Water Filters, Plumbing and Such

When you are a homeowner you get to do "projects." Usually these projects are fun, sometimes they are frustrating, often they are puzzling, and many times one project leads to (or creates) another. Yesterday I decided to change the water filter for the kitchen sink and ice maker.

Sometimes our water can smell a little fishy, as in "it smells like fish." This is because of algae, I think, and although it is smelly it is not harmful. This only happens now and then. I suspect that it is some sort of algae bloom.

Our new house, conveniently, has an in-line water filter that cleans the water for the kitchen, and removes the fishy smell. However, according to the previous homeowner, he had never changed the filter in the three years that he lived there. Hmm. That's probably not good.

I have made several half hearted attempts to loosen the filter housing since we have lived there, but until yesterday I was not successful I was afraid I would break the plastic tank that holds the filter. What I actually succeeded in breaking yesterday was a soldered joint in the water pipe.

This required a call for help. Dad came over and brought his solder and flux and we set to work. First of all we had to get that filter off. So what does Dad do? He grabs that plastic tank that I was so concerned about breaking, gives it a huge twist, and off it comes. He made it look easy.

Then we sweated the broken joint apart with the torch, cleaned it up and soldered it back together better than it was in the first place. In went the new filter and we were good to go.