Whole house water filtration system to prevent MAC & NTM

@yorkieyoli We use a filter system to serve our kitchen sink, but have not contemplated a whole house system. The distance is 4' (vertical) from the filter to the taps in one hose, less in the other, so there is no place for water to sit and accumulate any bacteria. I am sure such a system exists, but it would probably be costly and you would have the issue of horizontal runs of pipe where biofilm could (probably already has) built up where biofilm could hide.
We have chosen to accept the risk of a small amount NTM in our showers, but keep the hot water above 130F to minimize it, and use rainfall showerheads and strong fans limit the steam in the room.
There is only so much one can do and still live a reasonable life.
PS I have not been reinfected in over 5 years.

Thanks for your response. I would love a water filtration system, but it's so complicated to know which one to get. The more I research it, the more confusing it becomes!
I don't want to be scared to drink water and take a shower! I would just like to be "normal" at home, and take precautions out of the house.
There seems to be as much controversy over bottled water, which isn't necessarily safe either! It sounds like whatever you are doing is working well for you! I'm pleased for you! Keep well and stay strong!

I have looked up whole house water filtration thoroughly. Unless you can get reverse osmosis system it will not alleviate NTM. In fact I found mycobacteria can thrive in a GAC filter so must make sure you change this often. The microns needed to reduce that particular bacteria would have to be 0.005 or 0.001 and only reverse osmosis systems can do that. Whole house systems here in Australia filter through 0.5 or 0.2 I have found. So although all the other nasties are eliminated and your water is more pure and soft it won’t eliminate NTM. It is expensive. You can buy reverse osmosis units to sit on countertop that produce hot water to 100deg and ice water too and they self clean also with filter being changed yearly. For drinking.
I would also consider under sink filter to wash veges but I still take my shower head off and disinfect and dry out before next use. One company told me, if any one tells you their filter system can rid NTM run 🏃‍♀️ anyway that’s what I’ve found in my research!

Thank you for this great info. It's very helpful to hear about reverse osmosis, and the criteria of the micron size. I have an estimate tomorrow with a company that does whole house filtration using reverse osmosis for drinking water, along with UV water filtration. I'm not sure if they'll know anything about NTM, but once I get the specs of their system, I'm hopeful I'll be able to figure it if that will help block NTM.

All of your pipes are already caked with biofilm. If you get a whole house system, you would have to replace all of the pipes too.

In that case, am I better off with bottled water? Does anyone know if bottled water is considered safe?

I wrote to a company here in Australia “PUREAU” who claim to have the purest bottled water. They write back and said the systems they used and the way they were steam sterilised before each morning if filtration could not allow mycobacteria in. That is their claim. They told me to give them a batch number and they would send me an analysis of it. I did that but have not heard back from them as yet. However that is all that I am drinking atm and that is all I have been drinking for many years. I use it in my kettle too. Must say the kettle looks brand new inside.
As for pipes caked with biofilm?????? Would have to look into that. If your hot water is high enough it may destroy mycobacteria. I was told by the company that said run if someone tells you they can filter it out that the only thing that can destroy it is heat hot water set at 55 60 heat scalding temp.
I do believe that reverse osmosis under sink can filter NTM out as it’s installed at point of tap and can filter at 0.001 micron depending on filters used. Hope this helps in your decision.

I have given up on looking for a solution to the water in the house currently using bottled water as mentioned earlier and disinfecting shower head. Why? Because they say this mycobacteria is in the air in dust in everything we do. If we are susceptible to it we can get it from many sources. I feel I can drive myself nuts trying to avoid it so just have to do my best. I might invest on a kitchen top type reverse osmosis machine the cheaper option and wear masks when threatened by other scenarios. I will use the counter top water for washing veges etc too. Keep lungs healthy with exercise and airway clearance techniques! Best of luck to you all.

Falkingham said bottled water labeled “spring water” showed less NTM. (Autocorrect turned that into “Falling ham.” ) He also said cold water in municipal water was generally safe.
I find the latter reassuring.

From what I have read, the best options to keep NTM out of your kitchen and shower is to use a "point of service" .2 micron filter. An example is the Pall Filter. I have one installed on my kitchen sink as a "bar" faucet.