Today’s question comes from ‘Tanya’ and if you have ever gone out to eat at a restaurant, picked up a glass of water, taken a sip, and then noticed cloudiness in the glass as you went to put it back down… you will understand why Tanya sent us an email.

Tanya asked, “We live in the country and obviosuly don’t have access to city water. It would cost a small fortune, they say, to connect us up to the water lines running about 5 miles from where we live. Our well gives us water that tastes OK and don’t leave stains on our stuff like we’ve read other people’s water can do but it always looks cloudy like stuff is floating in it. Is that dangerous? What can we do about it? Thanks a bunch. Tanya.”

As for whether or not your water poses any danger to you or anyone else that drinks it, well, that all depends on what contaminants it contains. Often times the visible stuff floating in your water will not harm you…

…but other times it will. Only testing can tell you if the contaminants you see in the water pose any danger.

We suggest getting your water tested by a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs or contacting your local health department to see if they offer free or low cost water testing programs in your area.

Then, depending upon what the lab report tells you, you may want to look into getting a water filter system designed to remove the contaminants it has identified.

Do NOT just run out and buy the biggest and most powerful filter you can find, though. Not all filters remove the same contaminants and believe us when we say you will get very mad at yourself if you spend a few hundred (or more) dollars on a water filter that doesn’t even remove contaminants in your water!

Need help selecting a filter? Read the tutorials on sites like FilterWater.Com, WaterFilters.Net, FiltersFast.Com, and IsoPureWater.Com

What if it’s just… non-harmful junk?

In cases when the lab comes back and tells you that your water has nothing particularly harmful in it, and that it simply contains a large number of total dissolved solids, you may want to look into installing a sediment filter designed to remove small, suspended particulates from drinking water.

As an example, the Crystal Quest Whole House Sediment Filter uses a special NSF-certified resin media which effectively removes suspended solids down to the 20-40 micron range and does other things, at the same time, to improve the quality of the water passing through it.

First, water travels through a 20″ sediment cartridge that removes unwanted contaminants such as sediment, silt, sand and dirt. Sediment filters also extend the life of water softeners, water filters, and prevents damage to control valves or pumps that you may have installed after this unit.

Second, water travels through a specially blended bed (1.5 or 2.0 cubic feet depending upon model) of sediment removal media (CQ-S 100) equipped with an Automatic Microprocessor Control valve that regulates the amount of time water spends in contact with the media. Longer contact times with filtration media typically means more effective filtering and better conditioning of the water.

Third, water travels through a 20″ solid carbon cartridge which removes or reduces levels of compounds such as chlorine and organic contaminants which typically contribute to bad taste and odor in drinking water.

Will this or any other system work for you?

Depends… You will first need to get your water tested before you even know what contaminants you need to remove.

Start there.

No matter what water filtration system you have, eventually you will HAVE to replace a filter cartridge or replace the entire filter if you purchased a disposable filter.

For those of you opted for a more long-term drinking water filtration solution such as a Kinetico® Water Filter System, the GE Osmonics® Purtrex PX05 9 7/8″ replacement filter will work just fine. In fact, it may even work better than the filter cartridge that came with your system.

The Purtrex PX05 9 7/8″ filter has lower density at the surface with progressively higher density towards the center which helps it capture particles throughout the entire depth of the filter — as opposed to filters of uniform density which may only collect contaminants on their exteriors.

This replacement filter also meets FDA Title 21 requirements for food and beverage contact and incinerates down to trace ash for easy disposal.

You can also use the Purtrex 5 Micron Sediment Filter in place of the following cartridges:

• American Plumber WP5
• Aqua-Pure AP110
• Aqua-Pure AP010
• Bunn S5-10
• Bunn ED-S-1
• Cornelius COR120
• Cornelius COR105
• Culligan P5
• Cuno CFS110
• Ecolab 9320-1135
• Everpure DEV910908
• Flotec P5 155014-43
• Manitowoc K-00173
• Manitowoc K-00069
• NuCalgon 4712-87
• Pentek P5
• Puremark PFS105
• Selecto 101-230
• Shurflo 15-052-00
• Shurflo SF31-SEDS