When choosing household filters for water purification, the consumer often relies on the surrounding opinion. It is no secret that filters are used every day in our lives, since the quality of water supply communications forces us to take decisive measures to improve living conditions. But how to choose the best option for an apartment to achieve the best results in use? Following several golden rules and tips, you can individually select filtration methods for any conditions and needs.
Definition of goals and intended use.
Living conditions and your personal interests directly influence subsequent decision-making when purchasing. Therefore, at the initial stage, it is necessary to determine the important indicators:
Assessment of the quality of the water that you intend to process.
Depending on the environmental factors of the cities, proper implementation of basic water supply conditions, the technical condition of communications and other equally important reasons, the degree of water pollution can be different - black, white and even red.
The characteristics of water typical for the regions of Russia differ. It is believed that the quality of water in Kabardino-Balkaria and the Altai Territory, as well as in the Far East, reaches the best indicators in Russia.
In the Moscow region, the water is of medium hardness, and in the Leningrad region - with a high concentration of iron.The Sverdlovsk region undoubtedly leads in chlorine content, and in the Nizhny Novgorod and Tver regions fluorine elements are present in the water.
General views.
The formation of liquid indicators is determined by hardness, organic matter, iron content and several other elements, the terminology of which is too boring to delve into and is not at all necessary. The main thing is to have the slightest idea that:
- The water coming through the pipes is disinfected by chlorination. Accordingly, when it is used as drinking water or for cooking, there is a need to neutralize the remaining active chlorine content.
- The water supply system and artesian well contain mechanical impurities such as sand and rust, which also have a direct impact on the durability of plumbing products and household appliances with direct use of water.
- Any untreated liquid combines various metal impurities, and water supply through pipes that have rusted over the years only significantly adds to the list of elements contained in the periodic table.
- Depending on external factors, water contains molecules of bacteria and organic compounds in greater or lesser proportions.
- The result, achieved through step-by-step multi-stage purification, allows you to comply with the formula of the ideal drinking water sources, and also gives the water a pleasant spring taste and color.
Achieving the desired result.
Before choosing and installing, you should determine in advance the purpose of the filters.For example, creating the necessary conditions for obtaining drinking water, preventing failure of electric heating elements, or eliminating sediment and blockages in the water supply system.
Installation location and calculation of the volume of water consumed.
In other words, if you want to use the purification system exclusively for drinking purposes, then it would be illogical to install filters at the beginning of the drainage system of apartment communications. It is much more profitable and economical to install a separate drinking tap, passing its connection through a system suitable for the degree of purification. In accordance with the needs, other circuits for installation are selected using a similar method. For example, mechanical cleaning for washing machines and dishwashers or filtration for heating systems.
Technical characteristics of filters.
The market allows the consumer to make a choice both independently and offers ready-made multi-stage cleaning solutions. The main thing is that when purchasing, you need to take into account the suitable characteristics and features of the intended purpose for further use.
The most common options used in everyday life
Today there are not many cleansing methods. Reverse osmosis, ion exchange and mechanical purification methods are known in large-scale applications. There are also more thorough biological, physicochemical and electrical applications.
Filters are divided by type of design.
Jug room.
The design is portable (mobile) and the easiest to assemble and operate. Jugs are also popular due to their relatively inexpensive cost.Perhaps the main disadvantage is the slow filtration speed and the rapid depletion of the resource of the replacement cartridge. Filter parts for jugs are sold in different cleaning combinations. When choosing, you need to take into account the characteristics of the water.
Balloon.
Load-type filters are made of a cylinder-shaped housing. A completely reasonable price and ease of installation still do not make this type widely used due to further nuances in maintenance and a limited range of applications.
Stationary (cabinet).
The design consists of one or several housings, depending on the number of cleaning stages. Each part contains a replaceable media - a cartridge, or a directly completely replaceable filter in the housing. This design is in great demand in consumer markets due to the possibility of targeted or complex applications. The following types of filters are used in multi-stage designs:
- Mechanical cleaning filters that allow liquid to pass free of large particles of clay, sand or rust.
- Purification filters using the ion exchange method, reducing the concentration of metal impurities.
- Cleaning filters by adsorption, which promote the sedimentation of harmful impurities and organic substances.
- Reverse osmosis filters that remove residual harmful impurities of mechanical and organic substances, as well as help disinfect water and eliminate odors.
It should be noted that according to the type of design there are single, three-stage and more. In terms of quality, these systems are very effective, depending on the stages of purification.The volume of displacement resources is quite large, but filters require timely replacement when their properties are developed. If replacement cartridges are sold at a very reasonable price, then a reverse osmosis filter is much more expensive than all stage filters combined. The system itself requires skills for connection and maintenance, and also has a fairly high cost in comparison with its counterparts.
Mortise.
Filtration elements made of metal mesh are installed directly in communication structures. The principle of their operation is aimed at the primary treatment of water, removing large impurities and blockages. This type is very inconvenient to maintain and gives a superficial result, not suitable for using water in food, but is a fairly cheap option.
Attachment on the crane.
The advantages include price, compactness and filtration speed. But rapid water treatment significantly reduces the quality of cleaning and speeds up the life of the replacement cartridge.
We can safely say that with the right approach to posing the question, choosing household filters for an apartment is not such a difficult and painful process. The main thing is an understanding of the required result, education on this topic, the very minimum of plumbing skills and, of course, your desires, comparable to your capabilities.
