# Water Filters - What would you recommend?



## MrSlow (Nov 16, 2009)

Hi Everyone,

We have owned our 1st motorhome now for close to six months and are now preparing for numerous trips to continental Europe over the course of this year.

We are thinking about adding a water filter to our motorhome, but have limited space to fit the filter and to tell the truth not really sure which would be best. We really only have two objectives (unless we have not thought of something) :

1) No need to purchase bottled water 

2) Avoiding tummy troubles


From the vast pool of knowledge held, what advice would you give?

Look forward to hearing from you all.

Thanks
Steve


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

Never used a water filter and do not see a need for one. All water in drinking water taps throughout the EC is safe to drink without filtering.
We have never had a bug through drinking water wherever we have travelled.
Gerry


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Steve,

Nature Pure. Don't waste time considering anything else.

Dave


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## satis (May 5, 2008)

Hi There  I agree with DABurleigh

Just bought the very same water filter,Its very good product,Better to be safe than sorry i always say
Kind regards Satis


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## stephenpug (Sep 18, 2008)

Hi we travelled all over france last year and used the water on the aires without a filter and without any (tummy) problems 8O


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

The water is quite OK, BUT if you have an odd "plastic flavour" in your tank water (as we did) the nature pure is unbeatable and we would strongly recommend one.

Otherwise tea can acquire a new taste which leaves a lot to be desired from our experience.....

Dave


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm with Gerry and Stephen. 

We just run the tap in the van if we want a drink of water.

Any tummy troubles we have ever suffered have been entirely self-inflicted from sources other than the water. _(Fifth Amendment avoids the need to specify in more detail!!! :wink: :lol: :lol: )_

Dave


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## philsil (Jul 24, 2007)

We always fit water filters because the users and locations of 'dirty' and clean supplies and drainage are compromised by users. 
Have you seen anyone cleaning their toilet cassette out by the clean tap and drain? hot climate to boost the germs?

Protect yourselves from others. 

Another great thing with a filter is draught mineral water.

The filters I always use is from a place in Plymouth who have inline, steel and squeezy plastic bottles and a bucket with filter

all less than £50


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Water filters. 
Too much space, too much weight, if you need to drink cold water, get it in bottles or fill bottles up at home, otherwise just boil it, life's complicated enough, don't add to it.

Kev.


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

Got nature pure, and would not be without it, love the taste and the ease of it. 

Changed the filter every 18 months, took around half hour to fit entire unit, not sure what the hassle or complications are to it.  

We have children in the van and would prefer them to drink water not pop and squashes all the time and they love the fresh water. 

Also we don't have to buy or carry water bottles everything is just there when you need it. 

Mandy


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## bubble10 (Aug 3, 2009)

It has to be nature pure. Apparently this is the only one on the market which will remove 99% of all viruses and bacterias, as well as solid particles, and toxins. They are not that big so space and weight should not be an issue.

I often fill my water tank from the water supplies at supermarket petrol station marked as non potable water, then drink staight from the tap dedicated to the filter.

For those that drink staight from your tanks with out filters, just take a look in your tanks when empty (you may change your minds). Boiling water may kill bacteria, but it will not remove the toxins left behind by the bacteria.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Each to his/her own I suppose on this one, I wouldn't drink water from the tank anyway, boiled or not. 

Wouldn't notice the taste as any tank water would only get used for the tea or coffee, not for drinking that's what the bottled water is for.

Normally we would only use the tank for washing purposes showers etc only, thus conserving the water supply.

As for complications, as mentioned there is one which is 99% good, but that still leaves 1%, which could still harm you as there are billions of bacteria in water, god only knows what's in NON Potable :roll: :roll: water, how do you know it's still working, you have to make space for it, you have to pay for it fitting and replacement filters if you remember that is.

We just fill up at home, we carry about 6 4 litre bottles in a box in tha garage, no hassle, and we know it's OK to drink.

Not everyones point of view of course, but it works for us and we've not run out of water or had any tummy upsets so far.

Kev.


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## Bill_Posters (May 28, 2007)

DABurleigh said:


> Steve,
> 
> nature pure [MHF Link]. Don't waste time considering anything else.
> 
> Dave


Agreed

I fitted ours 3 years ago and we've never looked back.

I would not have the confidence that EVERY tap in the EU gives fresh drinking water. Not after what I have seen in France, Spain or Portugal.

It's one of the things in our van that I have NEVER regretted.


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## randonneur (Jan 25, 2007)

We use bottled water to drink at home as we have a lot of limescale in our village water, if you run a glass of water through the tap you can see the limescale settling to the bottom. We also use a filter jug before putting that water in the kettle. In the van we use bottled water for drinking either hot or cold and the water tank water for cooking and washing.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Filters*

Read Here
Or Here
Here Maybe
There is the same Question here


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## philsil (Jul 24, 2007)

I bought our inline filter from

http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/index.php


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## SaddleTramp (Feb 15, 2007)

Don't bother, we have traveled throughout Europe for more years than I care to remember and never had a problem, and never had a filter we have always used water from mains supplies be it either sites or aires.


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## FoweyBoy (Dec 7, 2006)

Anyone managed to source a Nature Pure replacement cartridge for less than £50?


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## trigrem (May 1, 2005)

Agree with Dave, had Nature pure in last 3 vans, better safe than sorry. Water in EU may be safe but some of it tastes lousy
Doug


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## kennyboy (Oct 25, 2005)

We bought a water filter at the NEC last year, it took me less than 1h to fit and it is brilliant.
You can taste the difference immediately. We travelled all over Europe and would not trust the local water specially in Greece, Spain or Portugal.
As for Turkey or Morocco you would be very lucky not to catch anything bad drinking straight from the tap!
Ken


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## trigrem (May 1, 2005)

Agree with Dave B, had a nature Pure in last 3 vans, cant' see point in buying and storing bottled water.
Doug


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## DSL2 (Mar 6, 2008)

Yet another thumbs up for nature pure, brilliant.

First of all I tried to cheap skate it by buying one of those filter jugs, a complete waste of time. Then started carrying & storing upto 15ltrs of bottled per race weekend, PITA.

Fitted a nature pure which was maybe 45 mins work, totally transformed what was previously disgusting plastic flavored & scum forming water to what is now totally indistinguishable from the finest bottled water, well worth the money.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

This post crops up many times every year and the answers are all the same, 50% can't do without them and 50% don't think they need one.

I personally have never used one in 30 years of motorhoming, but I must admit to carrying a small portable "Brita" cartridge, just in case, but have never used it.

If your journey is planned you will fill your fresh water tank from a reliable source, i.e. a drinking water tap rather than one marked otherwise. As far as I believe all water directly from the mains is drinking water, water from a tank is not. 

During our journeys throughout Europe we have always found drinking water readily available, we have never been refused any wherever we have been and never directly charged for any. I can honestly say that in all our travels we have never been ill due to a drinking water problem

Drew


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

From what I've seen on sites in Spain, most people buy bottled water, Including the Spanish. A lot of the site have non potable water at the pitch and fresh drinking water at a central water point. 

We have the nature pure system in our van and it does what it says on the can, gives pure safe water, and is in the long run cheaper and more convenient that buying bottled water. 

Its true that most water is safe to drink, but the filter just give us that extra peace of mind.

Wobby


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## owl459 (Jul 27, 2007)

I agree completely with other posters re Nature Pure filter. It was easily fitted and I wouldn't be without it.


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## owl459 (Jul 27, 2007)

I agree completely with other posters re Nature Pure filter. It was easily fitted and I wouldn't be without it.


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

Nature pure Brilliant, down in Morocco watched people carrying big water bottles, silly farts get a Nature Pure

Loddy :wink:


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## Terryg (Jun 18, 2009)

I agree Nature Pure filter , it's easily to fit and cartridge is easy to change.

Terry.


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## Hobbyfan (Jul 3, 2010)

My latest 'van came with a filter system fitted and now I wouldn't be without one. Who wants to carry round huge bottles of water that you have to buy! And it's not just health, or safety from bugs, it's the taste! It always tastes sweet, straight from the tap, with no faffing around.

The one in my Hobby is a 3M system at only £77 and replacement cartridges are reasonably priced at about £30. You're supposed to change the cartridge every six months but the makers are probably playing on the safe side and assuming a much higher throughput than the average motor-homer would have, and I change mine annually. It's a small price to pay to save messing around with bottled water and having unpleasant tastes.

http://tinyurl.com/387mos7


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## Zuma (Apr 29, 2006)

Hobbyfan said:


> My latest 'van came with a filter system fitted and now I wouldn't be without one. Who wants to carry round huge bottles of water that you have to buy! And it's not just health, or safety from bugs, it's the taste! It always tastes sweet, straight from the tap, with no faffing around.
> 
> The one in my Hobby is a 3M system at only £77 and replacement cartridges are reasonably priced at about £30. You're supposed to change the cartridge every six months but the makers are probably playing on the safe side and assuming a much higher throughput than the average motor-homer would have, and I change mine annually. It's a small price to pay to save messing around with bottled water and having unpleasant tastes.
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/387mos7


Thanks for that HF, a lot cheaper than the Nature Pure. Is this the replacement cartridge?

3M Filter

Mark


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

But it don't do what nature pure does,it only inhibits bacteria, my filters last 2years and I only change them when the flow slows down.

Loddy


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## 3offtheT (Nov 27, 2009)

*Naturepure water filter - winterisation*

My new van has a naturepure filter fitted. It is fed from the top and it feeds out from the top, and the filter sits in a housing at the bottom that cannot be drained.

How do people protect such a system from freezing up and cracking when temperatures get down to -5degC and below for days on end? Insulation will protect it for some days, but not, I suspect for a week.

One obvious way is to remove the housing and cartridge during the winter months and just not use the filter, but there is no isolating valve in the supply line, so this solution would mean my whole water system would be out of commission.

Another option is to attempt to keep the whole van warm - but thats using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. Alternatively I suppose I could just run a 25w light bulb directly underneath the filter in the hope that that keeps it warm enough?

And finally I suppose I could just bite the bullet, fit the missing isolating valve and just not use the filter during winter months

Any other suggestions?

3OTT


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Water*



DABurleigh said:


> Steve,
> 
> Nature Pure. Don't waste time considering anything else.
> 
> Dave


I agree.


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## trigrem (May 1, 2005)

to 30TT
When we are not using the van in winter we remove the filter element at the same time as we drain all other water systems.
When using the van in below zero temperatures then we take the same precautions as we do for the fresh water tank, ie when we are in the van then the heat is on anyway, if we leave the to go walking we set the thermostat for the heating at about 5C and leave the heating on, this prevents the fresh water tank and the filter from freezing.
Doug


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