Once you know something you just can’t ‘unknow’ it. Nope, knowledge really is power, and that’s a good thing!

Since you have stumbled here into my little piece of the world wide web, I’m going to make a guess that you are on some type of healthy living journey. Perhaps your story is similar to mine, one where knowledge sends you down a rabbit hole where you uncover more truths. Then, you make changes. Then you learn more, go down more rabbit holes, and implement even more exciting and healthy new changes.

Once I realized all of the lies that I had been sold and bought I wanted to know more and more and more…and implement change after change after change.

Sound familiar to your healthy living journey?

One thing I learned later in my ongoing journey (because I always want to be learning) is that the quality of water is truly crucial to living a more healthful and non-toxic life. It quickly became clear to me that our water supply is troubled…very troubled, indeed.

Our only provided water supply is in awful shape, often containing the following…

1. Pesticides – According to the Pesticide Action Network of North America, per USDA testing, pesticides are present in 94% of US drinking water. Atrazine is a pesticide often found in our water supply and has been linked (even in small doses) to cancer, reproductive effects, and is a known endocrine disrupter.1
2. Harmful Bacteria – And yes, this includes E. Coli. Ewwwwwww. Water pipes are often riddled with bacteria harmful for our bodies and especially our guts (from where health or sickness prevails)!
3. Pharmaceuticals – Antibiotics, mood stabilizers, sex hormones…yes, these all end up in our water, too. In 2008, NBC News reported in an Associated Press study that pharmaceuticals were in the drinking water of 41 million Americans. From the same study, “Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city’s watersheds.”
4. Arsenic – Arsenic is essentially synonymous with poison. We consume arsenic in small amounts in lots of things we eat (rice, often in high amounts) and most certainly through our water supply. There is a great deal of debate whether or not any level of arsenic is ‘okay’ to ingest. The graph below shows shows the danger of arsenic in drinking water (at currently acceptable levels)…
   
   
   

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5. Lead – There is no safe level of lead, period. It is creeping into our water supply and in one town residents weren’t even told about the high levels of lead found in their drinking water, but they aren’t sure why!? Homes built before 1986 are most at risk for lead in drinking water.

In this list I haven’t even covered fracking, fluoride, our crumbling water systems, toxic tank spills, coal residue, and acid rain. Wanna know what’s in YOUR water? Here you go.

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You can see why creating a cleaner source of water is important to me!

Enter a whole house water filtration system.

Today, I want you to know that you really *can* DIY install your own whole house water filtration system. Sure, you could get one of those bulky water filters to sit on your counter (and I’ve heard from many others that they work well), but I am beyond happy that I have a whole house water filtration system (not just one for drinking or cooking that sits on my counter) that goes through every hose, sink, bathtub, shower…literally everywhere in this house (and outside!) I now have a much higher quality of water everywhere. This in turns affects my health, my son, my husband, and YOU…if you are a Scratch Mommy customer. I now have high quality filtered water right from my tap for my Bug Be Gone Sprays and my Aftershave Sprays!

This is a two part series, with the first part here explaining that you really *CAN* install your own whole house water filtration system. You really can have quality filtered water throughout your home…and you really can DIY it! I’ll explain all of the water filtration details in the second post, along with an update regarding changes we have noticed since using the whole house water filtration system.

We chose to install the Pelican PSE2000 Combo Water System.

We also opted for the PRO-RO (reverse osmosis) to filter out fluoride from the sink water in the Pronounce Skincare laboratory (which has now taken over our entire basement for all skincare creation, packaging, and shipping).

The Pelican Combo Water System combines the benefits of a 5-micron pre-filter, a Carbon Series whole-house water filter, and the NaturSoft salt-free water softener. All hugely important to me.

Since my hubby and his buddy actually completed the install what I’m sharing here is a Q & A of the entire installation process.

I will be back to share a second post soon (and link it here to this post, of course) and in that post will talk in greater depth about the quality of the water after having used it for a longer period of time. Today, I want you to know that you really can DIY your own whole house water filtration system!

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How did packaging of everything arrive? Were you happy with it? Easy to open and figure out what everything was? Etc?

Everything arrived in excellent condition. The delivery driver even put all of the boxes upright. In all, six boxes arrived in two separate deliveries. We received the install kit (which I highly recommend), two tanks with each tank packaged separately (definitely appreciated because it was manageable to carry to install location), and the reverse osmosis system and faucet for reverse osmosis drinking and cooking water (and for Pronounce Skincare goodies).

Did you what you expected to arrive for a smooth installation actually arrive?

I was surprised to see that almost everything I needed to install was pre-packaged and the quality of the parts was superior to what I could pick up at my local hardware store.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

The instructions were extremely easy to follow. Because I don’t have a lot of plumbing experience, I called in a friend of mine to help. We were able to get this installed over the course of a couple of beers! We opted to mock up the parts before making any cuts to ensure we understood exactly what we were doing. It took probably a bit more time to do it this way, but we found it to be quite helpful.

Tell me about the installation process.

We kept all of the contents of the boxes separate in an open area. The Pronounce Skincare laboratory was the perfect place to mock up all parts and have all of the directions laid out.

We started with the pre-filter and then moved on to the carbon filter and finished with the water softener.

Once all of the parts were laid out and mocked up, we cleared out the area and moved the tanks to the final instal location.

It was then time to go to the local hardware store to get the CPVC, primer, and glue needed. Our parts list was very limited to supplies that I did not expect to be included with a premium water system.

After turning off the main water and putting a bucket and towels under the water supply line, we cut the main water supply line and re-routed it to the Pelican water system.

The pre-filter needs to be mounted. For us, this was a challenge because we do not have finished walls in our basement utility room. The simple solution was to hang a board mounted with “L” brackets to the sill plate sitting on top of the block foundation. It simply hung down to approximately where we cut the supply line and hooked it up.

Because of the DIY friendly design, we were able to hook everything up (all plumbing) and leave the provided connectors in the bypass position, meaning water supply to the house was not interrupted but not going through the tanks that needed soaked.

The directions say to take the carbon tank outside to fill it up until water comes out and then let it sit. Once it has soaked for 48 hours, you run water through the tank from a hose (connector supplied) until water exiting the tank is totally clear. The tank is not too heavy on it’s own, probably between 50-60 lbs. You can move it on your own, but I was a little worried about moving the carbon tank filled with water. Our sump pump is located next to the instal location of the tanks and we have a water spicket for the hose required to fill the carbon tank to soak. We were able to not have to move the tank to soak, making the installation much easier.

After the carbon tank was soaked and the water was flowing, it was then time turn off the bypass on the water softener and fill the tank. It too requires a much shorter soak time followed by running water (excellent instructions on how many faucets or tubs to run to complete this step).

It was time to enjoy the Pelican water system and we have and will continue to for many years to come.

What was the total time to install everything (including the separate reverse osmosis system).

Time to install for us (minus the required soak and rinsing of the tanks) was a couple of hours plus the trip to the local hardware store. Each installation will be different, but provided you have easy access and very basic plumbing knowledge, this is an extremely simple product to install.

Tank soaking is not something I anticipated would take so long. I was lucky I didn’t have to move the carbon tank to soak, but for anyone performing a DIY install, you will need to enlist the help of someone for plumbing (if you don’t already know) and then again 48 hours after the soak period to move the carbon tank into the final install location. It just may be something you want to consider when asking for help (or you can now pretend like you didn’t know so it doesn’t deter someone from making a larger time commitment than they originally thought – let’s not pretend like a two trip visit to help install a premium water filtration system could be more difficult to secure from a friend)!

PROS

• The quality of the plumbing parts supplied with the Pelican whole house water filtration system and installation kit are extremely high quality:
  • Shark bite connectors are not only quick, but easy to use
  • The metal hoses are nicer than anything offered at the hardware store
• Excellent instructions, very easy to follow, and well written
• Substantial improvement in the water quality of our home
• Taste of water is excellent
• Soap and shampoo lather so much better
• No feeling of residue on the skin like many water softeners
• We look forward to pouring water from the tap, for the first time ever

Pitch the pitcher – (Or donate or repurpose, as we recommend at Scratch Mommy). Yes, the one that you put in the door of your fridge and constantly requires you to fill it up because you always pour more than you can replace without having to wait. Besides, you know those don’t really filter much of anything out, right?

We will not have any build up or scaling moving forward and believe any scaling that had already taken place will be reduced. For Scratch Mommy, that means better life from the new appliances just purchased for the Pronounce Skincare Underground laboratory. Our old and new appliances should last longer and not have many issues caused by scaling or hard water. What a bonus!

CONS

Water of this quality is not cheap in the initial investment. Pelican is a great value for what they deliver, but not everyone can afford this system although everyone I know would truly benefit from the improvements we are experiencing.

Moving the carbon tank soaked with water (although I didn’t do it), would be difficult and very heavy which could be a challenge without help.

Probably not a fair criticism, but it would be nice to get a quick overview separate from the packages that screams “read this before unboxing or calling to have installation scheduled” that provides a simple timeframe required from start to finish including soak times. It could be helpful if you are asking someone with a bit more plumbing experience for help with a DIY installation or making sure your handyman or plumber know multiple trips are required and that can be addressed prior to the installer informing you he/she has to come back and additional trip charges apply.

I would also like to see a maintenance checklist/recommendation sheet that can be mounted by or on one of the tank tanks or pre-filter. I have a maintenance schedule in a pouch on my dehumidifier and also the sump pump. This is a great system and I want to make sure I am maintaining it properly.

If you had the choice to pick the whole house Pelican water filtration system again, would you?

I am very happy with the Pelican PSE2000 Combo Water System and the reverse osmosis system and faucet and have highly recommended it to my friends and family (and now Scratch Mommy readers). I wish I would have understood the install requirements prior to opening the boxes with my helper present, but a great experience, simple to install, and the quality of water is absolutely outstanding.

Anything else you’d like to add?

With water so important and so many Scratch Mommies spending A LOT of money on bottled water, this is a great solution to have a great impact on the environment by not using water bottles and filling up reusable (preferably glass, which won’t have any water spots on your clean vessel), this system can pay for itself. Just think about all of the health benefits!!! You just have to be in position to invest in better water and for those that can, you will surely not be disappointed.

The installation of the reverse osmosis system was a bit more complicated working in a more cramped space, but it was simple and following the directions only took an hour to install. Make sure you have a shop vac handy if you are going to drill through a stainless steel sink and don’t have an available hole.

Hubby’s silly – DIY FAILS

My hose was leaking and I had quite a mess on my hands where I installed the tanks, but nothing a couple of towels (or 6 full beach sized towels) couldn’t fix.

So much for that hose that expands, contracts, and never kinks, it’s junk – especially after running over the connector with a mower (spring for the one with brass fittings, seriously).

I hooked up the reverse osmosis system to the hot water supply line. What was I thinking? I’m sure it will get fixed at some point!
(Update: It’s been fixed).

Pelican Water provided products for review, but all opinions are my own. We would never recommend products to you that we don’t love!