What is a sediment filter?
The sediment filter captures and removes particles such as dirt and debris from your water. Sediment is a general term for all non-liquid particles in water. Rust flakes can enter your water supply from corroded galvanized plumbing. Rainwater can also carry silt, clay, soil, and sand grains into the groundwater supply of wells. Flow changes in the water supply can also carry sediment into your home. The sediment filter is the first line of defense against this dirt and debris. It prevents all these solid particles from entering your water supply and hamper the performance of your water filtration systems. You can also view all our products and everything related to water treatment.
Sediment filters are found in many applications. Restaurants and cafes use sediment pre-filters to ensure the quality of their food and beverages. Whole house filtration systems also use a sediment filter to eliminate particulate matter from faucets and showers and to protect the life of other filters. Cartridges for your pool filters are a form of sediment filter, preventing dirt and mud from muddying your pristine swimming water. In any situation where clean water is necessary, you will likely find some form of sediment filter.
How does a sediment filter work?
Sediment filters work through a process called mechanical filtration. Mechanical filtration virtually prevents unwanted particles from infiltrating your water supply.
Think of it as a screen door for a room. You want a fresh breeze to flow, but you don’t want bugs or leaves blowing with it. The chamber door acts as a mechanical filter. Likewise, sediment filters have enough porosity to allow water to flow into your home but can capture waterborne dirt and sand. Sediment filters are the mesh that captures particulate matter in the water.
Some sediment filters use large surface areas to capture large amounts of debris. Other sediment filters use a depth gradient to filter out suspended particles. This forces the water through the thick walls of the filter media that become increasingly narrow as the water approaches the core, filtering out smaller and smaller particles along the way.
What does the sediment filter remove?
Sediment filters remove visible particles and any particles of dirt, sand, dust, and debris that may be captured through their micron capacity. Sediment filters also remove turbidity from water. Turbidity is cloudiness caused by the heavy presence of suspended solids. This causes the water to turn yellow, orange or brown.
Sediment filters do not remove chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria, or dissolved particles. It does not improve the taste or smell of the water. They are primarily a defensive and preservative filtering method. Sediment filters are most effective when used as pre-filters for other filtration systems. This is why sediment filtration often works in conjunction with other filtration methods, such as reverse osmosis or ultraviolet filtration.
What is a sediment filter?
Sediment filters are important components of water treatment systems. Any time the water contains dirt, debris or fine particles, it is necessary to use a sediment filter. Sediment filters are also vital in ensuring that other filters and water purification equipment work efficiently.
The role of the sediment filter in reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) systems almost always use a sediment pre-filter. Reverse osmosis purifies water by passing it through a semi-permeable membrane that removes minerals, salts, and dissolved solids.
The sediment filter acts as a pretreatment and protection for the reverse osmosis system.
The reverse osmosis membrane quickly rejects the particles, but the water left by the membrane drains through a small flow restrictor. This flow restrictor compresses the reverse osmosis membrane and controls the recovery ratio of the reverse osmosis system. The sediment prefilter in a reverse osmosis system protects the backflow preventer from clogging rather than the membrane itself.
The role of the sediment filter in ultraviolet light purification of water
UV filtration systems also require sediment filters. UV filtration systems neutralize bacteria, parasites, and microorganisms with germicidal UV wavelengths. Ultraviolet rays destroy the DNA of these organisms, making them unable to reproduce. This is a highly effective filtration method for microbiologically unsafe water available. However, the cloudiness in the water reduces the effectiveness of UV rays. It is difficult for UV rays to penetrate the turbidity of the water, and bacteria of wavelengths can hide behind particles. In order to ensure that the UV system operates at peak performance, a 5-micron sediment pre-filter is necessary.
The importance of the sediment filter in protecting the life of the carbon filter
Carbon filters are known for their ability to restore the pure taste of water by removing chlorine and chloramines.
While carbon can also filter out sediment, dirt particles can clog the carbon and quickly deplete filter media. If carbon filters are forced to filter out large amounts of sediment, filter life will be greatly reduced. It is much cheaper to replace sediment filters than to replace carbon filters, so to extend the life of your carbon blocks it is wise to install a pre-sediment filter. If you use a whole-house carbon filtration system, investing in sediment pre-filters will save you big money and ensure that your carbon filters can maintain water pressure and operate at peak performance.
Whole house sediment filtration
Whole house sediment filtration can save you valuable money. Sediment can cause home appliances to malfunction. If sediment is allowed to flow through your home’s pipes, the pipes will start to clog, slowing the water pressure and flow in your home. Deposits damage dishwashers and washing machines, often dramatically shortening their lifespan. Water heaters will clog and fail if sediment builds up in them, reducing the unit’s efficiency, capacity, and overall life expectancy. Faucets, toilets, and shower heads will lose water pressure with extended sediment buildup. These are costly and avoidable repairs. Even if you don’t have any other filtration system installed, sediment filters will protect and extend the life of your home appliances.
If you are using a private water source, whole-house sediment filtering is recommended. Groundwater likely contains more sediment than the city’s water supply. Storm and flood waters can spread unwanted debris into your well. Semipermeable rock water passes through before it reaches aquifers and silt and sand can be deposited in your water supply. Sediment filters provide much-needed purification for those who rely on well water in their homes and pave the way for all point-of-use or whole-house filtration systems.
What micron size does a sediment filter need?
The ability of a sediment filter to remove particles is rated in microns. A micron, short for micrometer, is one-millionth of a meter. The micron rating of a sediment filter indicates the particle size the filter will be able to remove. For example, a 10-micron filter will remove everything 10 microns or larger. For perspective, human hair is between 75 and 80 microns in size, and any particle smaller than 35 microns would be invisible to you without a microscope. The micron size of a sediment filter will vary based on the amount of sediment you are seeking to remove from your water source. If you are filtering your water for a UV system, you will want to make sure your sediment filter is rated at least 5 microns. Your residential reverse osmosis system will also work seamlessly with the 5-micron sediment filter. If you are installing a whole-house sediment filtration system, you can experiment with different micron ratings until you get your desired results.
Filter micron ratings will be either nominal or absolute. A nominal 5-micron rating means the filter is designed to capture nearly everything five microns and up. An absolute 5-micron rating means the filter will remove over 95% of anything five microns in size.
How often should I change my sediment filter?
You should change the sediment filter every 1 to 3 months. However, the best way to know when to change the filter is to monitor the water pressure. When your pressure starts to drop, you need to change the filter. After the filter has captured enough sediment, the water will have difficulty passing through the filter at the same flow rate, resulting in a drop in water pressure. At this point, you have maximized the filter’s holding capacity, and should be replaced. If you don’t change it, the filter will become so clogged with dirt and debris that water will completely stop flowing through it.
