Contaminants can change the taste and color of water, create unpleasant odors, and increase the risk of health hazards. The main filter helps to solve the problem. The equipment is mounted on a water pipe and performs water purification, delaying the impurities in it. The filter element captures both large mechanical impurities, as well as harmful bacteria, toxic elements. Along with cleaning, there is an improvement in taste.
Varieties of filtration devices
The main filtering devices purify water in several ways:
- mechanical, using stainless steel mesh barriers or wear-resistant plastic;
- chemical, using reagents, for example, chlorine or fluorine;
- absorption, with purification due to porous fillers, for example, coal or silica gel;
- ion exchange for softening and desalting water.
Multistage devices allow maximum liquid purification.
Models of rough cleaning in country cottages or in summer cottages, where water is drawn from a well or a well, must be mounted. It is effective to install protective nets at the entry point of the water supply system after bypass, if this element is provided. They will delay coarse pollution - sand, silt particles. Without such protection, the installation of fine filter devices in homes with autonomous water supply is irrational - they will quickly fail. But in apartments of high-rise buildings this is possible if the water supply system is not too ancient.
Modern installations require a filter softener. The presence of hardness salts has a negative effect on human health and the operation of household appliances. Due to such a liquid, the skin becomes dry, wrinkles and deposits appear in the gastrointestinal tract.
When the liquid is heated on the surfaces, subsidence of compounds that make water hard occurs, resulting in scale. Because of her, household appliances break down. The use of a device that allows you to neutralize hardness salts due to ion exchange, allows you to save washing machines and kettles from lime growths and quick failure, and a person from possible health problems.
It is recommended to install a flow-through main filter for the house and cottage for water purification from iron. Iron removers can work due to reagent type loads or by the principle of aeration - air or electrochemical. They will help to preserve people's health by preventing harmful iron compounds from entering the body, and they will also protect plumbing fixtures from rust streaks.
Criterias of choice
The main filters for purifying cold water are classified according to the number of working steps. This indicator is one of the main ones in the selection of the installation.
Devices with one stage operate on the principle of backwashing. On two-stage devices the installation of a carbon filter is allowed. Devices consisting of three stages are considered more efficient. For maximum water purification, reverse osmosis filters are installed. Due to a special membrane that allows only water molecules to pass through, more than 99 percent of impurities are retained.
When choosing, you must also consider:
- degree and nature of pollution;
- device dimensions;
- performance;
- inlet size in inches;
- cartridge replacement frequency.
The material from which the cases are made is important.Any options are suitable for filtering cold liquids, but for hot water it is better to choose installations made of metal - steel or titanium. They withstand high temperatures well and do not pose a risk in terms of cracking or melting.
Advantages and disadvantages
The disadvantages of cleaning devices are:
- the need for manual cleaning of the filter element and system, if backwashing is not provided;
- rapid contamination of cartridges and the cost of purchasing replacement parts;
- large dimensions of some models.
All these flaws are easily leveled. For example, if pollution and water consumption are not too large, you can purchase an inexpensive household appliance that does not take up as much space as an industrial device. To avoid manual cleaning, choose a flushing automatic unit. Flowing devices can be hidden when installed on a water main. In high-quality ion-exchange filters, instead of replacing the cartridge, you can reanimate the filler by adding a special salt.
The advantages of devices include a variety of filtering methods. You can choose the appropriate one by laboratory-detected type of contamination.
When mounting three or more treatment stages, most of the inclusions contained in it are removed from the liquid.
The main device allows you to filter all the water entering the house or apartment. This is precisely what a similar installation differs from filtration elements that clean only the amount necessary for drinking and cooking.
Features of installation and maintenance
Before starting work on installing the main filter - a water purifier and softener, make sure that it is used specifically. Check whether it is used for hot water or hot water. This pipe determines which pipe the filter needs to be mounted on.
During installation, the following nuances must be taken into account:
- Before installation, shut off the water supply and release the pressure in the water supply. To do this, just open the valve on any mixer.
- When inserting into the trunk line, coupling joints are used, and for external valves, a thorough seal is performed with tape-sealant.
- When connecting, take into account in which direction the water is moving. Input is indicated by IN.
- The filter unit must be fixed to the wall.
- For several weeks, dry rags are left at the connection points to protect the floor from moisture in the event of a leak.
From the moment the main filter is connected, the service life of the coal cleaning cartridge for the flow main filter begins. Replacement is carried out at the time interval indicated in the accompanying documentation. This is usually six months. If the cartridge element operates on ion-exchange resins, its service life can be increased by regenerating the filler.
The pressure inside the water supply is taken into account. When installing additional equipment, the pressure of the water flow will decrease. If it is insufficient, the network will need to be equipped with a booster pump.
Rating of the best trunk filters
In the market of filtration devices, there are many offers from manufacturers. According to reviews, you can make a rating of the most popular, given the price / quality ratio. The five best include:
- Geyser. It offers filtration equipment that is installed on hot water and cold water pipes. These are modular systems and various filters for water purification with replaceable cartridges. Their price starts from 2400 rubles.
- Aquaphor. It produces trunk filters of small dimensions, but at the same time, the devices allow high-quality cleaning of inclusions of the mechanical type, chlorine, iron and salts of heavy metals. The price starts from 2000 rubles.
- Atoll. It produces devices for maximum cleaning.They capture coarse sand and fine suspensions, protect the highway from water hammer. They cost from 9000 rubles.
- Fibos. Offers innovative automatic flushing devices. They do not “absorb” pollution, but dump them into a flask, from where they are removed by simply opening the valve from below. The manufacturer promises that the cartridges can not be changed for 10 years. The cost of devices is from 8000 rubles.
- Gilex. It produces filtration devices with a different number of cleaning stages at a budget price. It starts from 1200 rubles.
The price tags for filtering devices are determined depending on what material was used for the installation, as well as on the number of degrees of purification, performance.
The installation of a filter element for water purification is a competent solution when the issue of the duration of operation of devices consuming and heating water is raised, and more importantly, human health. When choosing a main filter, build on the quality, performance indicators and the ability to perform functions in accordance with the permissible pressure values in the pipeline.
