Water purification systems for a country house: classification of filters + methods of water purification
Practical water purification systems for a country house are easily connected to central or individual water supply lines. The filtration complex provides high-quality processing and preparation of liquids for drinking and other household needs.
Using purification systems, coarse mechanical impurities, chemicals, fragments of heavy metals, bacteria, microbes and other foreign elements that are harmful to human health can be removed from the water flow.
Do you want to organize effective water treatment, but don’t know which filters to choose? We will help you understand this issue.
The article describes the standard configuration of a treatment system, provides a classification of equipment, and outlines the operating principle of different filter elements. In addition, we have prepared a review of the best modern methods of water treatment in a private home.
The content of the article:
The need for cleaning complexes
Centralized communications, your own well, artesian or Abyssinian wells do not guarantee the supply of absolutely clean water to a private home, suitable for household needs and consumption.
The general natural characteristics of a liquid are worsened by many factors, including:
- seasonal increase/decrease in groundwater levels;
- the presence of hazardous production nearby, agricultural fields fertilized with pesticides, landfills and other pollutants;
- a nearby cesspool.
Water under such conditions acquires a specific odor, loses transparency and loses its basic beneficial qualities. Using it without proper cleaning becomes unpleasant and dangerous to health and well-being.
With constant contact with cloudy, contaminated liquid, children and adults experience allergic reactions, skin rashes and serious illnesses can develop.
To avoid these unpleasant moments, it is necessary to organize an effective water filtration system for a private home, capable of quickly removing all foreign impurities, microbes and other aggressive irritants from the flow.
What does the filtration system consist of?
The household treatment complex consists of the following working components:
- Bottom filter – protects the pump from physical damage and penetration of impurities. Provides high-quality mechanical cleaning. Equipped with an additional filter to protect against small insoluble, fibrous and solid particles.
- Aeration column – enriches the supplied water with oxygen, accelerates oxidative processes, while simultaneously freeing the liquid from hydrogen sulfide and active chemical compounds.
- Filtration unit – separates and removes sediment left by foreign substances. It is equipped with different types of filters, depending on the quality of the available water and the presence of specific compounds in it.
- Biological barrier – quickly destroys microorganisms in water using ultraviolet irradiation or a special carbon composition.
- Fine cleaning – the final step of the filtration process. At this moment, residual fragments of impurities remaining from previous stages of purification are finally removed from the water.
Sometimes, to improve basic processing performance, a progressive membrane is included in the system. reverse osmosis filter.
It provides the maximum level of purification, but significantly increases the consumption of water resources.
For the complex to work effectively, it must be regularly maintained. In the ionic block, the resin needs to be changed from time to time, and the magnetic softeners need to be rinsed to remove ferrous deposits.
If your home cleaning system has a coarse wash filter, it is recommended to sometimes drain contaminated water from its flask by connecting a drain hose to the fitting. This greatly simplifies the process of maintaining equipment and extends its service life.
Classification of equipment by location
Domestic water purification systems can be main and flow-through. The first ones are built directly into the water supply line where an individual pipe enters a centralized communication complex.
The latter are located under the sink or placed directly on the faucet. Each option has its own characteristics that determine the area of its effective use.
Specifics of backbone systems
Trunk-type cleaning modules demonstrate high operating efficiency and successfully combat mechanical and chemical pollution. For correct operation, they require a water flow rate of 20-50 l/min. Improves the overall quality and taste of the liquid.
Reduce the load on household appliances and increase their service life. Provide property owners with high-quality water suitable for drinking, cooking and other household needs. They are reliable and, with proper care, last a long time.
The installation of the system should be carried out by a qualified specialist, and the subsequent replacement of used cartridges with new ones can be done by the owners themselves at the moment when the right time comes or a visual inspection reveals noticeable contamination.
Features of flow equipment
Flow-through cleaning systems are easily installed under the sink next to the faucet location. Even simpler options are available in the form of a nozzle and are attached to the supply tap with special clamps.
For country houses, such devices are very often chosen due to their simple installation and undemanding requirements for in-line water pressure.
Flow-through filters for washing cannot effectively soften water and clean it from mercury compounds. Reverse osmosis systems cope with this task, but their installation requires a lot of space, and the purchase requires substantial available financial resources.
Types of filters for purification systems
Water coming to the tap from a centralized water supply, individual well or borehole may have natural and man-made contamination.
Not even the most powerful filter can simultaneously remove all types of harmful substances.
To organize effective cleaning, the equipment will have to be equipped with several cleaning tools at once.
You will definitely need the following types of filters:
- Coarse cleaning – looks like a grid with cells. It is placed first and removes large fragments of mechanical and fibrous insoluble impurities from the incoming water flow.
- Fine cleaning – consists of a fine-mesh membrane, sorbent backfill and polymer filler. It is installed second and is responsible for the elimination of petroleum products, nitrates and nitrites, heavy metals and other chemical elements that can harm human health.
- Softener – contains an ion exchange resin. Promotes the replacement of magnesium and calcium particles with sodium ions. A reverse osmosis filter copes with the same task. In this case, water passes through several thin membranes, is purified of all impurities and at the exit contains only useful oxygen molecules.
- Disinfecting barrier – provides for the treatment of water flow with UV rays that are safe for human health. Effectively destroys harmful bacteria and microorganisms, does not change the structure of the liquid, preserves the beneficial properties and natural taste of water.
Purification, organized according to a multi-stage complex principle, ensures deep treatment of water masses and completely removes all common contaminants.
The home communication system supplies high-quality, clean water, suitable for any household needs and absolutely safe for the health of children and adults.
When purchasing filters, it is better to give preference to branded products. Unnamed modules from dubious manufacturers will cost less, but will not cope with the task and will not provide the required level of cleaning. In addition, they will clog much faster and require more frequent replacement.
Recommendations for selecting, installing and connecting coarse and fine filters are presented in this article.
Effective cleaning methods
For high-quality water purification in a private country cottage, three modern, practical methods are relevant: reagent, reagent-free, ultraviolet.
Each has its own specific features, advantages and disadvantages. Based on them, the area of the most effective application is selected.
Option No. 1 - cleaning with a reagent
The reagent option involves dosed use for cleaning special active components. Getting into the water, they come into physical and chemical contact with foreign impurities and convert the result of mixing into foam and sediment.
The type of reagent is selected individually, depending on the substances polluting the water.
Despite all the positive aspects, the use of reagents also has a negative side. The amount of impurities in water varies depending on the season.
To ensure that cleaning is always at a high level, you need to regularly take samples, carry out water analysis and adjust the dose of working components. This is not convenient, but also requires additional physical, time and material costs.
Of course, you can refuse measurements and always use the average volume of reagents, but this approach will not allow you to obtain effectively purified water suitable for domestic use all year round.
Experts and doctors say that liquid treated with reagents is only suitable for household needs and irrigation. It is highly undesirable to cook with such water or eat it.
Option No. 2 - reagent-free method
A reagent-free method of purifying a water mass from foreign impurities is based on the use of various types of filtration blocks, an aeration column and a powerful air compressor.
It is considered a more practical, modern and effective method. Saturates the liquid with oxygen molecules. Removes heavy elements, harmful substances and other components that, when dissolved in water, are harmful to the human body. Can purify water of any level of contamination to drinking quality.
The method is equally relevant for both autonomous water supply systems fed from deep-water wells and for reservoirs with shallow and medium depths.
Option number 3 - ultraviolet cleansing
Ultraviolet treatment disinfects the water flow, affects the metabolism in microorganism cells and neutralizes all harmful substances. During the purification process, the structure of the liquid does not change and its quality does not deteriorate. All useful elements retain their original physical characteristics.
The method is suitable both for solo use and for working as a component of a private multi-level complex for drinking water purification.
The main advantages of this option:
- complete environmental safety;
- prompt disinfection of liquids and complete destruction of microbes, bacteria and other household irritants by destroying the structure of their DNA;
- low cost - components do not require replacement;
- no restrictions on service life;
- preservation of the natural taste of water;
- Ease of use.
The main disadvantage is the inability to eliminate chemical compounds. It is also not very convenient that ultraviolet-treated water must be consumed immediately.
Tips for choosing a filtration system
When choosing cleaning equipment, you should remember that it requires a large free space to function correctly. This area should be prepared in advance and arranged accordingly.
If you plan to buy high-performance semi-professional modules, you need to allocate a separate heated room for them.
It is advisable that furniture or any other objects that could damage the overall integrity of the structure are not adjacent to the treatment complex. There should not be anything that gets very hot nearby.
External filter flasks are made of plastic and may melt when exposed to excessively high temperatures.
It is not at all necessary to subject all the water entering the house to multi-stage purification. The main processing complex should be placed in the kitchen, where the cleanest drinking water is really required.
At the entrance to the main communication system, it is enough to install coarse filters that prevent the penetration of solid, insoluble elements into the system.
It is not necessary to buy the most expensive cleaning system designed for 4-5 working flasks at once. Such units will need to be equipped with several specific filters, and this is a serious material expense, and not always justified.
It is more reasonable to conduct a laboratory analysis of the water in your tank and the surrounding area before purchasing, carefully study this important information and clearly determine what really needs to be purified from the water.
When the water is determined to be soft, there is no need to install an additional softening filter. Constant consumption of overly processed liquids can cause significant harm to health in the future.
If the testing process reveals an excess of iron and fragments of heavy metal salts in the water, it is worth equipping the treatment system with filtration units aimed at removing precisely these aggressive components.
The following filtration tools are best suited for removing ferrous compounds:
- softeners with special backfills equipped with a salt tank for recovery;
- disinfectants operating on the basis of manganese dioxide;
- reverse osmosis modules that separate impurities from water at the molecular level;
- coal blocks made from coconut shells with pronounced adsorbing characteristics;
- magnetic elements that change the structure of heavy salts using a magnetic field and stimulate their precipitation into an insoluble precipitate retained by the final post-filter insert.
Ultraviolet and ozonation, despite their modernity and effectiveness, can only eliminate bacterial iron. You won't be able to get rid of rust with their help.
Some purification systems have separate filters for cold and hot water. From a cold stream they remove impurities that are harmful to humans and negatively affect various household appliances, and in a hot stream they reduce the level of scale and eliminate decay products formed as a result of heating the liquid.
When planning the purchase of a treatment system, it is necessary to take into account its throughput. If it is too low, you will not be able to fully use the water. When two or more taps are opened at the same time, the pressure will definitely drop.
To prevent this from happening, you can equip the cleaning system with a capacious storage tank. This will make it possible to take water from the source not on a schedule, but in accordance with personal needs and requirements.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
The operating principle of a water purification system in a country house:
How to choose the right complex for effective water purification for your dacha:
Methods for removing ferrous compounds from running water. What is more effective – aerators or filters with ionic resins:
A well-equipped purification system will provide a country house with high-quality water suitable for drinking, food use and various household needs. In order to properly equip the equipment with filters, you will have to take a sample of the liquid present on the site and find out what contaminants it needs to be freed from.
Share with readers your experience in choosing and installing a water treatment system for your home. Please leave comments, ask questions about the topic of the article and participate in discussions - the feedback form is located below.
Right now I’m dealing with the issue of purchasing and installing quality filters. However, after reading the article I had several questions. First, why install a separate pre-filter on the washing machine? Is one at the entrance really not enough? And secondly, I don’t see any point in installing a pre-filter on hot water, since I use it exclusively to dilute cold water when bathing or washing hands. Hot water does not come into contact with the washing machine in any way, and I only pour cold water into the kettle. What's the point of spending?
To better purify the water, otherwise the heating element may burn out, but this, of course, also depends on the heating element itself in your washing machine - if it is covered with a thin ceramic layer, then it is more resistant to scale.
Membrane filters (osmosis) are very popular now.But it seems that few people think that complete desalination of water is not so good. Well, at least not always. Everyone is so afraid of heavy metal salts. that they are ready to drink almost distilled water. And the body needs salts; it’s not for nothing that to improve health and treat many diseases, they drink mineral water with a high salt content.
It's like that. But no one bothers you to buy a mineralizer in addition to the reverse osmosis filter, which will return useful minerals to the water. Only this will be clean water that you can drink without fear.