Water filter help!!

[Magelet]

So DP took the water aerator off our sink to fix it (it has a tendancy to spray water at the wall), and was running the water. Without the aerator (just a little screen) filtering the water, it runs brown with brown specks in it. EWWWWWW. I have no clue what bad crap is in this. I've never been one for bottled water or felt a strong need for filters, until now. I don't feel very secure that the aerator is taking anything bad out, just changing the color. The specks look like little brown flakes. (flakes of pipe? lead pipe? I hope not!! the building is old enough to have lead paint warnings in the lease though) Also, our bathroom sink has an aerator as well, I don't think the shower does. All our water normally runs clear, we never noticed it until cleaning the aerator today. the shower, bathroom, kitchen and toilet all are normal colored water.

We are on a tight budget, in an apartment. So no several hundred dollar filters, and no permanent installation filters. Are there any easy water test kits I can get to see what if any contaminents are in the water that would help me pick on? Are there any brita type filters that actually remove bad stuff?

Where do I start? What are my options for less than $100 dollars? That would be a stretch, but I think we can co-opt March's fun/other/etc piece of the budget for a filter, and manage that much, definitely no more.

(also, should I then add a lead and other heavy metals hair test to the nutritional tests I'm getting done?)

help. I don't know anything about water filters except a lot of stuff that's possibly not true. I was always under the impression that you either paid a fortune, or got one that didn't work. please tell me there is something we can do about this!

[Chicky2]

We just recently bought a 3 stage RO system for $146. A bit over what you wanted, but we have crap floating in our water too, and it made a HUGE difference. Easy to install under the sink, too.

Other than that, you can just put a pur on the faucet, and there was a thread recently on the Frugality and Finances board about tapping your filter by using aquarium charcoal(?I may be incorrect, but the thread is there somewhere) and a small rubber stopper and is ultra cheap.

HTH

[kdtmom2be]

You can buy a lead test kit from Sears and probably other places, not too expensive.

If there is no lead in your water then it could simply just be dirt in your water. Dirt doesn't necessarily mean that it'll make you sick, it may not be from your pipes, it could be from the water reservoir (our water here gets cloudy/gritty when we have a period of no rain and then a sudden downpour that stir everything up) or from the distribution system. If you are still concerned about the colour and flecks, a water jug with filter system like the Brita will take that out.

If there IS lead in your water then that will NOT take out lead. A Brita filter or any other charcoal filter only takes out chlorine and organic components (tannins and lignins) and particulates. I would suggest that if there IS lead in your water that you bring it to the attention of your landlord right away and let him/her know that it was not disclosed in the lease and that you would like help fixing the problem. If they won't help, then I would move. If they will, make sure that you have testing done by an accredited laboratory both before and after any water system is installed so that you know what base levels you have been ingesting (so you can disclose this to your HCP) and know that the system is functioning properly. You will want the landlord to pay for replacement filters on an ongoing and regular basis (they can be quite costly).

Good luck!

[Magelet]

thanks.

kdtmom2be, that sounds like the way to go. we'll do that. Thank you.