you don't want it getting clogged up with sediment and becoming less effective. Let the sediment filter handle that part. Another note... be conscious of what micron level you choose. The lower the (micron) number, the better it filters the water. However, the tradeoff is that if you get too low of a micron rating, you will decrease your water pressure. 5 micron is generally no problem with most municipal water pressure, but getting down in the 1 or 2 micron range will probably drop your pressure some...unless you have really high water pressure to begin with. Read more

Great for well water I got the more expensive ones to begin with but they didn’t last as long these last close to 3 months before I start noticing water pressure loss Read more

Great buy and keeps the hose water nice and clean I bought a couple when prime day came along I keep these stacked but when they are available hurry and buy because they go out of stock quick Read more

Filtrete , a brand name that doesn’t disappoint. Water taste great. Just replace every 3 months. Read more

Nice price Read more

Works good Read more

great product water tastes very clean Read more