2017-05-06
My towns water supply has been discovered to be contaminated with PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals). Some research revealed that the particular contaminate for which the water was tested, PFOA, can be removed through sufficient contact with granular activated carbon. But, PFOA, while it will remain in the environment for generations, is no longer being used in most manufacturing. It has been replaced by similar substances that have molecular sizes that are too small to be filtered by GAC. And next to nothing is known or published about the effects of these newer chemicals including how to effectively test for their presence in the water supply. The primary source of the contamination in my town is a plastics factory which is now using the newer chemicals. The only reasonable course for my family - we drink tap water almost exclusively - was to install a reverse osmosis filter which will filter down to molecules only a little larger than water.I purchased and installed this filter about a month ago and have been very satisfied with the performance. I also added on a permeate pump (Aquatech ERP 1000) which delivers improved the performance both in higher faucet pressure and reduced quantity of waste water.The only issue I encountered during installation was that the pipe thread tape supplied in the kit was not tough enough. The threads were cutting the tape when threading the valve on. I fought with leaks at the top of the pressure tank for a few days before trying a thicker tape (I have a few rolls in my tool box). That did the trick ... no more leaks since.
