How should I deal with sediment in my water lines? Whole-house filter?

Question

I've had on-and-off problems with sediment in my water lines due to really old city infrastructure. It has clogged the inner workings of the dishwasher, blocked shower heads and faucets, etc. Although the city periodically flushes the lines (or perhaps because they do), particulate still makes its way into my pipes.

Because this is a rental property (I now live about 700 miles away), I'm looking for a solution that would require little intervention once in place (changing filters periodically is fine - I just don't want my tenants to have to constantly clear the sediment traps on faucets or have to worry about appliances that don't have any traps/filtration of their own).

So is a whole-house water filter my best bet? Are there other options I might not be aware of?

Edit: Talked to a plumber, who pointed out the possibility that I may have severely corroded galvanized supply lines after the meter and into the house (which I do). If that were the case, placing a filter before a run of oxidizing steel probably isn't going to do much. It could also be both (the city and my side of the meter).

Answer 1

Oh my goodness. This is the city's problem. Unbelievable that you are getting so much sediment OR there is a busted line getting lots of clay and iron particles to clog you up. Have you done a flow test? Hopefully before you purchased your home. Keep changing your filters and if this is truly on city water, you HAVE to start whining loudly!! Or get someone to find out if there is a break in your line to your home. That would be my suspicion. City water usually does NOT have that much sediment. Now if you are on a well, an entire different story and landlord needs to fix! – stormy 1 min ago

Answer 2

A whole house filter is your best bet. If you clean it once at the source, it will be clean after that (well, once you flush whatever is in the pipes out with clean water, anyway.) I personally use one that combines a spiral flow pattern with a fine screen - much of the crud accumulates in the bottom of the filter, and can be dumped by opening a valve there. If you have more very fine material, you might want to combine something like that with a traditional cartridge filter after it.

Answer 3

If I were in your shoes, I would check with your neighbors first, and see if that is a common issue. I'd investigate and see how wide-spread the issue is. HOPEFULLY... you are the lucky winner, and it's just your home affected. I would then request the cities utility department, or water provider, to send a technician to come and conduct a water quality test at your home.

I know that water providers are required by law (in the United States) to make available water quality test results which often are conducted at the source of the water. Usually these are sent out via the postal service each year. See this as an example from my city ( I know this is dated, but I'm too lazy to find the latest one). I know that at a specific request and after much convincing, my town will send a technician over to test the quality of the water at the residence if the owner feels that the quality doesn't match what is described in the report, or it may contain contaminants.

To me, it sounds like there is an old water line between you and the source of the water that has weathered the infrastructure enough that it's starting to pull the sediments around it down the pipes, and into your home. Have you noticed any excessive water usage at the property? Hopefully this water is 'leaking' on the other side of your water meter and would fall under the city / provider's responsibility.