Choosing a Water Filter

With all of the different types of water filtration systems and water filters on the market today, choosing a water filter can be confusing and stressful. Some basic types of water filters include: Sediment filters, Carbon filters, and Sub Micron filters. So how do you know what type of water filters you need?

The first step in determining what type of water filter you need is to know the application for which your water filtration system was designed for. Second step, consider what you are trying to achieve. The third step is to consider the water source. Depending on the answers to those questions, you’ll have a clearer picture of the type of water filter you need.

Basic Types of Water Filters

There are three basic types of water filters available to consumers. These filters can be used across different markets for different applications. The most common water filters include:

• Sediment Filters
• Carbon Activated Filters
• Sub Micron Filters

Each of these filters serve a paticular purpose and will yeild different results. Depending on your application, one of the above water filters will most likely be the type of water filter you need.

Sediment Filters

Sediment filters remove unwanted particles from water or other liquids. Sediment is defined as “Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid” by Merriam-Webster dictionary. In our case, that liquid is water. There are many reasons why one would want to filter sediment out of water. Some obvious reasons include: removing rust particles from filtration systems, removing slat or sand from seawater, removing organic matter, and removing clay or other particles.

Sediment filters are widely used for residential water filtration systems to purify water for drinking and commercially at beach front resorts and hotels to remove salt from seawater. If you’re looking for a water filter for your home, a sediment water filter may be your best option.

Carbon Filters

Carbon filters use a bed of activated carbon to remove contaminates and impurites using chemical absorption (Wiki article). Absorption is the process of trapping contaminant molecules inside a carbon substrate. Carbon Activated Filters are most effective with the removal of chlorine, volatile organic compounds, taste and odor from water. They don’t perform well at removing Salts and minerals.

Activated Carbon Filters have a broad range of uses in many markets and industries. The most common uses for carbon filters include water purification in commercial and residential applications and distilled beverage purification in manufacturing. Activated carbon is a game changer for water filtration and purification systems.

Sub Micron Filters

Sub Micron Filters have special pore-sized membranes to separate microorganisms and suspended particles from process liquid. It is commonly used in conjunction with various other separation processes such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis to provide a product stream which is free of undesired contaminants (Wiki article).

These type of water filters are used in the pre-treatment and post-treatment water treatment systems and the sterilization of beverages and pharmaceuticals. Sub Micron filters membranes can be of either organic or inorganic dependant on the type of application for which it’s being used.

The type of water filter you need depends on your it’s application and the water source. If you re trying to produce purer drinkin water at home, a sediment or carbon filter may be your best choice. If you are trying to purify water that has chemicals in it, a carbon filter may be the best choice. If you need to sterilize water or treat water for organic or inorganic compounds, a sub micron filter may be the best choice.

Water Equipment Technologies – WET stocks all three types of sediment, carbon, and sub micron filters. If you are unsure what type of water filter you need for your system, contact a WET water technology expert to assist you in getting the right type of water filter.

More Articles