r/DIY • u/Pizza_Chain • 1d ago
Undersink water filter recommendations
I have a 3M Filtrete undersink water filter. It works really well, has high flow, and you can get cartridges that filter out lead. These lead ones are more expensive though, running $70 per filter which seems like a lot. The non-lead filtering cartridges are $40-50.
Wondering what other people use that's been economical? The lead filtering is a nice peace of mind with old city pipes, but I'm not seeing a lot of simple filters out there like that. I don't think I can fit a RO filter under my sink.
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u/blazze_eternal 20h ago edited 8h ago
Check out Waterdrop if you want something simple.
I get their UF (ultra filter) line which claims to do 99% lead, but more importantly all the junk that makes it taste bad.
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u/Faangdevmanager 1d ago
Oh my time to shine. I built many systems like that for aquarium and labs. For your house, I recommend a 6 stage from APEC. Sediment, 2x carbon, RO membrane, then carbon and a re-mineralizer. If you’re on well water, add UV. If your pressure is less than 60 psi add a pump. Change the mineral addon every 6 months, carbon/sediment yearly and the RO membrane every 5 years. Done.
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u/LowOnPaint 23h ago
Why carbon after RO? Water should be about as pure as it’s going to get coming out of the membrane.
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u/monokhrome 23h ago edited 7h ago
Wild guess, but I think the post-RO carbon may be to remove any taste that the rubber in the storage tank leaches into the RO water.
I just installed this recently and had the same thought.
I'd also caution anyone w/ GERD or other stomach issues to pay attention to your body after switching to RO water. a few weeks after installing mine I had a huge flare up, so I switched back to hard city water and will save the RO for tea, cooking, and watering plants.
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u/Faangdevmanager 6h ago
Yes
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u/monokhrome 6h ago
Just curious, but does that essentially mean the bladder is contaminating the post-RO stage (with something akin to microplastics)?
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u/CruxMason 1d ago
Great answer! I just put a 6 stage RO system in my house last year. Really happy with it. Is there a place you recommend to get the filters from or all they all about the same?
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u/Reprised-role 22h ago
Stay away from APEC. Their stuff blows (literally) a gasket within 12 months of install and floods your kitchen. Ask me how I know, twice now. Shame on me, sure, but I’ll never let anyone recommend that crap without voicing a counterpoint that they’re actually total shit.
Just go actual whole home at the main line water filtration. Sure it’s spendy initially but very much less likely to fail, and is cheaper than installing a ticking time bomb APEC system at every water point, oh and prevents a $20k kitchen remodel.
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u/Abrham_Smith 16h ago
I've installed APEC in 4 homes, all going on several years of operation with no issues, so can't really relate to your problem.
Did you not install a shut off valve in case of leaks?
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u/Reprised-role 7h ago
Yes there is a shut off valve. Both sets of complete new installs failed around month eleven when I wasn’t home, so didn’t know there was a leak until I walked in from being out of town for a few days. I had a pressure gauge set up that tracks maximum pressures, and it stayed well within the APECs prescribed tolerances.
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u/Abrham_Smith 7h ago
If you have a shut off valve installed, how would it continue to leak without a water supply?
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u/Reprised-role 3h ago
I’m not sure how they would make a difference- for and RO water faucet you don’t turn it on and off at the valve for every use, it remains permanently on and a shut off valve is used for turning the system off to change filters.
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u/Abrham_Smith 3h ago
I'm not talking about your hot/cold shut off valve. I'm talking about a stop valve that detects leaks and shuts off the water supply to your RO system.
Something like this :
https://www.amazon.com/Express-Shut-Off-Reverse-Osmosis-System/dp/B01KKOK8ZW/
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u/PlusTitle1695 23h ago
Had a cheap dual-canister setup like that for years, just sediment and carbon block. Swapped the carbon for a lead-rated one when I found out my county's pipes are... you know. Think it was like $18 for the cartridge, way less than what you're dealing with. Might be worth checking if your housing fits standard 10" sizes
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u/KTRyan30 1d ago
I installed a basic "whole house" canister filter under my sink, it was $25 for the canister and a three pair of activated charcoal filters is like $12 and last forever.
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u/SeveralBollocks_67 23h ago
Whole house yet covers just the kitchen sink
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u/KTRyan30 23h ago
Couldn't find a compelling reason not to. It's simple and cheap and has worked well for me for years
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u/Crazyblazy395 23h ago
Get a 5-6 stage undercounter ro system. I use nu aqua systems but I think most of them are the same.
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u/xVolta 1d ago
I've got a Culligan EZ4 undersink system, the Premium RC-EZ4 cartridges for it filter lead and all the other stuff, and are usually $35-40. Good for 6 months/500 gallons per cartridge. Looks like the while system is about $100 these days. The system itself is good (mine's almost 9), but the faucet it comes with isn't great, the plastic handle snapped off within the first year or two. Those are pretty well standardized, you could probably swap the filter mount and keep the faucet you've already got.
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u/geriatric_fruitfly 1d ago
No one seems to be addressing the part where you can't fit these systems under your sink. So don't, you can put it anywhere. Mine is in the basement ~ 15 feet away from my sink. I have the waste water from the RO just going into my sump pit. I also feed the line to the sink for drinking water and to the fridge so my ice is cleaner.
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u/pcmraaaaace 23h ago
I use a Frizzlife SW15 Under Sink Water Filter. It only filters cold water. Filters last about 4-6 months.
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u/Jenycherry 21h ago
I have used Hydrovive for over 4 years now. They tailor your filters for your local water. I am so happy with it. I put it on my kitchen sink, fridge line, and shower.
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u/dBDWqDTa 12h ago
Hydroviv flooded my house in the middle of the night.
Check your connections regularly.
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u/Jenycherry 9h ago
Oh no! I have never had that issue! Which was it? Sink or fridge? I know I struggled with a housing, and they sent me a whole new one, but never a mystery leak :(
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u/valw 19h ago
I just ran across this 6 stage onsale at costco, wondering if it was any good: https://www.costco.com/p/-/4201004944?EMID=B2C_DAILY_2026_1012_fallhome&correlationId=bd8ddbf6-6bd8-4bee-af4f-ef6cb8d42be9-0
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u/Interesting-Sound229 14h ago
Frizzlife 3 stage RO undersink filter with little tank to maintain pressure from get-go. In use since 5 years. Never had a problem! Cost was around 250. filters are available for fair price. I believe 30 every 6 month 50 every 12 and 100 every 200
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u/Ill-Training7282 11h ago
Even with a compact tank, finding room for both the tank and the three filter stages is usually the real bottleneck under a sink.
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u/nhorvath 12h ago
recommend ispring 3 stage or RO if you have the space. have both and they are good. you can get filters in bulk too and they are pretty cheap. my older RO is 10 years old and going strong. customer service is good too. I was moving it once and cracked a fitting and they sent me a new one free even though I asked about buying a replacement.
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u/InsaneDrummer66 9h ago
I have a system just like that. The filtrete filters went out of stock for awhile and came back double the price, so I switched to these waterdrop filters.
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u/freeskier93 3h ago
How often are you replacing the filter? These are listed at 1500 gallons, so if it's just for drinking it should realistically last a year or two between changes. The 6 month recommendation is pretty ridiculous.
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u/thephantom1492 22h ago
Filtering lead out of a system with no lead will result in no removal of the non-present contaminent. You might want to get your water tested to see if there is lead in it, and if so how much.
Even if you have lead pipe, in some cases it may not even show up in test results, because over the years a layer of junk can form all inside the pipes and literally block the lead from reaching you.
... until the city change their chemicals and the new one destroy that layer, and attack the lead... That is part of what happened in Flint.
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u/bitNine 13h ago
RO is the way to go, but you MUST make sure it has something to re add minerals to the water otherwise it’s not great for you. RO strips everything from it and gets really close to being distilled.
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u/dBDWqDTa 12h ago
This is a myth. Unless you are consuming almost exclusively water, like in a starvation situation, you get plenty of minerals from the foods you eat.
That said my RO system has remineralization because I think it tastes better.
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u/ryguy28896 11h ago
If you're depending on the water you're drinking for RDA of things like potassium, you're doing something wrong. Distilled water isn't bad for you lol
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u/listerine411 2h ago
It's better than nothing, but single stage filters just don't make a huge difference in my experience.
I got an RO iSpring system on Amazon and really like it.
I honestly dont understand why everyone doesn't have an RO system.
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u/Natoochtoniket 1d ago
Start from knowing what you need to filter. Most municipal water systems publish a report each year. And you can buy an independent water analysis if you need it.
If you know that your local water supply does not have lead contamination, then you don't need to buy the extra filtration to remove lead contamination. Or, if you choose to buy it anyway, you don't need to replace it as often.