EDITOR’S NOTE: The author, Keith Bernard, is president and CEO of CLEAR2O®, a leader in water filtration technology and products. He provided RVtravel.com with several of his company’s CLEAR2O® RV and Marine Inline Water Filters to test. We have previously used a similar filter from Camco, but according to Bernard it does not provide nearly the filtration ability of his company’s product. The CLEAR2O® filter has worked well for us but because we do not have a testing lab aboard our RV we were unable to measure its abilities vs. the more widely known Camco product.
By Keith Bernard
Clean water. Every RVer wants it and needs it. No sane RVer would consider embarking on a trip of any length without clean water onboard – or a way to generate it. In fact, clean water may arguably be the most important item for your RV, next to your keys and a full tank of gas.
Of course, clean is a relative term. Obviously, you don’t need the same level of water purity for bathing as you do for drinking. And if you’re going to be boiling the water anyway, how clean does it need to be for cooking? It’s not just a purity issue but a financial one as well. Does it make sense to spend possibly thousands of dollars on a reverse osmosis filtration system if you are only going use it for washing your RV floor?
Therefore, depending on what you’re using the water for, the question is: How clean is clean enough?
Now that we’ve posed the question, we will admit that it’s a hard question to answer. The only use for which there are specific standards is drinking, and the standards are complex. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets legal limits on over 90 contaminants in drinking water. (The legal limit for a contaminant reflects the level that protects human health and that water systems can achieve using the best available technology.) Yet, drinking water that doesn’t specifically meet the EPA’s standards may still be safe to drink, in small quantities or for short periods of time, if no other source is available.
Given the inherent difficulty in providing data on exactly what level of water quality is ideal for each purpose, it would be more instructive to put it in terms of protection “levels”: what happens to water at various protection levels, and what purpose/function it can serve at each level. Keep in mind: These are guidelines that can help provide a basic understanding of water-quality levels. Any specific concerns about water quality should be directed to your local water department or campground management.
No protection (no filtration used)
• RVers are completely at the mercy of the campground/location for the quality of water they use
• Risk of poor-quality water (taste, odor, illness, etc.) for which campgrounds are notorious
• Risk to RV for buildup of sediment within pipes, water heater, other systems
• Cost/inconvenience of bottled water (assuming that’s the source of your drinking water)
• Potential for sink/toilet staining from rust and other sediments/particulates
Some Protection (inline granular filter only)
• Mostly improves color and odor, with some improvement in taste
• Some sediment removal (depending on micron level) to protect RV
• Some reduction in staining
• Improved water quality for showering/rinsing only
• Bottled water still recommended for drinking
Some Protection (“point of use” only)
• Can achieve drinking water quality at faucet where filter is used (under sink, filtered water pitcher)
• No improvement for showering or rinsing (unless filters are used at point of use)
• Continued risk to RV for buildup of sediment within pipes, water heater, other systems
• Potential for sink/toilet staining from rust and other sediments
Full Protection (1 micron inline, or canister system with below 5 micron/carbon filtration)
• High water quality for all uses – drinking, showering, rinsing
• RV is protected from any sediment issues in pipes, water heater, other systems
• Eliminates staining
Combination
• Use inline granular as primary filter for whole RV to improve overall water quality for showering, rinsing, etc., but not to drinking water standards
• Use point-of-use system at faucet for drinking water (e.g., secondary filter with low micron rating via under-sink mount, water pitcher, faucet mount, countertop)
It should come as no surprise that it’s best to go with full protection. But everyone must determine the best method for them to achieve their water quality goals based on their usage.
There are other factors to consider as well: A part-time RVer and a full-timer will not only have different water-quality needs but also varying acceptance levels. A part-timer may be willing to accept lower quality levels for a weekend, but a full-timer will likely grow weary of substandard water for an extended period. What’s more, different RVs have different space availability. So, an inline solution may be ideal for some, while a full canister system may work better for others.
Similarly, it should not shock anyone that using no protection at all is not a sound strategy. If you could take a look inside any inline filter after a few months of use, you would witness a very ugly spectacle: a filter that started off bone-white will be severely discolored to a dark brown – a combination of sediment, contaminants, chemicals, and other nasty stuff. The amount will vary depending on the micron level (and quality) of the filter, but even the most inferior-quality inline filter is capturing a number of elements you’re simply better off without. The point is, with no filter of any kind, you’re getting those elements – like it or not.
As RVers, we all want the cleanest water we can possibly get. Depending on the level of filtration you use, you’ll get different levels of quality. The real question is, how clean do you want – or need – it to be?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Keith Bernard is president and CEO of CLEAR2O®, one of the leaders in water filtration technology and products. The company’s line of products includes filtered water bottles, pitchers, in-countertop filtration, whole-house filtration and on-the-go RV filtration systems. Learn more on their website.
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See these units in AZ, small Reverse Osmosis systems, hooked to RV to get best possible water. Expensive, bulky, but, if you need that kind of water, then that is what you need. Doubling the filter at the hose bib end, plus additional one built into coach works most of the time. If part time user, and filter is less than month old, when taking stuff out of RV to home, take filter cartridges too, put in refer at home, in plastic bag, will stay usable for months. What we do. This also applies to counter top filter units, and we do that as well.
Much has already been said but I would add that buying, hauling, loading, moving from outside storage to inside etc of bottled water from any source, is expensive and time consuming. I love my 10 stage RO/DI/ALG home system so much I just put a 2nd one in the RV.
Doesn’t take up any more space than the bottled water. It is not cheap to operate ($50 – $100 per year), but equal to or better than buying bottled. Refilling bottled is free at home or cheap at box store or supermarket, but it is just way time consuming.
Really trying to decide if I want to add a water softener instead of 2 or 3 canister main filter. The fresh tank is most always from my home softener or other trusted source.
I have to admit that we go overboard a bit with water treatment, but after replacing our kitchen and bath faucets twice, we were convinced there had to be a solution. When we first started out on the road, like many other RVers, we bought the Camco inline filter. Their 25 micron filtration claimed better taste, etc. In actual use, I feel they are a complete waste of money. If the park system has sand in it, this filter might help. For anything else, useless. I purchased a 3-canister filter and noticed an immediate difference, using 2 white 10-micron initial cartridges (about $7 a pair) followed by a 5-micron carbon filter. The water was noticeably clearer and improved taste. To remove well-water smell and hardness, I added a portable softener. Perfect!
Now about once a month I backwash the softener with table salt (about $2-$3), then after about 3-4 months I replace the filter cartridges (about $10-$15) and we have great water everywhere.
We use a camco inline filter to catch sediment, they are rated for 20 microns, for our drinking water we buy filtered water usually at Walmart by the gallon. We usually carry about 10 one gallon plastic jugs to refill. In FL and TX it’s usually about $.25-$.28 per gallon and we’ll use a little over a gallon a day with coffee and our drinking water. Even though we may be on city water some areas of the country have mineral tastes we don’t like especially Fl seems to have a sulfur taste, the locals drink it and think it’s good. Even at home we filter our drinking water.
The Clear 20 reduced my water pressure so much in my motor home I had to remove it, Several RV friends reported the same issue. My issue is the company would not offer any warranty or refund on the defective product.
We use the blue filter for all water coming into the trailer, then that water goes into a Berkey purifier that we use for drinking for both of us and and two dogs and for cooking. The Berkey supplies water that is 99.9999% pure.
ironically we have the same setup. The Berkey supplies more water than we need and always tastes good.
How many times do I see folks put their water filters. regulators, and hose on in the wrong order. Pressure Regulator at the bib, then filter, then hose to the RV. Regulate, Filtrate and Deliver.
Agreed, great comment to all! As a 1 year newbie, I get great advice not only from this newsletter, but knowledgeable commenters as well. Thanks everyone!
Order does not really matter, so long as the regulator is before the RV pipes (which they pretty much have to be). The pipes within the RV are the weak point in the equation. I choose to put my regulator after my hose, locked inside my storage compartment, at the end of the supply hose. My expensive filter system is chained and locked to my landing leg at the front of the fifth-wheel.
I’m not too worried about a $7.00 hose that is designed to handle greater pressure than my RV. If I were to have a hose leak, due to an over-pressure problem, I could replace it with relative ease and low cost.
On the other hand, if I am away from the unit and someone decides that they want my expensive pressure regulator, it would be much more expensive and time-consuming to replace.
Bottom line: Don’t worry about possibly sacrificing a hose now and then, protect the higher-cost investments.
I disagree about the filter location. I have always put the filter at the rig end of the hose so you won’t pick up any taste/odor from the hose (I know a drinking water hose is supposed to be inert, but nature happens).
I use a filter, usually the blue camco one. I run it for two reasons, 1- to keep large particulates out of my rv system, so grit/rust particles don’t mess up any valve seats/gaskets, and 2-I don’t care for the taste of chlorine, so I like to remove it. The filter described above that gets down to 1 micron will also get most bacteria, if you’re concerned about that along with solids. Campsites are regulated and have to meet standards to assure they are disinfected, so its not too high a concern for me. Also, if you’re running an absolute 1 micron filter by itself and you get dirty water, its going to load up pretty quickly and restrict flow. Its doing what its supposed to, but a basic carbon filter isn’t going to load up as quickly and restrict flow.
For the folks that are concerned about variations in the water chemistry that can upset stomachs, I get where you’re coming from. But I believe I could go out and buy a lot of water jugs before I spent the money for a full on filtration/reverse osmosis system. I’m part time so its not as big an issue for me. Full timers might look at it differently.
I made it a point to say water Chemistry and not water Quality. Good drinking water can vary in what minerals are dissolved in it-hardness plus other parameters. It can still be healthy to drink, but if you’re not used to it, it can mess with you. So for those of you that have had stomach issues with different water, I get what you’re saying. And it makes sense to either buy bottled or put in additional treatment.
Source-did water treatment of various types for 40 years.
This article is not very helpful. While it is instructive for those not familiar with how water filters/purifiers work, it makes no recommendations, it offers no comparisons, nor does it provide any helpful information as to what acceptable brands are available. I would prefer a list, review, and recommendation from what is currently on the market. Even a comparison of products from the two companies mentioned would have been more useful.
Hmmmm. I agree with the general conclusion but am loyal to the RVwaterfilterstore who has been around along time. This company provides nothing that is not already available. Omnipure filters and a sink faucet works for me.
I’d much rather read an industry evaluation of counter-top, under-sink, and systemwide water filtration than one manufacturer’s opinion piece. Amazon has over a dozen counter-top pieces of equipment for sale. Even your spokesman’s product is listed… BUT at $20 less on Amazon than on the company’s link that you provided to their site. Granted you’re likely to get a sponsorship fee, but the overall article linked to their pricing lessens your credibility.
Some places camping had such rusty, hard water which was hard to drink and bath. Loading up our travel trailer with water and 2 bikes from home introduced trailer sway. So I decided instead to buy a RV softener and fill up the water tank or hose direct wherever we camped with the water there. Best decision for water ever made. Showers are so nice. For drinking water I bring some jugs of reverse osmosis water from home. My new motorhome has a built in filter which I change every season. I’m sure it helps some so I will just leave it there.
Always nice to publish an article where a manufacturer writes about their own product and how great it is. Even better when it is written so that it sounds like a factual scientific paper. Great way to advertise.
You can get the information from it and skip the product name. They don’t advertise with us but supplied useful information, so we give credit where credit’s due. —Diane at RVtravel.com
You should read the article again with an open mind. I didn’t see the writer reference his specific products. I found it to be informative
If you stay where you’re on a municipal water system you shouldn’t need a filter- unless you’re trying to cut down chlorine taste. Exceptions would be anywhere in the south west or someplace that’s fed by well water. We don’t use filters at the house….why then with the rv?
water from different areas can affect your stomach ( wifes issue ) and can ruin a trip even if it’s from a municipal water system. We have a 1-micron sediment filter to a 5-micron charcoal filter to a On the Go water softener to a 6 stage Reverse Osmosis system to the kitchen sink for drinking -cooking. We shower off the Reverse Osmosis bye-pass. We did stay at a campground that turned our sediment filter brown after 1 shower, think about that one……. Full filtration where ever we go, she’s happy.
so…. which one should I buy? I have only seen the blue one for sale.
I think it makes more sense to regulate ( pressure)AFTER the filter system . Photo shows otherwise.
Good article but filtering water can be a complicated game
Just wondering why you feel that is preferable? It doesn’t seem like it should matter which side of the filter you place the regulator.
If you wish to keep sediment from your water system then you use the filter before it contaminates any of the system. Water faucet, water filter, pressure regulator is my opinion.
What’s the concept of using, having a regulator? So why have the filter attached first, then the regulator second?
I have seen those blue in line one blow up from over pressure so I respectfully disagree
The filter itself reduces flow. I want the most safe pressure I can get . Also keeps contamination out of regulator. I don’t use the blue filter. I run 10” home system clear bowl filter. You have many choices of filter media & the ability to actually see the water color. And filters last longer.
Jeff, I do the same thing. There is a pressure drop across the filter, so I prefer to regulate the pressure that’s ‘left over’ once its passed through the filter. If the pressure is so high that the filter housing ruptures as mentioned below, then it’d make sense to have it first. Although I find it surprising any place has that high a pressure; makes me wonder if the housing was bad to begin with.
For a part-timer, how do you store a filter between trips? Do you drain/empty it? How long can the filter be idle between uses? How often should the filter be changed?
Most quality Water Filters, like the ones CAMCO produce, have a chemical or product in them called KDF! KDF helps to keep mold and other bacteria from developing if you store your filter for long periods.
You should always, RINSE your filter, by running several gallons of water through it, before hooking up to your RV. This will help remove any sediment and or other impurities that have developed while in storage.
And (very important) Always Flush Out new Filters. You will see the Black Activated Carbon come out and again, run seveal gallons through, till the water is clear.
Hope this helps.
To piggy back on Jeff’s comment regarding Camco filters, the packaging/box has instructions on storing between use.
I just set mine in the kitchen sink between trips. That way any water that drains out just goes down the sink. While in motion I stuff a hand towel in the sink to keep it from rolling around.