Anyone know anything about well water treatment systems?

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jeffesonm

jeffesonm

Minister of Fire
May 29, 2012
862
central NJ
I will be renting my house for a few years while I move out of state temporarily. As part of the township paperwork I had to get a well water test which showed elevated nitrate levels (18 mg/l vs limit of 10mg/l)

Given all I've read on nitrates it seems they're only a risk to infants, so if it was up to me, I would do a RO system under the kitchen sink. But unfortunately our township has an ordinance requiring POET systems.

Any recommendations for POET system to remove nitrates? If possible I'd rather not remove all the other tasty minerals and stuff in the water, just the nitrates.
 
j.......what are nitrates ?
 
I dunno, some sort of bad stuff that you're not supposed to have too much of in your water. From all the reading I've done the only legitimate risk is to infants <6 months of age.
 
IIRC @Highbeam knows water treatment. If he doesn't reply you might want to message him.
 
Blue baby syndrome. Let me do some reading. Nitrates are bad. Not just aesthetic.
 
So, nitrate is odorless and colorless in water. It most likely got there from a bad septic system, fertilizer, or livestock operations close by. It can't be absorbed through the skin so you can use it in all ways except drinking it. This is why people like to use point of use nitrate removal systems since you only really want to avoid drinking it. Yes, infants are most likely to be killed but most people will not want to drink something that could kill a baby and you can't really know when an infant might be exposed to your water. Especially with a rental.

Those point of use systems are usually a form of reverse osmosis which will work. Is that what you are calling a POET system? I believe those are Point of Entry systems which implies a whole house system vs. a point of use system under the kitchen sink.

You have two options, one is a whole house nitrate removal system like this:

http://www.cleanwaterstore.com/nitrate-whole-house-water.html

It's like a water softener but is not a water softener. It won't soften water as it only removes anions and not cations. Note it is like 2000$.

The Point of use systems are another good option:

http://www.cleanwaterstore.com/NI001550.html#tab=tab1

The kit is 165$ and replacement filters are 50$ every 3-6 months and you have separate tap on the kitchen sink.

Given the cost and how much water a person actually drinks, I would likely do the under sink point of use system. If your AHJ is telling you to use a particular system (POET?) then there is some safety and less liability if you follow their direction.
 
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Thanks, that is generally consistent what I have been reading. If it was up to me I would just do the RO filter under the kitchen sink and be done with it, since to your point, nitrates aren't that bad at least relative to stuff like arsenic. And it's not like you're drinking gallons during a shower.

I spoke with AHJ and our town has an ordinance requiring all water treatment systems be Point of Entry, not Point of Use. I am renting the house for a few years while I move out of state so code compliance is mandatory. So whole house filter it is.

I got one quote for an anion filter like the one you linked above for $1700 installed with a larger salt tank so I could maybe get away with filling it once a year. Would prefer this than rely on tenant. Another guy came this morning and waiting on his quote, but expect it will be in the same ballpark.
 
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I've gotten three quotes now, all within $100-200 of each other.

Two guys said I should replace the existing regular softener with an anion exchange softener, and if I kept both, the pH would be screwed up. The third guy asked to make sure I had a working regular softener, because without it, the pH would be screwed up.

Hmm...
 
jeffesonm said:
I've gotten three quotes now, all within $100-200 of each other.

Two guys said I should replace the existing regular softener with an anion exchange softener, and if I kept both, the pH would be screwed up. The third guy asked to make sure I had a working regular softener, because without it, the pH would be screwed up.

Hmm...
Click to expand...

I don't believe either softener or the nitrate filter will change pH. I do believe that both systems require pH within a range to work properly. pH is a whole different parameter to treat.
 
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