Water heater filter

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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technogal
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:19 pm

Well, after cleaning the 2 humidifiers in the house today, I began wondering if I can put in a water filter at the water heater. I know you can with a "regular" home, but don't know about a mobile home.

I live near Palm Springs and the air gets really dry, hence the need for some water in the air. I can put one on the sink if needed, but would rather put one on the water heater for whole house use if I can.

Thanks for a wonderful forum!
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Greg
Moderator
Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

I would guess that what you are getting from the humidifier filters is lime and other hard minerals. A filter really would not do much since the minerals don't come out untill either heat is added or the water evaporates. You could try one and see if it helps, but I have my doubts. The only real way to remove minerals is with a water softener. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Hmmmm...Greg you got me to thinking. A water softener works fine to clear iron (hard water) but how effective is it on lime? Since the softener doesn't heat the water how effective is it? I know that a filter won't remove lime. I chucked my water softner when I remodeled my bathroom but when it was installed it seemed to cut back a lot of the lime problem. Not all of it..but some of it. Unfortunatly the lime also gammahooched up the water softener so bad it wouldn't work half the time..and hence the reason I chucked it. No doubt I'll regret that when I have to replace heating elements in the water heater every year..eh! I'm just curious as to how to deal with one problem without creating another. YMHS...Audie..the Oldfart..
technogal
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:19 pm

Mmm...I was corrected by someone at home :)

I need a whole house water filter, not a water heater filter. So the questions still apply I guess.

Thanks for help so far. I really appreciate it.
steve
Posts: 66
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 2:16 pm

Whole house water filters come in a wide variety of sizes and specific filter/condition
Size conforms to how much water you use (too small of a unit causes excessive filter changes which gets costly)
Condition conforms to what chemical your trying to eliminate (different type filters for different elimination)
I have seen a lime filter but they are expensive and a water softner works better because less maintenance and no filter changes
shadow745
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:54 am
Location: Central North Carolina

oldfart wrote:Hmmmm...Greg you got me to thinking. A water softener works fine to clear iron (hard water) but how effective is it on lime? YMHS...Audie..the Oldfart..
A true water softener is used mainly to get rid of limestone and any other hardness causing minerals. This is done through an ion exchange process and that's why salt is used in most systems. They can be used for small amounts of iron, but generally won't do much good if the iron gets over 2-3 ppm.

Larger amounts of iron are much harder to tame. I know because we have spent about $8,000 on our system because of it. In our case chemical injection, tank retention and a huge carbon filter was needed and it can still be a pain.....

Iron can also be removed with various high end filters, reverse osmosis, air injection, but I'm not sure if hot water helps with much on anything like this. Later!
Do what you can today, as you might not be here tomorrow!
shadow745
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:54 am
Location: Central North Carolina

Audie, sounds like you need a whole house softener. If that's what you did have and it wasn't working properly, then either it wasn't sized properly for your water or the salt/regeneration settings weren't right for the task at hand. My MIL has really hard water, around 9-10 grains and their softener does fine. It does cycle 4 times a week and uses ALOT of salt, but it does do the job. If not for that things like water heater elements would have to be replaced every 6 months to 1 year. Later!
Do what you can today, as you might not be here tomorrow!
Sally
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:59 pm
Location: Georgia

I've been reading these posts with great interest!, but I have to confess, I'm SO ignorant about the basics involved. I have a great deal of mineral (I'm told it is "lime" or "shale") in my well water, and would love to put some kind of entrapment system on the hose which leads from the water supply faucet (outdoors) to the main intake underneath the trailer, so that less lime or mineral or WHATever finds it way into my pipes. I plan to replace the hot water tank very shortly, anyway, at which time I'm going to have to ask the plumbers to "backflush" all the pipes and try to unclog the faucets in the house, which are so choked with mineral sediment that I have virtually no cold water pressure at all. I would like to do something to make sure that this problem is stopped to the greatest degree possible. I don't look forward to an annual ordeal of plumbers digging sediment out of the bottom of a (brand new) hot water heater, or having to backflush sediment out of all the pipes and faucets. There is so much mineral coming through in the water than when you draw it in a glass and let it settle for a few minutes, tiny white particles of whatever it is are clearly visible at the bottom of the glass. I'll be glad to hear any and all suggestions, but please dumb it down so I can understand it. :oops:
Sally
"No good deed goes unpunished"
shadow745
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:54 am
Location: Central North Carolina

IMO there are NO dumb questions. We're all here (and other forums) to learn and help others when we can.

Sounds like you have some serious issues with hardness. The best thing to do would be get somebody to test your water and buy a whole house softener and have that installed right at the point before the water goes into the home. Depending on where you live it might have to located inside somehow, but could possibly be placed underneath the home and insulated. People just don't understand how wicked hard water can be.

We have a Rainsoft system that was about $3,200 installed. But you can find decent softeners at Lowe's, Sears, etc. for $400-700. Best thing is to make sure it is sized properly for your water issues. Later!
Do what you can today, as you might not be here tomorrow!
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