# Buying an in-house water filter



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm getting really tired of shlepping heavy garrafones of water up three flights of stairs to my apartment, so I've been thinking about installing some sort of water filter system in my kitchen. However, I have no idea what to look for when shopping for one. My kitchen is very small with limited space next to my sink. Any suggestions about where to begin would be greatly appreciated!


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## dichosalocura (Oct 31, 2013)

Many people here in Chapala use reverse osmosis or uv light, or both for extra protection. We have both, I may be wrong but I think our reverse osmosis is smaller and fits under the sink.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

dichosalocura said:


> Many people here in Chapala use reverse osmosis or uv light, or both for extra protection. We have both, I may be wrong but I think our reverse osmosis is smaller and fits under the sink.


Thanks for the information. I have no idea what reverse osmosis means , but it gives me somewhere to start my search. Under the sink would be good for my situation.


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

We has this system installed about 2 years ago. I change the filters once a year or so. It is under the kitchen sink.

PURIFICADOR DE OSMOSIS en http://www.homedepot.com.mx/

We bought ours at home depot but it is Rotoplas and could probably be purchased more cheaply elsewhere.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Gatos said:


> We has this system installed about 2 years ago. I change the filters once a year or so. It is under the kitchen sink.
> 
> PURIFICADOR DE OSMOSIS en http://www.homedepot.com.mx/
> 
> We bought ours at home depot but it is Rotoplas and could probably be purchased more cheaply elsewhere.


Thanks. Did you install it yourself or did you have to hire a plumber to do it?


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

Isla Verde said:


> Thanks. Did you install it yourself or did you have to hire a plumber to do it?


We had a handy man install ours. It is kind of mounted to the wall under the sink so you could in theory change a filter more easily. You might want some help changing the four or five various filters once a year or so as well. Depends - we are on well water.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

Isla Verde said:


> I'm getting really tired of shlepping heavy garrafones of water up three flights of stairs to my apartment....


If you can do that, especially at the altitude of CDMX, you're in admirably good shape. Don't the agua guys do this for a propina? As for the under sink purifier that Gatos recommends, we left ours in L.A., but it worked fine. Any plumber/handyman could install it in <1 hr. If your demands are modest, you might look into the one of those filters that attaches to the top of your faucet. PUR is the best known brand, but there are others.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

We have also been thinking about installing a water purification system (even though we currently get our drinking water free by filling our garrafones at a community tap which brings pure spring-fed water straight from the Tepozteco mountains - but it does get annoying lugging those garrafones around). I've done a bit of research on the web.

Here is a company based in Mexico City which sells both reverse osmosis and UV systems. While their product costs MXN$210 more than Home Depot's Rotoplas RO system, it has nearly double the daily filtration capacity and comes with a separate dedicated faucet for the filtered water and includes a pump/pressurized storage tank (as the RO system requires the water to be pressurized). The Home Depot website does not mention anything about a faucet/pump being included - maybe Gatos can comment if they were included when he bought his. 

Also if you click on the tab "Más información" it explains the advantages and disadvantages of _osmosis inversa_ vs. _Luz U.V._. They also sell UV light purification systems. 

https://www.aguatec.com.mx/tienda/purificador-de-agua-osmosis-inversa-100-gpd/

Here are links to two of their systems which uses a combination of carbon filtration plus UV light to eliminate the smaller bacteria and viruses. These systems are a bit less expensive. 
https://www.aguatec.com.mx/tienda/puriificador-filtro-at3uv-ss-10/

This is the most economical and includes the carbon filtration plus UV. This is more compact and costs MXN$2950.
https://www.aguatec.com.mx/tienda/purificador-agua-at2uv1/


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

We have a small apartment upstairs with a kitchen we never use. We have one of these installed at the sink :

Purificador Turmix Con Elemento Activo Hk. Domestico - $ 1,419.00 en Mercado Libre

At around $1400 pesos I would hope it would do something...


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

ojosazules11 said:


> Here is a company based in Mexico City which sells both reverse osmosis and UV systems. While their product costs MXN$210 more than Home Depot's Rotoplas RO system, it has nearly double the daily filtration capacity and comes with a separate dedicated faucet for the filtered water and includes a pump/pressurized storage tank (as the RO system requires the water to be pressurized). The Home Depot website does not mention anything about a faucet/pump being included - maybe Gatos can comment if they were included when he bought his.


Yes the Rotoplas system I mentioned earlier has a holding tank about the size of a normal BBQ grill tank. The system also has it's own thin faucet which fits very nicely in the hole in the sink which held a soap dispenser.

At one point we were considering a whole house system with two or three huge tanks but there is only one place in town that sells them and their prices are very high due to their monopoly. To be honest I didn't put a ton of research into the RO system we purchased. A friend recommended it. It has worked very well - but there are times - like when my wife fills some liter bottles of water that the tank runs out and we have to wait a half hour or so for a refill.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

perropedorro said:


> If you can do that, especially at the altitude of CDMX, you're in admirably good shape. Don't the agua guys do this for a propina?


At my advanced age (of 71), I can only manage to carry 6-liter garrafones up the three flights of stairs to my apartment. I buy them at a nearby pharmacy and carry them a few blocks to my building. Boy, do my arm muscles ache the next day, which is one reason why I want to install a filter.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You might be happy with a Pur filter equipped pitcher. You can add two drops/litre of cloro to the tap water, put it in the refrigerator and it will be tasty and safe in 30 minutes.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> You might be happy with a Pur filter equipped pitcher. You can add two drops/litre of cloro to the tap water, put it in the refrigerator and it will be tasty and safe in 30 minutes.


Thanks for the tip, RV. Since I live alone, that might do the trick!


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## Gatos (Aug 16, 2016)

I don't know - we are on well water. At a recent community meeting the presidente declared that he drank the water directly from the tap. Shortly thereafter they sent out an email saying - after testing it was advisable to treat the water in the tinaco with chloro.

You are right - if you live alone your decisions affect only yourself. I still have a wife and three pets. I'll spend a few extra dollars for a little extra safety. Even with our precautions we have from time to time had problems - but who knows .

I had a quick look at the lit for those PUR filters - they remove 95% of this or that mineral - but I'm not sure if the same is true of bacteria etc. - and I'm not sure if they were testing Mexico City water or NYC water. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

My concern about simpler filters such as Pur would be microorganisms, both bacteria and viruses. Pur filters nab the larger organisms, such as giardia or cryptosporidium, but not bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli, or cholera, nor the even tinier viruses such as Hepatitis A or rotavirus. I know the purpose of the chlorine is to kill the microorganisms, but I personally would be more comfortable with the filtration system which includes the UV treatment as well, or a reverse osmosis system.

To see the differences between what is filtered out by the Pur pitcher filtration vs their faucet filtration, here is a link: 
https://www.pur.com/why-pur/filter-comparison


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

"Un millón de gracias" to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I have a friend here who is an agent for a Japanese company called Nikken, and I'm going to talk to her about purchasing one of their products over the weekend. All of the information that has been posted here will help me ask her intelligent questions.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

ojosazules11 said:


> My concern about simpler filters such as Pur would be microorganisms, both bacteria and viruses. Pur filters nab the larger organisms, such as giardia or cryptosporidium, but not bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli, or cholera, nor the even tinier viruses such as Hepatitis A or rotavirus. I know the purpose of the chlorine is to kill the microorganisms, but I personally would be more comfortable with the filtration system which includes the UV treatment as well, or a reverse osmosis system.
> 
> To see the differences between what is filtered out by the Pur pitcher filtration vs their faucet filtration, here is a link:
> https://www.pur.com/why-pur/filter-comparison


Ojos, thanks for pointing this out. By the way, I love your the Antonio Machado quotation in your signature - he's one of my favorite poets!


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> Ojos, thanks for pointing this out. By the way, I love your the Antonio Machado quotation in your signature - he's one of my favorite poets!


Mine too! I also love the song by Joan Manuel Serrat, who put Machado's poem "Cantares" (the source of the quote) to music. I've sung this so many times with my husband and friends, sitting around a campfire or our kitchen table. I love how Serrat is thoroughly enjoying singing this beautiful verse.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

ojosazules11 said:


> Mine too! I also love the song by Joan Manuel Serrat, who put Machado's poem "Cantares" (the source of the quote) to music. I've sung this so many times with my husband and friends, sitting around a campfire or our kitchen table. I love how Serrat is thoroughly enjoying singing this beautiful verse.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj-W6D2LSlo


It's part of one of Serrat's classic albums entitled, "Dedicado a Antonio Machado, poeta". I had a copy of it many years ago and spent many hours listening to it, while I was studying Spanish literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I love JM Serrat, to me he is so French...


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

citlali said:


> I love JM Serrat, to me he is so French...


Well, he is Catalan, so that makes his native language somewhere between French and Castilian.


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## mr_manny (Nov 22, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> "Un millón de gracias" to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I have a friend here who is an agent for a Japanese company called Nikken, and I'm going to talk to her about purchasing one of their products over the weekend. All of the information that has been posted here will help me ask her intelligent questions.


Any updates on which system you decided on?

Inquiring minds want to know 

¡Feliz año Nuevo!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mr_manny said:


> Any updates on which system you decided on?
> 
> Inquiring minds want to know
> 
> ¡Feliz año Nuevo!


I've had the system for a few weeks and am very happy with it. The model I have is the Nikken PI WATER.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I too am curious, I tried to find your system but wasn't sure I found the right thing. Is it this?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

eastwind said:


> I too am curious, I tried to find your system but wasn't sure I found the right thing. Is it this?


It looks like the right company. If you like, I can ask my friend who sold me my unit, how to find a sales rep in your area.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Thanks, maybe someday! I was mostly curious for future reference in case I buy a place. For now I rent a flat in a building with elevators, and the OXXO is 30 yards away, so the schlepping is easy enough. I also drink far too much soda pop and therefore not as much water.

They say an outhouse is 40' too close to the house in summer and 40' too far in winter. OXXO is kind of like an outhouse, it's too close if you're buying pop and junk food and too far if you're buying water.

Feliz año nuevo


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## mr_manny (Nov 22, 2013)

A gravity system is a good idea.
Will keep this in mind for when I get tired of lugging garrafones de agua around.

Thanks for the update.


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