I recommend a water test, then get a filter or even a treatment center based on those results.

Or buy a culligan 2 stage filter. Get clear filter holders and change the filters.

Better if the water filter is applied for the total home.

Let's be clear, this is not the way to approach the issue - not at all.

As others have stated, you need to understand what it is that you are removing - before you can remove it.

What's more, you need to understand what are actual threats and what isn't. You won't get that information by reading water treatment websites. You are drinking water from a well, the PEX plumbing is the very least of your worries.

The first step is to get your well water tested if you haven't already. You need to know that the water is biologically safe (no pathogens) as well as a common issues like lead, nitrates, etc. Things like hardness, iron and ph levels are also good information to have. A water softener can make a huge difference if your water is hard.

Assuming the water is biologically safe you can use a reverse osmosis filter to remove almost everything from your drinking water. All filters have maintenance and upkeep issues - including RO. They also use a lot of water for every unit of water they produce.

Depending on the results of your water test - a carbon filter may be all you need to clean up your drinking water. These will remove tastes, odors, and a significant amount of voc's. They are not effective against nitrates - something that's common in agricultural areas.

I disagree with @BeverlyFLADeziner: My toilets, laundry, etc. don't need pristine water. Filtering drinking water can make sense - much else, not so much. Again, you must maintain any filtering system so going overboard doesn't make sense. Not maintaining a filtering system is usually worse than not having it at all.

Here's the standard warning I give to folks who have a vague notion about water filtering, "chemicals" and health:

We are terrible about assessing risk: There is far greater risk to our health posed by smoking, excessive alcohol, guns, poor diet, and sedentary lifestyle than chemical traces in water - by many, many orders of magnitude. We have far greater exposure to risk by traveling in our cars, exposing our skin to the sun, living with the wrong person or working in a stressful job.

It makes no sense to try to remove all "chemicals" from our water when we otherwise eat and drink food that has all kinds of stuff in it. While food and beverage companies usually carbon filter their water - it's not RO pure. Ditto with everything along the food chain.

Go after the known issues with water - get your well tested every few years. Use a carbon or RO filter on your drinking water if you want - but don't get sucked into the water treatment BS black hole.

Thanks Jake, I was thinking of a reverse osmosis filter, I'll look more in that direction.

Water will be tested next month. I am opting for SOCs, VOCs, Rads, and all of the standard things like bacteria, solids, pH, etc.

BeverlyFLADeziner has a point if there were VOCs that could aerosolize in the shower or something. I will find out about that when I get my results. It should be easy enough to take care of the typical ground water contaminants when I get that report (everyone on this street has a well, and no one has a big problem with theirs). It's the things that don't get measured in these tests that I'm concerned with how to find the right filter, that's less straight forward.

I was hesitant to mention the PEX piping in this post because I knew what was coming with everyone's replies..lol. Just humor me even if you don't personally believe this is a concern. I've read published studies looking at leaching of chemicals from PEX, inclucing toluene, pyridine, among several others. I am hoping to get some kind of suggestion on a really good filter system that could address plastic leaching in particular.

It's my chemistry background, and though water isn't my specialty, understanding physiology and how chemicals interact with the body is my focus.. Most people go about their lives without thinking about the chemicals around them. I can't "unsee" it though. I see chemicals everywhere and avoid them when I can --in food, cleaning products, even use cloth diapers instead of disposables. I can taste plastic if I drink from a plastic cup. The leaching from PEX may be negligible and it may be harmless, but we don't really know that for sure. What we do know is that there are chemicals leaching, that has been measured in studies. We don't know the impact yet. We just assume it is safe because we haven't seen evidence to tell us otherwise. We've seen this before many times with products on the market presumed to be safe, only to hear otherwise years later.

I want to do what I can to filter it, just for peace of mind.

Anyone have some suggestions for what kind of system to use, or what brands to look at? What features to look at? Much appreciated to help me start on this research!

Ok, so you really didn't get much out of the earlier post.

Re: Pex and "we don't really know for sure..." "Aerosolized VOC's in shower water..."

That's crap. I'm sorry, but that's exactly what the state of the science behind much of what's driving your quest for a filter. There is one situation with PEX - and out of an abundance of caution California requires PEX to be flushed on new construction. The situation is when a house is new, has water that's allowed to sit in the pipes for months, and then is turned on. They require it to be flushed because workers will be repeatedly exposed to the stagnate water in the pipes (house after house). PEX has been used for residential water systems, including in Europe, for what - about 50 years now?

All domestic water supply plumbing must be NSF certified to be sold in the US legally - so yes, we actually "do know".

Water is a universal solvent. Virtually every type of plumbing leaches to it. In fact, Reverse Osmosis water is so "pure" that it's aggressive and it will leach metal that it comes in contact with. R/O water is plumbed in plastic.

You do know that copper is a biocide and copper (like lead) is one of the metals that's regularly tested for in drinking water- right? But you still wanted copper water pipes.

You will be chasing ghosts. Seriously. Good luck with that.

I hear great things about the "Big Berkey!"

Oh ok, thanks, I'll look into that!

@Jakethewonderdog... I didn't get much out of your post because it didn't address my question. I have a doctorate in the sciences, specifically on chemistry and how it relates to physiology. I understand what is tested in the water. I posted on here hoping to get some suggestions on specific brands of filters to look into, things that worked or what didn't for others. I really didn't see the need to get into all of this when I posted, but since you seemed oddly offended by my desire to filter my water, I'm gonna jump on my soap box...

""Aerosolized VOC's in shower water..." That's crap."

VOCs are a concern for their risk of ingestion, topical absorption, and aerosolization (inhalation risk). VOCs definitely can be an issue with the shower or bath at high levels. That's fine if you don't have a strong chemistry background to realize this can be a concern (or if you do, you're being a very close minded scientist). But if you don't know the subject inside and out, don't try to discredit someone who does.

"All domestic water supply plumbing must be NSF certified to be sold in the US legally - so yes, we actually "do know"."

That means nothing... well.. not nothing. It means that at this moment, they can't prove any harm. So for now, they'll call it safe. I can give you countless examples of things put on the market that have been pulled because of safety issues that were discovered AFTER they were given the "safety" blessing by the powers that be. This kind of thinking... completely trusting the system to keep you safe.. is a dangerous game to play. Just because it is legal doesn't make it safe either.. cigarettes are legal too.

A really good example is the discovery that plastics were leaching bisphenol-A, a hormone disruptor. The plastic started development in 1955, the BPA wasn't seen until 1992 (almost 40 years later, and by accident). The company making the plastic had already looked into the possibility of leaching, and didn't find it in their testing. It took until 2011-2012 until it was banned in higher risk products like baby bottles (as usual Europe and Canada acted quicker than the USA). That took 56 years to be discovered and seriously accepted as a problem.

NSF does testing on PEX and I'm grateful to have that, but sometimes we learn about something harmful after enough time has passed, or technology improves enough to detect an issue that we couldn't see before. I'm anticipating chemical leaching because we have seen that with other plastics, which should be a good enough reason to have a little concern about the subject. The testing process is also done on new pipes. Plastic can change over time, and we don't have data on the risks of an old PEX system. Their testing is done in a controlled environment, which is excellent. But real life will expose the pipes to different things that can't possibly be accounted for in their initial tests. They didn't use my ground water when they did these tests, and anyone who's done research can tell you that the smallest difference can change an outcome. The NSF certifies based on "acceptable" levels of "lifetime" exposure, without having actual "lifetime" exposure studies. Meaning... they DID find contaminants in their studies, but believe that they're below acceptable levels. You show me the study where they followed a control vs experimental group of thousands of people from infancy through 70 years of exposure to each of these chemicals, and that there was absolutely no difference between the groups, and I'll be blissfully happy with my PEX pipes. There are independent researchers who found different results by using different methods..seeing contaminants above acceptable levels. It's enough to cause doubt in my mind about PEX that I prefer not to stake my children's health on it. So for now, I'm choosing to err on the side of caution and filter it for my own peace of mind.

Copper testing is done, but copper toxicity from pipes isn't very common and small amounts of copper are fine. It's a trace mineral in the body used for red blood cell function, bones, etc. It'll take a good bit to accumulate to a harmful level. But you're right, it can happen. Testing my water periodically for Copper would only cost me $7 with a certified lab, and testing for VOCs is $110...so there's that.

Is it ghosts I'm chasing? It's just peace of mind that I'm after.

We have Kinetico I love it the filters are a bit expensive but only every 2 years or so.We have town water so no testing required .BTW we have PEX everywhere.

Copper testing is done, but copper toxicity from pipes isn't very common.

Which begs the question, how common is toxicity from PEX? I have yet to know someone who has died or become sick from drinking PEX-supplied water.

"Is it ghosts I'm chasing? It's just peace of mind that I'm after."

You will not get peace of mind with your approach. It will not happen. There will always be a perceived threat or potential unknown for which you have no way of quantifying or evaluating the actual risk. You would need an army of chemists, labs, epidemiologists, etc. That's why we have an EPA, NSF, etc.

In order to stop being exposed to "chemicals" you would have to stop eating, drinking, breathing and be vacuum sealed in a hermetic glass container. Of course, that's definitely not good for your health.

Indeed, we do find certain things that pose problems later. But again, looking at all of the threats out there - we ignore the really big ones and instead focus on "potential unknowns" because we don't assess retaliative risk well -- particularly ones we don't understand. An example of this is a co-worker who was going on about pesticide residue on apples -- and this person was a cigarette smoker. Washing apples to reduce pesticide residue isn't a bad thing... but smoking is really terrible. My guess is that you and your children ride in a car - which is already proven to be vastly more dangerous than PEX plumbing. No additional longitudinal studies needed.

When you speak of potential unknowns, well water is far more of an unknown than PEX. The problem with well water is that it's typically not tested regularly. My municipal water is tested annually against EPA standards. Is that perfect? - No... but it's pretty good. Then I use a carbon/KDF-55 to clean up taste, odor, chlorine, VOC's etc on drinking water. I may die from cancer when I'm 90 - but that's ok.

Indeed, copper toxicity isn't common. PEX toxicity is unheard of. However, there are some known issues that are common. Test for those, then use a carbon or RO filter for your drinking water if you want a little extra assurance.

If you have a serious issue with your water (lead, for example) then get a filter that is NSF certified to remove that. It's the only way you will have a reasonable assurance that the filter actually does what it claims. Note: there are multiple NSF tests, so you need to look up the test number. It's a rabbit hole, for sure.

For example: The Big Berkey claims NSF certified (which certification?) will last up to 3000 gal (but depends on the level of contamination) and will do a little over 3 gal a day. Some problems with that - besides the low volume - is that you don't really know when the filter is done for any given contaminate. Is that 3000 gal for heavy metals?, VOC's? what if you have high contaminant levels?,

The entire "water purity" business is chasing after ghosts.

Arch13, I'm glad to hear it! That would be terrifying!

Exactly Jake! There's dangers everywhere! And yuck for well water that has so many unknowns, can't wait to get it tested next week. Glad you get my point about chemicals being everywhere. now...do we just soak ourselves in chemicals on purpose because it's unavoidable (gotta die from something, right?)? Or do we limit the exposure to what we DO have control over? Logically (at least I'd hope so) we would naturally try to limit the risks that we can. It's pretty easy to filter the water. Is there really a risk, who knows. We know there's definitely leaching - that's been shown through various studies including those through NSF. We know there's been issues with other plastics in the past in finding hormone disruptors and other chemicals. So it's a reasonable conclusion that there could be a risk that we don't fully understand. You are free to ignore that risk, or believe that there is no risk at all. We all have to decide what risks are important to us as individuals. Neither of us are wrong, we just perceive the risk differently.

You guys are referring to acute toxicity, which would be ridiculous with PEX. Small doses of chemical exposure is more likely to be a chronic and slow progressing problem that is very unlikely to ever get pinned on one thing like PEX. That's because there's probably not one culprit. It's likely a combination of our awful American lifestyle that includes processed foods, overeating, pollution, lack of exercise, and chemical exposure in every single thing we do and eat. And when you add it all up over time, you see a rise in autoimmune disease, inflammatory conditions, cancer, autism, depression, bipolar.

What do we do about it? We do what we can. Can I eliminate all of it? Absolutely not. But maybe I can eliminate 20-30% of it, and that gives me peace of mind. Filtering the water, using cloth diapers on the kids, eating organic, that's what I can do. Does my peanut butter still come in a plastic jar, ugh unfortunately yes. Do I take the risk to drive my car as you pointed out, sure I do. Those aren't easy risks to eliminate. When you assess risk, you have to look at risk vs the benefit you get from continuing that risk, but also what risks are easy to eliminate and which are difficult. Then you make the changes that you can, and the changes that you feel have meaning. If you focus on trying to eliminate all risks, you'll drown in your fears. Filtering the water isn't a difficult one to attempt to eliminate.

I am also a teacher and I feel myself getting into a lesson on risk analysis...lol..so I'm really done with this conversation. It was meant to be a genuine inquiry to get some advice about filtering. This debate is bogging down the other feeds of people trying to get help with their houses and unless anyone has some constructive advice on a type of filter, I'd ask you to just let it go.

Patricia, Deborahhines, Decoenthusiaste, Jim Mat, and BeverlyFLADeziner...thank you for your help!

I understand that this has digressed into a debate on risk. However, I do very much appreciate Jake's assertions regarding the safety of PEX. At some point some poor homeowner will come lurking around here when they may be thinking about putting PEX into their home, and at least now they'll see two sides of the debate. For the record, I'm with Jake on this, and if PEX does pose a risk at all, it is negligible. Then again, I'm not exactly risk-adverse when it comes to these sorts of things. I don't think twice about the asbestos insulating my radiator pipes or the lead paint. The people we bought the house from lived their entire adult life in the place, are are now kicking it in their 90s somewhere in Florida. The place didn't kill them, hopefully it won't kill me.

It's not just a "debate about risk" or simply about PEX - although that's a big part of it.

The first point is that you understand what it is that is present in your water that you want to remove. Different filters are effective at removing specific contaminants. You find out what is in the water by testing. With water from a well you have to test regularly (every few years)- not just once when the well is drilled.

Another point is that other than RO (which also includes a carbon filter) - there's little in the way of water filters that will remove most contaminants. RO for drinking water is a do-able thing. The standard unit provides gallons of water a day - not 10's of gallons. If you use RO you will be piping it through plastic pipe (as well as plastic filter housing). Whole house RO isn't really a thing.

All filtering systems have a requirement for ongoing maintenance - ignoring maintenance is usually worse than no filter. The more water being filtered - and the more extensive the filtering - the more the cost of maintenance.

The rest of the story is that ANY filter is an act of faith because few are NSF certified and it's often not clear how long they are effective (how many gallons of water can be treated) because there are too many variables such as the level of contamination.

The most common NSF certifications are NSF 42, 53 and 401 - but again, most manufacturers aren't bothering to certify because people don't want a sound approach to water filtering - they simply want to feel good about the ghost they just chased.

Sure - but it sounds like the OP simply does want to feel good about the matter. The water purification thing is her hot button and she wants to feel better about it.

I question a PhD asking for help on this site.

This is not about water filters, but about Pex.

@L thomas

I provided good, detailed, supported and actionable information that has a point of view - but is nevertheless pretty valuable. The OP didn't want to hear it because it didn't fit into her preconceived notions.

I think that @User is probably right - the OP's issue is more about PEX than water filters.

Never mind that while there are admittedly few cases of copper toxicity - there are no reported cases of PEX toxicity. The "We don't really know..." and other innuendo isn't appreciated - especially from someone with a claimed science background. We really do know: We are all going to die - but something else will kill us other than our copper or PEX plumbing, even over the long term.

Asking about "brands" or "features" or "manufacturers" is totally worthless information. I have a good recommendation for a spin-down filter - but it's worthless at removing arsenic. I can point you to a decent filter for hardness, but it won't do anything for VOC's. If it's not NSF certified for what you trying to remove - then you are really relying on vendor hype - which in the water filtering business is right up there with snake oil.

The people we bought the house from lived their entire adult life in the place, are are now kicking it in their 90s somewhere in Florida. The place didn't kill them...

My Mom (85) also lived in a house with asbestos, lead paint, and unfiltered water for 60+ years and isn’t dead either. She also smoked (quit in her early 70’s), drinks alcohol, and loves potato chips and cookies.

I ran into a guy the other day who worked for a water testing company and he said he did his research and is enthusiastic about the Berkley filter. I went online and saw a lot of bad reviews, so I am back to square one.

Regarding the "not filtering the whole house" thing, I'm guessing that a water softener would take care of the yellow/iron water that stains my showers and bathroom sinks and putting a filter on the drinking/cooking water would take care of the rest?

violet,

please start your own thread. Guess all you want.

all water is not the same, nor are how the water is used.

Jake- agreed. You most certainly did. The OP chose to ignore it, which is why I said, for her, it’s about feeling good, not facts.