Replacement of Culligan System?
Published July 11, 2011 | 
Caren Writes:
When we moved into our house 8 years ago, we had a whole house system put in by Culligan. I have a large oval tank in my basement by well pump, a smaller container that I add liquid shock to (ratio of 1gal of shock-5gal of water) next to that and then upstairs under my kitchen sink a small tank similar to the large one in the basement. I have well water, drink a lot of water and we had sulfur (rotten egg smell). I have had nothing but issues with this system, it was expensive to put in and every few months I have new and expensive fixes that Culigan has to come in and deal with. I have contacted several local water solution companies but everyone gives me a different solution, different answer and they are a lot of money. I need a system but I am a single mom who has to be careful with my money so I want to make the right, smart choice. I want to have safe drinking water and no egg smell when I use the water, plea help me make the right choice!!!
Hi Caren
I operate small community centers which have similar flow rates to a house, also on a well system. Two of them also have rotten egg smells which come from hydrogen sulphide which are products of sulphur reducing bacteria in your well and/or aquifer.
They hydrogen sulphide is annoying and there are two ways to deal with it practically:
1. Oxidize it with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide OR
2. Adsorb it with activated carbon filtration
The real issue is to ensure that you eliminate any potential pathogens from your well water, because pathogens (virus’s, bacteria and protozoa parasites) will make you sick quickly and of course, self replicate in your system which make them especially dangerous.
What you need to do to protect yourself from pathogens is again, two things:
1. Get rid of the ‘chunks’ in the water. Dirt, sediment, small particles.
These ‘chunks’ are aesthetically displeasing, but also they can shield pathogens from disinfection. This step requires filtration.
2. Any remaining organisms, if they are there, need to be killed or
deactivated. This requires disinfection, which is either chemical like chlorine, or physical like U.V. light.
I personally like a good U.V. light system because a good U.V. system can internally monitor itself to make sure there is enough of a germicidal dose going into the water by ensuring a maximum flow rate, monitoring the clarity of the water, and monitoring the strength of the lamps. Those
three factors combine to form what ‘dosage’ you are getting and with U.V., there are no chemical residuals.
I use a system called U.V. Pure for U.V. For filtration, I use a company called Kinetico. Kinetico has available self cleaning filters and they also can incorporate activated carbon to remove the sulphur smell.
I recommend you contact Kinetico and arrange for someone to visit your house. Show them this email if you like, if you don’t really know what to ask for. Kinetico also distributes U.V. Pure so they can put together a system for you. The Kinetico guy can also determine what if any
contaminants are in your well, but likely you’ll be ok as the system I described above is usually good for 99% of home wells as long as they are properly constructed.
Kinetico’s website: http://www.kinetico.com/
They have a locate tool right at the top of the website, enter your zip code to find the closest dealer.
If you do get a U.V. system, ensure you get a power regulator. I believe these come with all new U.V. Pure systems but it is essential to protect the ballast. Do this and you will have smooth operation for the life of the unit.
I hope that helps, please let me know how you make out.
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Whole House Water Treatment
Published March 30, 2009 | Nadia from Bettendorf Writes:
I was very interested in your site and am looking for an advice. I am currently reseaching two companies and their products but finding it very difficult to compare them. I would like to install a RO system for drinking water. I would also like to remove clorine and hardness from all the water in the house. I contacted Eco water and was advised an RO system with 3 gal tank and a water conditioner/purifier model ERR 3502
http://ecowater.com/systemERR3502R30.php
There are 6 of us in the house. I am wondering if 3 gal worth of drinking water is enough and if this purifier is big enough for us. It has coconut shell carbon filter.
The other salesman I talked to was from Culligan. He recommended 9 gal RO system. like this one:http://www.culligan.com/en/products/drinking-water-systems/aqua-cleer/
He did not even want to go the whole system route. I need to check with him but I think he thought the amount of carbon that is included in those 2-in-1 (so to speak )systems would not be adequate. He said we would need a softner and a carbon filter tank – seems like a lot.
My question is what RO tank we need and if this coconut shell filter is enough.
The eco-water system carbon filter needs to be replaced every year for $100 while Culligan lasts 2-3 years but the price is $200 plus labor. So they are comparable this way.
I do not know why Culligan did not recommend this systemhttp://www.culligan.com/en/products/whole-house-water-filters/total-home/
Even though he was showing me the picture of Gold seried water softener that looks exactly like this one. I think he was afraid that we would be going thru salt and carbon too fast.
Also, how would I compare water softners (valve, salt, etc) I am not sure what to look at.
I really appreciate your advice in this matter. I have kids who cannot tolerate bad water so I am trying to get the most bang for my $.
Hi Nadia
Thank you for writing in.
First off, since you mentioned chlorinated water, I’ll assume that you’re on municipal water. If that’s not the case, please write back and let me know, as my answer will change.
My thoughts on reverse osmosis systems are that they are an absolute last resort device. I’ve only recommended them a few times, like a woman in Manitoba who had high levels of uranium in her drinking water, for example.
This is because reverse osmosis is very expensive, produces only a small amount of water (some systems reject up to 50% of the water that goes into them), and produces water that is lower in pH and had no minerals which most health professionals agree is part of a healthy diet.
If you like the taste of de-mineralized water, then by all means purchase a reverse osmosis system. You will probably need one larger than 3 gallons for a 6 person home, as it will produce the three gallons slowly. If you drain the storage tank filling water bottles, or cooking a large pot of pasta, it will recover slowly.
Contrary to what water stores may have you believe, here in North America municipally treated water is safe to drink and use right out of the tap. The only concerns with that water are the chlorine, which offer objectionable taste to some, and sometimes the hardness which makes washing chores more difficult.
My recommendation is a two fold process:
1) Carbon filtration and softening for most of your house
2) Carbon filtration only for your drinking water
In my municipality, I use a filter by a company called Kinetico. The reason I use these filters is that they have a twin tank design for redundancy, meaning even if the unit is in a backwash mode you still get water. They also do not require any electricity at all, and operate on water pressure. This saves a lot of hassle, wasted electricity and the potential for issues if you have power surges or black outs.
Kinetico makes a softener/carbon filter product that operates in this principle, so you will get soft, dechlorinated water for showering, washing, and laundry. Check it out here:
http://www.kinetico.com/KineticoSystems/WaterSofteners.aspx
Scroll down to view the municipal water softeners. I wholly recommend Kinetico products to be of top quality and reliability. You may pay a little more than the Culligan systems but I think you will be pleased.
The reason I do not recommend softened water for drinking is because softened water adds a lot of sodium. The harder your water is, the more sodium it will add. This is especially a problem for those with heart problems or sodium restricted diets; but most health professionals agree too much sodium from water and/or food isn’t a good thing for your health.
When you get the softener installed, make sure your plumber plumbs a line from before the softener to the kitchen sink, where you will take your drinking and cooking water.
From there, my recommendation is to use a carbon filter. Carbon removes chlorine, chloramines, and even some organics that may be present that might hamper taste.
You can get carbon filters in many forms. Under the sink units with it’s own tap, under the sink that ties into the existing tap, units that attach right to your tap, and jugs with a built in carbon filter.
To see examples of this technology, I put together a simple Amazon web page. Any of these carbon filters will do you just fine to improve the taste of your water:
http://www.truthofwater.com/store.html
One of the filters even comes with removable flavor cartridges.
The advantages of carbon systems such as this are that it works off direct pressure, so there is no “gallon limit”. The filter cartridges are very inexpensive to replace compared to R.O. as well.
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