What are water filters?

Water filters are devices that can improve the overall taste, smell and appearance of drinking water and can remove some chemical substances. Used mainly for drinking and cooking purposes, filters are the most inexpensive and most easily available method of water purification. However, purification using filters is not 100 per cent.

In general, water filters remove only specific types of substances and are labeled for what they will remove, such as chlorine or lead. Water filters do not remove microorganisms; and, are intended for use with water that is known to be microbiologically safe. No single water filter can be used to remove all types of substances from water.

Types of Water Filters

There are many types of water filter models on the market. Different drinking water treatment systems have their own advantages and disadvantages and must be investigated individually to identify the unit or combination of units best suited for your household.

Aquapura Water Products carries a vast assortment of filters, from 1 micron to 100 micron be it sediment or carbon with our experience we are able to cross reference almost any filter that you need for your new or existing system.

Sediment Filters 

Sediment filters essentially filter our sediment particles. This includes particles like dust, dirt, rust and other types of sediments. They are usually the first filter inline (before any carbon filter) as they are the more feasible option and clog up less than a carbon filter would.  Sediment filters come in a variety of types in sizes, but in most case the type of material used is subjective.

Polyspun Sediment Filter

Poly-Spun sediment filters are the most commonly used type of sediment filter. These filters are easily identified by their solid fabric like composition like our Aqua Flo 5 Micron Sediment Filters. A variation of this filter would be the melt blown filters which tend to have ridges. Polyspun sediment filters are usually the most economical option and work in most water filtration processes.

String Wound Sediment Filter

String-wound sediment filters are prefered by certain brands and are usually bundled with Ultraviolet Sterilization Systems. These filters are indentified the easiest as they are simply filters which have string wound around the whole filter body. Our WP-5BB String Wound Filter is one example of this kind of filter. We recommend these filters for individuals who have alot of sand in their water. For example, individuals drawing from a sand point well tend to have better success with string wound filters as they last longer than other types of sediment filter.

Pleated Sediment Filter

Pleated Sediment filters are usually easily recognized by pool owners and hot tub owners. They are identified by pleated polyester “fins” on the sediment filter. One example would our Pentek ECP5-BB Pleated Filter. The big advantage of the pleated sediment filters is that they impact the water flow the least. Compared to polyspun and stringwound, pleated filters are made it in a way to better fit flow restrictions as they allow water to flow through more easily. A hypothetical example, an individual has a low flow rate drawing from their well needs a sediment filter as they have a lot dirt in the water source. A stringwound or polyspun sediment filter would further impact their flow rate preventing their dishwasher from actually cleaning the dishes due to lack of pressure. If that individual were to choose a pleated filter, the drop in flow would be less and enough to clean their dishes.

Carbon Filters

Carbon filters essentially removes particles that cause bad tastes and odours to the water using activated carbon. Despite its solid black look, carbon filters have a large amount of microscopic sized pores that are able to filter out certain elements and particles. Carbon filters are composed of either coal, wood (charcoal), peat, coconut shells or any combination of these.

Powdered Block Carbon Filters

Powdered Block Carbon filters are the most commonly used type of carbon filters. These filters are easily identified as being a similar design to the sediment filters except that they are heavier and have a fine mesh filter surrounding the activated carbon, and a very course net like material on the outside of the mesh. An example would be our 2.5 by 10 inch EPM-10 10 Micron Carbon Filter.