Water filters - whole house vs drinking/cooking only

I can tell you we are looking at the following company for our house build...

http://www.ecoservedr.com/

Whole house system with ultraviolet light and sediment/carbon filters.

Compare this to reverse osmosis systems. I am sure others here can explain what its best for a certain situation. I believe the bottled water we buy here is reverse osmosis.

We have one (whole house filtration and purification system) at the house we rent and it's fabulous.  You never have to think about the water issue or be concerned children may inadvertently drink bad water, etc.  I believe it's called a Viqua or EcoServe system.

Go into Unidos opposite your office and you can see the options and discuss with the staff.

They have mini reverse osmosis and filter equipment plus larger filters. And I am sure they will find you a plumber to install too.

Thanks.  We got a quote for a whole house system but really   over  6,000 US to  buy and  doesn't include install!  Seems  like a lot of money. Time for me to investigate

Thanks Lennox,  thought I would start here with   suggestions and info!  Going over to  Almacenes unidas  later today

I got quoted about $5,000 usd for entire house filtration system. That was in Santiago. The water testing place gave me that quote.

RockyM wrote:

I can tell you we are looking at the following company for our house build...

http://www.ecoservedr.com/

Whole house system with ultraviolet light and sediment/carbon filters.

Compare this to reverse osmosis systems. I am sure others here can explain what its best for a certain situation. I believe the bottled water we buy here is reverse osmosis.

When I used Eco-Serve ... it was $2000US

The only thing I can contribute is that a UV filtration unit will me more beneficial cost-wise and cheaper to run.  A Reverse Osmosis system will have a lot of waste water, be more expensive in the long run, but deliver tasteless water.  It also removes all the minerals from the water, so when you drink or cook with it, your body does not get any added micro-nutrients that may be present in the filtered water.  For some people, this is a big deal, for others, not so much.  I like my whole-home filter, but we run the drinking water through a Brita filter in the fridge to help remove more of the minerals, as I am prone to kidney stones, and the hard water here really helps produce them.

I'm with Lennox.  I have had a whole home system but I have to tell you it is costly but there are also benefits.  Your choice is dependent upon your water supply and that is where the suggestion Lennox made makes the most sense.  I would not do a whole house system here for my circumstances.  I am happy with our well water in our location and we even wash vegetables, rinse our mouth etc. without issues.  Your area may be different.  For me a system in my kitchen to eliminate buying bottled drinking water is both economical and the only real necessity.  Anything else would be a waste IMO.

Also, some whole home systems require maintenance, salt (unless it's a RO system etc.  Check out both the capital expenditure and your running costs to help make your best decision.

Two filters on you well feed line, one sediment and the second carbon, will give you clean water to wash, bathe, flush, cook and brush teeth. Cost under 200usd with one hours plumbers work to fit on roof. 50usd to change filters 3 times a year.

5 gallon refills of drinking water here in Cevicos costs 25pesos or 40 delivered here in campo. RO treated but we get plenty of minerals from cooking water and elsewhere. Builds your immunity too not having everything too pure.

As Uncle Buck stated RO water removes minerals so dont have whole house RO unless you install post RO filters to add back minerals. Have a friend who has lived in Turks and Caicos for 25 years where all water is RO and he was diagnosed with bone calcium loss due to that water.

I have bought a UV purification unit and will attached a two filter system to it so that water from any tap on my property can be clean and filtered. I reviewed the specs carefully and I am well below max capacity. I am using two filters although my in-laws used a one filter system for drinking water and all was fine. Have no idea if UV is avail there - mine cost $599 Cdn...good luck....

Let me say this...

Since this system went in years ago - UV + Filters

NOT ONE of the tender female tummies in the house has had a problem !!

That makes my life better !!

I bullt a new house in plantation, luerto plata 2 years ago almost. When i showered i smelt like clorine from the town water.
I had ecoserve in sasua install a whole house system. I have no smell and csn drink the wster direct from the faucet.
They come and service every 3 months and are very professional. 
They start by disinfecting all your pipes in the house and install a system that cleans with filters snd UV light for bacteria. I even have my ice machine hoojed up to it. I highly recommend them.

Total costs ?

initially was around $2100 usd    then i have a service contract the second year at around 400 i think.

Thanks everyone!!!

Ecoserve in sasua installed mine.  The first sanitized all the plumbing in the house. Then connected system. They come regularly to change filters and are there by next day if theres a problem. I drink the water from the faucet and make ice with it also. Going on 2 years with them.

We will most likely get Ecoserve for our house when it is time. My question is how difficult maintenance will be. Ecoserve does not service the Las Terrenas area, so I will need to perform the service myself with their filters. I don't suspect it will be too involved, but I don't know.

Caps guy here i own AQUATEK  well water specialist in Florida  since 1969 small world LOL. iF I CANT FIX  YOUR WATER MOVE ! MY LOGO let me know what you need have you tested water yet?i can send you some easy test strips . so we know what you need i do whole hose systems

There are a lot of chemical free systems now . like very little maintenance. all depends on what your water is like .The water biz in most cases is a rip off all the company's in Florida sell you stuff you don't need its a scare tactic . been doing this to long.

This is good news

I am very interested!  Felice1966 our water is not drinkable in this country.  Very few wells are drinkable and NO city water is drinkable.  Help!

morning
we are taking a RS for under the sink , our carrier will ship it for 100 that it is easy to install.
the whole house system will be a bit more but willcheck with lady that takes our stuff and let you know on cost.
do we have a community group where we can gather and have functions

Gathering for functions is difficult:

1. We are still in a pandemic with widespread issues

2. This may be an island but it's a pretty big country.  Holding gatherings will have to be in various communities.  That is after it's safe to do so!

RockyM wrote:

We will most likely get Ecoserve for our house when it is time. My question is how difficult maintenance will be. Ecoserve does not service the Las Terrenas area, so I will need to perform the service myself with their filters. I don't suspect it will be too involved, but I don't know.

I've watched their tech do ours, and it is not too difficult, if everything goes right.  Stocking up on filters and the UV light whenever you come through Sosua would be ideal, but this country has some unique shipping methods with Taxis and Gua Guas.  One thing I did with our system was attach one of those magnetic electronic descalers.  The one you wrap a wire around your water pipe?  In my case, 2 of them, as we have extremely hard water.  I got the cheap version from Amazon that's just the wires, power cord and circuit board, installed it in a clear job box myself.  For $40, if it didn't actually do anything, not too big of a loss.  But it does actually work, much less scale build up on the counters around sinks, faucets, and hardly any on the glass in the shower.  Eco Serve's tech even commented on more build up in the first filter as it took the calcium and magnesium out of the water.

there are lots of options uv light is a must kills 99% of all bacteria.But without a water sample i don't know whats in the water.Has anyone had water tested near you and what are the results .get me a copy of report would save time

UncleBuck,  as always great advice. Thanks! Most of our water will be rain collection via the roof, so we do not expect it to be too hard; but, we will wait and see.
Yes, we plan to stock up on the filters and see how everything goes with self maintenance. I am generally pretty handy with such things. House should be completed around December.

Pardon me to step in so late, was not aware of this topic.

I was QM of a site of the most important US- group producing lab equipment for pharmaceutical industries all over the world. So maybe I can contribute a bit?

Reverse osmosis:
makes kind of highly purified water without minerals and bacteria, used for medical injections. You should NOT drink that! It is really reactive and agresive! Only the simple systems waste a lot of water. High quality systems recirculate the waste water a second time and gain much more pure output.

Ion exchange resins:
Take out hardness of the water and have to be regenerated periodically woth HCl and NaOH depending on the content of ions / salt in the water. They do not affect taste or content of bacteria. Ion exchange resins are pretty sensitive to chlorine. High content of chlorine in the water dramatically decreases the capacity / lifetime of a cartridge.

Activated carbon:
Has o be changed periodically too. Binds chlorine, bad tasts and chemicals.

Bacteria filters:
They are like a fine mesh, keep back bacteria and make water drinkable. They do not affect content of salts / ions in the water.

UV-light:
Kills most bacterias, depending on the flow rate of the water. The lower the flow rate and the more power the UV- lamp has, the less bacteria survive. Has to be exchanged periodically as it looses effect by aging. Water can get a different or strange taste because the energy of the light changes chemical properties of chemicals or even splits compounds into other chemical compounds. And you still drink destroyed bacteria compounds. Like that? ;_)

So for potable water I (!)
- would keep ions (no ion exchange resin)
- would assemble an activated carbon cartridge to get rid of chemicals and chlorine
- assemble a physical bacteria filter after it.

Thats all you need and exchange / service on a regular base. Otherwise cultures of bacteria will grow happily in your system.

Cheers!

With a uv light system there is not much .If you go with under counter reverse easy changing filters whole house good systems clean them selves .add salt all depends what system you need . Most company's will over kill .Just to make a buck

Ive posted this before. I had ecoserve in sasua put a whole house system in. Cost around 2k .they have been great with prompt service. I can drink water from my faucets. Shower with no clorine smell. Going on 2 years no complaints.

Thanks for the review!  It appears they are only in Sosua / north coast

Is that in use here or in the USA  Daniel?    I am interested in how it works here.  And if its here have  you had the water tested?

Good question, Planner! Here there is more to worry about than tastes and smells!

Again you did not answer the question!  Okay we get it tastes good.  Great.

DOES IT REMOVE BACTERIA ETC ETC?

Are you using it here in the DR?

Have you tested the water here  after using it?

We also have a whole house filter system but you also still need a UV light for residual bacteria! This has worked perfectly for us@

Robbie123 wrote:

We also have a whole house filter system but you also still need a UV light for residual bacteria! This has worked perfectly for us@

What system are you using? Is it something you bought here or imported?

I have a ispring 3 filter system 4"x 20" filters, a combination of 1 micron sediment filters and charcoal filters and a UV light all purchased from Home depot and brought in in our suitcases. We had no problem going through customs even when we declared it all.

Hi there, when I look this up it doesn't include a uv light? Did you buy that seperately? Also, have you had your water tested to verify that it is clean of bacteria etc? Thank you for any additional info. It is really confusing but I don't want to spend 2k on a system that we could get ourselves and have a plumber install.

(sorry, this reply was for danielkray0111 who used the WGB21B)