In its ideal state, water should be tasteless, odorless, colorless and transparent. But as the chemical smell hits your nose after running a tap, its clear to notice our less than ideal water quality. That’s when water filtration comes into play. Water filtration comes in different forms, for both domestic and commercial applications. Today we will focus on cartridge filters and why they are used today.
Rainwater is perhaps the purest for of water. However on its journey from the clouds to our lips, impurities are collected. As for mains water, the strange taste comes from chemicals added to sterilize the water such as chlorine and fluoride. Don’t be fooled though, the government have done a great job in supplying quality water considering what they have to start with. But you should know that it can be better. A cheap alternative to spring water is water filtration by way of cartridge.
How does it work?
To put it simply, water will flow through the inlet, where it is drawn through the walls of the cartridge. The cartridge collects impurities and sediments as water goes through the outlet and out the tap. The size of impurities that can be removed will vary from visible to non visible. Visible as in sand and hair. Non visible as in small particles that are measured in microns and angstroms such as bacteria and virus’.
Although cartridge filters can be used as a single unit, it is recommended practice to combine 2 into a multi stage unit. This is done to ensure maximum filtering capacity is gained from each cartridge.
Water filtration maintenance
Now the biggest issue with under sink filters in the maintenance. A good plumber should inform you on importance of correct maintenance procedures. This involves replacing the cartridge. How do i know when to change the cartridge? I hear you ask.
Well a good indicator would be the deterioration in the taste. Another is when an unacceptable decrease of water pressure is apparent. Pressure drop increases as the filter medium becomes saturated with contaminants. Consequently the cartridge must be changed, to prevent becoming a breeding ground for bacteria, at regular intervals depending on how clean/dirty the water is. Some filters today come with an alarm that will sound when the time is right to eliminate the guess work.
Thank you once again for reading. Please feel free to contact us for any questions that you may have.