I have a total devolved solids (tds) and a parts per million (ppm) meters it’s worth having because simple test are not equal to to to calibrated meters used for the test. I don’t know if @wayneh would agree, although there is a much worry somewhat issue, like recently we have had 2 water supplies compromised, one was a golf ball and the other a raccoon which a worker didn’t place the cover back on during service and it fell in, no one knew for a week until testing proved the issue. Not sure how or if you can know that without proper testing for bacteria.

kv

 

Here in GA, any public supply has to submit a monthly grab sample to the state for testing. Failure causes immediate shutdown and inspection and retesting until passing. Public can be Church, Rec. Yard, Private Club or School, etc. Basically anything other than a single residence home or farm. They also require chlorine injection for public consumption. Typically bleach metered into the line. A lot of people here will take a section of 3/4" PVC and "jet" it down into the sand and put down a screened well point tip on it. The groundwater table is typically ~10' or less below the surface and it's all sand. It is considered potable if more than 100' from a sewage field but pretty nasty stuff that is usually used for lawn irrigation. You can tell who has one by the orange streaks on their house siding from the sprinkler spray filled with iron.

 

If you really want pure water, forget about the filters and get a distiller, just be aware there is some maintenance involved.

 

That's like saying drink pure ethanol instead of Bourbon... Dead and lifeless yes, no taste yes...

 

Yes i am familiar with the distillers, but i was after something that doesnt take 3 hours to make one gallon. So i looked into the filtering systems which might be just good enough. Some go down as low as 1 micron.

 

That's like saying drink pure ethanol instead of Bourbon... Dead and lifeless yes, no taste yes...

And you have to take a vitamin/mineral pill every day.

 

There is one other down-side to high iron water. It will turn a nice Scotch and water a nasty muddy brown color in addition to the stains on the sinks, tubs and toilets. Dunno what it is about it but it causes some kind of precipitative reaction.

 

Where I live we have natural distillers. The storms come in from the Pacific Ocean and hit the Sierra Nevada mountains. Rain and snow falls down onto the bare granite basins and it collects behind our dams. That’s pretty much distilled water. Then it is put into pipes and delivered to San Francisco. The aging tunnels and pipes do add some impurities, but not that much. I can boil a litre of water down to nothing and get only a residue of white stuff at the bottom of the pot. Some people like to make fun of our city but the water is great.