Spring water from the tap: 5 multi-stage filtration systems for washing

One of the most affordable samples of multi-stage household water treatment systems is presented on store shelves under the sign of the Polish brand Aquafilter. The EXCITO-B model filters water in five stages, moreover, thanks to its compact size (35.5 x 10 cm) and closed body, it looks favorably against competitors.

"Under the cover" of a removable decorative panel on the front of the system hides a set of five cartridges mounted on quick-release mounts. The first of them, which bears the name AIPRO-20M-QM, is characterized by the capture of large particles — sand, rust and other contaminants over 20 microns in size. At stage 2, the water softens, in parallel with which dissolved iron is removed from it. The filter medium of the third element is coconut activated carbon. It is also the basis of the "insides" of the next cassette, a separate compartment of which is filled with KDF filling, which reduces the concentration of heavy metals.

The real pride of the water treatment system is the capillary membrane. It filters the smallest particles (0.01 microns) without dumping water into the sewer, as is done in the case of reverse osmosis filters. By delaying harmful substances, viruses and bacteria, the membrane passes useful micronutrients through the holes.

The condition for safe operation of Aquafilter EXCITO-B is compliance with the operating pressure limits in the water supply system — 2.8-5 atm. Exceeding the maximum allowable pressure threshold requires additional installation of a step-down reducer at the input. In a separate line, the model pleases with filtration performance at the level of 2 liters / min., due to which it is possible to quickly fill the kettle from the filter tap and even wash fresh fruit under a stream of water. Regardless of the developed resource, the service life of the system cartridges should not exceed one year. And the last argument in favor of the filter is a tasty price tag, both for the product itself and for consumables for it.

In a large city, where the quality of tap water is often lame, one of the leaders of household water treatment systems is the Geizer Prestige filtration system.

Usually, the shelter for the model is a cabinet under the kitchen sink. The main part of the filter with a trinity of pre-cleaning cartridges, a reverse osmotic membrane and a carbon postfilter is attached to its walls, also in the cabinet you will need to allocate a piece of free space for a storage tank for clean water with a volume of 7.6 liters. In large families, a 12-liter tank can be installed, providing large volumes of drinking water for all households.

The filter begins, like the lion's share of relatives, with cutting off insoluble impurities (sand, rust, etc.) from tap water. At the second step, organic inclusions, active chlorine and its compounds are removed from the incoming liquid, and the third point of the programme is additional purification of water from mechanical suspensions up to 600 nm in size.

In the heart of the Geizer Prestige system, a reverse osmotic membrane is installed with such small pores that only water molecules and that small fraction of substances whose size is even smaller leak through them. At this stage, the water is purified with the maximum degree of efficiency, in addition, hardness salts, pathogenic viruses and bacteria are removed from it. The final stage involves the "run" of purified water through a carbon postfilter in order to restore the organoleptic properties of the liquid.

Everything necessary for the installation of the filtration system is available in the factory configuration. However, some connecting elements of the product have a flimsy design, so in order to avoid leaks, it is better to entrust the installation of the filter to specialists. For normal operation of the system, the inlet pressure must be at least 3 atm. If it does not reach this figure, we can recommend that you look at the modifications of the model Gejzer Prestige P and Gejzer Prestige PM with the pump put into service. The last filter option is offered together with a mineralizer, which is also installed separately in the system version Gejzer Prestige M .

The Absolute system from a company with a east european Ecosoft pedigree offers a 6-step purification of tap water, during which all kinds of impurities, large particles of pollution, heavy metal ions, organic substances are eliminated from it and active chlorine is removed.

The filtration procedure starts from the stage of three-stage preliminary water purification. A mechanical filter at the inlet captures large particles, then the liquid enters the cartridge with granulated activated carbon from the coconut shell (purification from chlorine and organic matter), after which it is passed through a cassette that retains particles up to 1 microns.

The main actor of the system is the reverse osmotic membrane DOW Fintec 50 GPD. Water purification in it is carried out at the molecular level — only water molecules and oxygen dissolved in it pass through the micropores of the membrane, and all pollution is discharged into the sewer. As with most colleagues in the reverse osmosis workshop, the filtration performance of the model is unhurried — about 8 liters / hour. For the storage of purified water, a storage tank with a volume of 7 liters is included in the filter design.

Such carefully filtered water has no smell, taste, or special value for the body. Therefore, additional links in the chain are the post-cleaning carbon filter, which normalizes the taste and smell of the filtered liquid, as well as the built-in mineralizer, which is engaged in restoring its mineral balance. "Out of the box" the model is equipped with a double tap, by which it is possible to organize the supply of mineralized (for drinking) or purified water (for use in household appliances in the manner of an air humidifier, steam cleaner, iron, etc.). Of course, you will have to pay a lot of hard-earned money for the system right away, but the high price tag of the model is more than compensated by the provision of constant access to absolutely clean and safe drinking water.

Extractors of clean drinking water from water supply systems under the brand name RAIFIL are available in versions for homes, offices and industrial objects. One of the most effective models of the household front in the portfolio of the South Korean manufacturer is the integrated water treatment system Grando 6.

The number "6" in the naming of the model clearly hints at the number of stages of water purification. Primary water treatment is carried out inside the trinity of pre-treatment filter elements: polypropylene and a couple of carbon filters (with granular activated carbon and compressed). The first SC-10-10 filter is placed in a transparent flask, which makes it possible to monitor the condition of the replaceable cassette and replace it in a timely manner. The pre-cleaning stage is aimed at eliminating suspended particles, organochlorines, pesticides and other harmful substances.

The main element of purification in the face of the FilmTec reverse osmosis membrane (USA) is included in the work at the fourth stage, when fine filtration of water is performed at the molecular level. Along with harmful impurities, the water is also purified from useful substances, so there is a built-in mineralizer in the additional assets of the system to saturate drinking water with micronutrients. Water for boiling or household appliances can be collected bypassing the mineralizer, for which a double high-tech style faucet is provided in the package.

The maximum filtration capacity by reverse osmosis is 0.27 L/min. The autonomous water supply, which can be used in case of unplanned water supply outages, is stored in a storage tank for 12 liters. The system's pre-cleaning cartridges have a life of about 6 months, it is desirable to change the carbon postfilter and mineralizer once a year, and the most "tenacious" of all is the reverse osmotic membrane, which will be asked for replacement after 3 years of operation of the system. The replacement time may vary less depending on the quality of incoming water and the amount of its consumption.

Organic Smart Osmo 8 is designed for installation under the sink and connection to the centralized water supply system in the urban cycle of operation. However, in the cabinet under the sink, the filtration system will take up almost all the free space and that's why.

The model acquired not the best mass-dimensional indicators in the class due to the use of a large-caliber tank for purified drinking water (12 liters) and a large clip of filter elements. There are 8 of them in the assets of the product at once. The company of the trinity of pretreatment filters, reverse osmotic membrane, carbon postfilter and mineralizer here are two atypical players in the field of water treatment — a bioactivator and a UV lamp.

A bioceramic cartridge at the seventh filtration stage is included in the system to improve water quality. It seems to charge the purified liquid with the energy of the sunlight spectrum, so that water has a positive effect on vital metabolic processes in the body. At least, the filter manufacturer claims such a favorable effect. The UV lamp at the finish additionally disinfects the water, providing full protection against viruses and bacteria. At the same time, the lamp heats the water slightly, so it will be slightly warm at the outlet.

The water treatment system is equipped with a double tap that allows you to divide the water into two streams: mineralized for drinking and purified for cooking. The service life of its cartridges ranges from six months, when it comes to a set of pre-cleaning cassettes, to a year in the case of a carbon post-filter, mineralizer, bioactivator and UV lamp. The membrane has the longest life — depending on the degree of water pollution and the intensity of operation of the system, it needs to be changed on average once every 2-3 years.

Having a few direct rivals in terms of the number of stages of water treatment, Organic Smart Osmo 8 handles with a wide range of household pollutants, saturates water with minerals, disinfects, gives it a natural taste and useful properties, which is required from a high-status filter.