Sherry and I are total water hogs. Between refilling our Klean Kanteens at least 5 times a day and rarely ordering anything else at restaurants (I gave up soda for 2009), we are certainly a well hydrated couple. And while our area has decent water quality, we’ve always talked about getting some sort of filter just to be a bit more thorough since we’re such big agua drinkers. We never took the leap because faucet-mounted filters tend to cramp our style and I couldn’t get in the habit of keeping a pitcher filter full (plus those pitchers are made of plastic and Sherry prefers glass and stainless steel).
So imagine how grateful we were when someone gifted us this under-sink filter from Filtrete (who knew they did more than air filters?).
Hiding everything under the sink sure sounded like the perfect design for us. Plus, it promised “easy” installation with “minimal tools.” Since Sherry knew that “easy” plumbing projects were right up my alley, this became my Sunday morning assignment last weekend.
I started by clearing out everything under our sink, turning off the cold water and readying the “minimal” set of tools needed. These are all the items included in their box (filter, filter head, tubing and screws) plus the tools listed in their instructions (screwdriver, adjustable wrench, drill and knife to cut tubing), though I also found it helpful to have plumber’s tape handy (not pictured). Oh, and a curious chihuahua is extra credit.
The first step was installing the screws for the filter head. After holding it up in place (with enough room underneath for inserting and removing the filter), it was easy to mark its placement with a pencil, drill a couple of holes and insert screws to secure it in place. This photo shows me testing my placement, but you actually don’t tighten the filter head into place until all the tubing is attached. It’s nice and pretty under our sink, eh? Not. (<– join me in the fight to bring “not” back).
The next steps were to remove the existing piping and begin connecting two lengths of cut-to-size tubing in its place. Well, our existing pipes were attached so tightly that it ended up taking four hands (mine and Sherry’s) to get them loose, leaving no one to operate the camera (Burger hasn’t quite mastered that skill yet). So all I’ve got to show you in the finished product.
Here’s one length of blue tubing (cut using a straight edge knife) connecting to our cold water hook-up on one end and the Filtrete filter head on the other. The cold water end attaches using a hex-nut attachment included in the package. The filter head end slides right into the opening and holds using a “push-in fitting.” It was easy as pie.
Similarly, on the other end you connect another length of cut blue tubing to the filter head and to your faucet attachment. This again attaches to the filter head using the push-in fitting, and the other end attaches using a faucet adapter included in the set. No surprise here – very easy to do.
Then, once the filter head was tightened into place, we just had to pop in the water filter that’s provided. It simply slips into the head and locks into place with a small quarter turn. The filters are supposed to be replaced every 6 months, so we wrote ourselves a really big reminder on our filter using a black sharpie.
The package also included a reminder sticker (this makes organized people like Sherry smile like it’s Christmas) so we stuck it in her dayplanner. Now there are two reminders floating around our house. When it comes time to replace our filter in December, we’re thinking we might upgrade from our current Advanced filter (which reduces sediments, chlorine tastes and odors – just like a Brita pitcher would) to the Professional filter (which also eliminates parasitic cysts – like a Brita or Pur faucet-mount filter does).
But back to our little project play-by-play. Next we just finished up the installation by turning the water back on, running the faucet for about 5 minutes (to clear our the system) and checking for leaks (none – score!). Now we can enjoy our cleaner and purer water without any extra hassle or faucet attachments.
How ’bout you? Are you heavy water drinkers like us? Do you filter your H2O? If so, what system do you use to clear things up? Do you use an aerator to reduce your water usage? We’d love to hear every watery detail…
Jessica says
Does your fridge have a filtered water dispenser? That’s the water we drink at home. With our house we inherited an under-sink filter complete with an ultra-violet bulb (which is supposed to be the cleanest you can make your water) but changing the filter and the bulb got to be too expensive and too much of a hassle, so we recently took the whole thing out.
Carla says
Awesome post! We absolutely HATE our water. Even with the purifier in the fridge and having a Britta pitcher, the water still tastes gritty and kinda like chlorine… BLEH! We too like prefer glass/stainless to plastic bottles, so it kills us to constantly go out and buy cases of water to have in the house. We are very excited to try this system out – let’s hope it will help us save the environment and some green! Thanks!!
Erin says
Wow I hadn’t even thought about one of these. We had a faucet mount filter and, let me just take this moment to say: It was total crap. Any kind of heavy duty dish-washing threatens to smack the thing and crack/break it.
So we’ve been drinking straight from the tap, and praying that our local water supply doesn’t come from the, ahem, “Water Treatment Plant” (read: poo processor) a couple miles away.
Needless to say, one of these handy little under-sink puppies is on my list of things to get, and fast!
Katie W says
You will not regret getting a filtration system. We have a rainsoft water filtration system for our entire house, and now I can’t live without it. Our boys have really bad excema, and the filtration system was really for them but it has made such a difference in how our clothes feel and our skin after showers that we will have one as long as we can. The price wasn’t something that we were happy about but all the results we were happy about.
Amanda says
We used to buy tons of bottled water, when someone bought us an instantaneous hot/cold water jug stand for Christmas. Yes, it uses five gallons plastic jugs, but at least they are recyclable (and we do recycle them every time – plus they give you over half off if you do recycle them!).
Adding water filtration wasn’t an option for us because we have cistern water. We’d have to filter the water in several spots to make it drinkable.
Laura says
That would be so much nicer than having to refill the pitcher every other day. And would help when I make iced tea too. As far as the aerators go… I have one in my shower at my apartment and I am not a fan. I realize they reduce the amount of water, but when its cold first thing in the morning and you turn the shower on, you don’t want to come face to face with bursts of air and water. It’s cold and uncomfortable for a minute.
But it’s good to know that it’s such an easy solution once I get to a more permanent place.
Audrey says
Great tutorial, John! My husband and I do suck down water like its our job, so this might be something we should consider. We have the water filter in our refrigerator’s water dispenser, but it would be nice to have super clean water straight from the faucet. Plus, my husband LOVED tackling a garbage disposal project, so I’m sure this would be right up this alley! :p
Jenny @ Words On Wendhurst says
Hey, this is really cool! And Sherry, I totally dig the reminder sticker too! :-) Question for ya, how has the filter affected your water pressure, and does it mean that all water is filtered including, say, washing the dishes?
Nicole says
How does this work? I’ve been wanting one for a while, but the hubby is cautious.
Also, I love your day planner. I’ve been looking for a good one. Where did you get it?
Jennifer C says
How significantly does it reduce the rate of flow that the water comes out of the faucet? Is it possible to upload a video of the water flow?
Stefanie says
Did you guys notice a difference in your water pressure?
Katie says
hi friends…
We use our fridge’s PUR water filter. It is super handy cause it is built right in but I never did the research on what exactly got filtered out…hmm…I might need to get on that. I definitely don’t want the boyfriend to turn into a mutant :)
you rock.
xo – Katie
LauraC says
Under-the-sink filters are great. We used one in Lawton, OK where every year we would get a letter from the city which told us they had failed the mandatory water tests – too much chlorine, etc! Crazy. Not only are under-the-sink filters more asthetically pleasing, they’re cheaper to boot! We haven’t installed one in our new house in WA, but plan to soon.
April in CT says
We have an in fridge water filter (inside the door so it’s a pain and I feel guilty each time I stand with the door open filling my glass). I use it, but DH refills his Klean Kanteen right from the well water tap. I would love to have one of these, but being renters we have to pick and choose what we can install.
Thanks for posting about it because I didn’t even know they existed!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey everyone,
Lots of questions! First of all, our new filter doesn’t effect the water flow at all. Not one bit (it even promises that it doesn’t on the packaging and we can vouch for that as well) so that’s nice. We do have a built-in water filter on the front of our fridge, but we like to fill our wide mouthed Klean Kanteen at the sink so this is super convenient and will be used a lot more than the fridge filter. As for where I got my planner, it’s from good ‘ol Target (I always pick one up about a week in January for a major discount). Oh and just our faucet water is filtered with this system (since the dishwashing water bypasses it completely) which is also nice since we’re conserving the filter (this is probably why it lasts a nice long time before a change- we love that we only have to remember to do it once a year). All in all, we’re loving it. Oh and it doesn’t remove flouride from the water, so that’s another plus.
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
ChristinaMarie says
Apartment dwelling Brita girl here…. but better than nothing!
tom says
It’s my understanding that most tap water is fluorinated(sp?), which is supposed to be very good for you and your teeth. Any idea if those filters remove the fluorine?
Joye says
Dear John,
I will join your “Not” campagin if you join my “Doy” campaign.
Yours in 1990s slang,
Joye
Meredith says
The US has the safest water supply in the world, so I’ve never seen the point of using a filter unless you don’t like the taste of your tap water (or if you don’t have public water). Also, many areas fluoridate their water, so since you’re filtering it out (altho many filters don’t remove all fluoride), make sure you have a fluoride toothpaste to make up for it, or find out whether the filter you’re using removes fluoride.
Bottled water, I’ve heard, is quite unregulated, so it can actually be worse than tap water in some cases…and in other cases, it just IS tap water…in addition to the huge carbon footprint, with shipping the bottled water all over the place and using all those plastic bottles.
Our fridge has a water filter in it, which I guess we’ll keep. I don’t know what brand it is, though. But the tap water tastes great to me, so I’ll probably keep filling my water bottle from there!
Lauren says
We have well water and I have two small children so having super clean water is really important to me. When we moved in the house was already equipped with a UV light which will to quick work of any bacteria. About 6 months ago we installed an under sink Reverse Osmosis system to take care of a nitrate issue we had and pretty much anything else. I finally feel comfortable drinking our water! You can also get a little digital tester which you swirl around in your water to test how many PPM’s of material are in your water. My sink had high traces but my RO water matched right up with bottled water and had very low numbers.
P.S. I LOVE my klean kanteens too!
Meredith says
Ha, Sherry posted as I was writing my comment! It’s good that it doesn’t remove fluoride. I definitely want to confirm that about our fridge filter, but I bet we can get one that doesn’t. You thought of everything!
Alexis says
Fluoride is good for your teeth but is not good for you to digest. I would suggest getting tooth paste and mouthwash with Fluoride, just not to much because of the bad side effects can cause teeth problems. Also if you have children under 6 I would supervise your children so the don’t swallow the tooth paste.
Ashley says
We’ve tried the faucet-mounted filter, but mediocre water combined with old copper pipes meant that barely any water would come out of the filter. Right now we have the Brita pitcher which we like just fine. Someday we’ll install a filtration system, but we’ve got a few projects still ahead of that one on our list.
Kevin M says
Exactly what we’ve been looking for, not to mention the price is just as cheap as buying replacement filters for our faucet mounted nightmare. We’ll be installing one of these at our new home when we move in a few weeks.
Thanks.
Kyley says
My husband and I were just talking about water filtration the other day. We were debating whether to get a faucet one when we move into our new house – but my concern was I hate the way they look. Glad to know there is another option! We will be looking into it!
Jena in Georgia says
John, you’re so dreamy. You got me with the bringing back of “not” – CRUSH. And I won’t lie, I kinda dig that you’re handy.
Christel says
Funny Story.
My old college roommate installed a water filter system. Poured a big water of water and stated the water was “much better.” and would only drink from the kitchen facet because it was “better” than the other facets. Fast forward 6 months when I asked if she needed to change her filter and when she opened it up to check she noticed there was no filter! Never was! HAHAHA! 5 years later we still laugh about how she only drank the “kitchen water because it was better.”
cris says
I’m a drinker. I have 5 of the big ass Kleen Kanteens and I down all of them in one day (and sometimes refill for more). We are very lucky and on a well system with great water – except for the calcium and lime. We are actually going to invest in a full-sized water softener/filter that will go in our wellhouse. It includes a reverse osmosis thingy for under the kitchen sink. Very excited.
Jessy says
My mom had one of these under the sink water filters and I thought it was great – made a huge difference in the taste of water. She has a fridge now that does the water filtration thing (doesn’t taste better). Totally jealous of both options. I am still using the water pitcher filter kind. We hate refilling it – it’s a chore. But when we move and get a house this is the only way to go.
Kevin says
What about all that plastic tubing your water is running through under the sink, can’t you use stainless steel flex tubing?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kevin,
Good question! That might be an upgrade we can look into taking on in the future. The reason we prefer to avoid plastic Brita-ish water filters while we hardly mind those plastic tubes under the sink is that water flows through them rapidly instead of sitting in them for hours if not days (and many have been known to “leech” chemicals like BPA into water when that happens). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Stacey says
This is an awesome idea and I was surprised at how affordable. I always stayed away from water filters on the sink because they were less than attractive – BUT somehow I have a feeling this might go on hubby’s honey-do list for the 3 day weekend. Thanks again -as always- for the great info!
Laurie says
I like that. I have a water cooler sitting in my kitchen but its big and bulky and somehow the water tastes really bad now so we don’t use it (it needs a cleaning) and I like the fluoride in the water from the tap…but have you noticed a difference in the taste of the water? Sometimes our water tastes a little off, and in the summer during a heat wave you can almost taste algae or something…ick. So I’m curious if the taste is improved…and if you mentioned that earlier, I’m sorry, but I tried to read everything and it didn’t jump out to me!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laurie,
We haven’t noticed any major difference in the taste of the water. Of course we think it tastes a bit purer but it could just be in our heads!
xo,
s
Bethany Joy says
We haev a faucet mount filter. I liked it until I saw yours! It is great, but gets in the way when I am doing dishes (no I don’t have a dishwasher!)
I wonder how this would install on OLD piping. I have 60 year old cabinets and 20+ year old plumbing… I get nervous making changes, but that mihgt be worth checking out. My husband and I use stainless Oggi bottles and have been trying to be super Earth friendly and healthy since buying our house.
SoBella Creations says
We have a pur water filter on our faucet. We drink a lot of water at our house also.
Catherine says
This was great until I read the bit about leaving the tap running for 5 minutes. We’re in a drought down here in Australia and have a target usage of 155 litres of water per person per day. If the average taps runs at 18 litres per minute, that’s 90 litres! I hope you at least caught it in a bucket and put it on your new herb/vegie patch.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Catherine,
You’re so funny because we had the exact same reaction so we used the water to fill two glass pitchers and make iced tea and then we filled a big bowl and watered the house plants with the rest. It’s safe to drink the water that drains out during that step (you just run the faucet to get air bubbles out) so it worked out really well and we recommend it to anyone else taking on the installation so they conserve h20 (and get some refreshing iced tea) in the process!
xo,
s
Emily says
Thanks for this idea! We’re installing one right now!
Katie says
Hi, Nice filter. :) I just wanted to address your comment about the water sitting in the Brita filters all day, RE: BPA. A lot of water filters (including PUR and Brita) are independently Certified by NSF International, which does all kinds of testing to make sure that the filters work and that the plastic is NOT leaching all sorts of phthalates/other goodies into your water. Most of the plumbing system components in the water distribution system and in your house (including that plastic tubing under your sink) are probably also NSF Certified. Just look for their mark. It may be on the box of the new filter you bought as well. Just an FYI. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katie,
Good news! Not only is our new filter (and the tubing that comes with it) NSF certified, it’s also ANSI certified so it’s super safe and free of phthalates and other leeching hazards. Thanks so much for suggesting that we keep an eye out for their mark!
xo,
s
Derek says
First of all, if you like the undersink filter, try out a whole house filter. It installs the same way, but on the main water line coming in from the street (aft of the meter)….bonus, you are standing on your head to install it, as it would typically be in the basement.
OBTW, have you informed Sherry (who prefers glass or stainless) that every pipe you have shown in the pictures is plastic?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Derek,
If you scroll up you’ll see our response to the plastic pipe question. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Nichole says
LMAO @ bringing “not” back. I’m totally in. Congrats on the filter system…I had no clue Filtrete did water filters either.
Teri says
I just wanted to address those with fluoride concerns, the only type of filtration system that removes fluoride is the reverse osmosis.
Also, there is a large debate as to any benefits of drinking fluoride and several cities have started removing it from their drinking water. Several countries outside of American never added it and many that did are also removing it, due to new research.
We use a Brita filter, but being a family of 5 large water drinkers- it barely sits in the faucet. We bought an under the sink filter, but the one we bought required drilling into the pipes. So, back to Costco it went! I’ll have to look at this one.
Jim says
At a new Lowes, I eyed this filter and came home to do a little investigation on-line. Will probably get this one, but I’d sure prefer regular screw-on fittings, to the push on type. And, I found this rebate: http://www.iallergy.com/images/filtrete-water-rebate-50.pdf
Michael says
I have the Advanced filter system, and the nicest thing about this for me (besides of course always having clean water right from the faucet) is the quick filter change – it’s literally just a twist of the filter and it takes about 30 seconds. iallergy has both the Advanced (standard) or the Professional (upgraded filter) systems with a 50% mail-in rebate: http://www.iallergy.com/category19_110_154/default.html
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Nicole B. says
Yes, great tip, Michael! I just ordered the professional system, which qualifies for the 50% mail in rebate. So excited!
TBrun says
@ Meredith
The US does have a generally safe water supply. People use these filters for other reasons, however, such as with well water or filtering out a lot of silt/rust/sediment from town water supply. We have a whole-house filter in the basement and then this under our sink (after following these instructions!), which helps tremendously with the yellow staining we typically see in our shower, sink, and even on our baby’s plastic cup parts (when water sits in them). We’re on a town supply. So, it removes some of the rust etc, and that’s a good thing!
And no, this won’t remove fluoride; that can only be well-removed by reverse osmosis.
sarah says
thanks guys for the tip. I didnt know this existed, and now that I do- I am off to order one right now.
Susan Schaeffer says
I’m wondering if you have found a place to recycle the used filters? I hate the thought of throwing them in the trash so much that I still have all three of the ones I have gone through so far.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny because we have two of them sitting next to the recycling container in my pantry. I wish I knew of a place to recycle them. Anyone know? Maybe try posting about it on our facebook page or googling? Definitely let me know if you find any info!
xo,
s