There is hardly a person who has never heard of the possibility of cleaning cold running water at home using a stationary filter. What about hot water supply? Today we will talk about how important the installation of a hot water treatment device is not only for maintaining human health, but also for the long-term preservation of the original appearance of the functional elements of its household appliances. Also, the article will discuss the main issues related to the classification of filters, the choice of a specific model, as well as their installation in your own apartment.
The effect of increased fluid hardness
hard water not recommended for useboth for commercial and domestic purposes.
Its negative effect is multifaceted:
It is possible to normalize water with increased hardness from wells using special filters designed to normalize the salt composition.
Scope of main filters
Main filters for cold or hot water are used for such needs:
- Water purification. This is very important, because not everyone can live above a deep well, and drinking water comes to houses, most likely from the nearest reservoir, river or lake. At the same time, urban treatment plants often do not remove carcinogens and heavy metals from water, but only chlorinate, while a number of chlorine-resistant bacteria can remain in the liquid.
- Improving the taste of water. Chlorine, rusty metal, hydrogen sulfide — water with completely unexpected tastes can flow from a tap. Naturally, it also changes the quality of the food. And purified water allows you to cook really delicious dishes.
- Water softening to reduce exposure to skin and hair. After all, polluted water spoils hair and skin, leads to the appearance of wrinkles, rashes, and destruction of the hair structure. And purified water will not allow all these manifestations to form.
- Maintaining the performance of appliances and plumbing fixtures. If you do not remove solid particles and dirt, then scale appears on boilers, dishwashers and washing machines, electric kettles.
Analysis and classification
At home, it is easy to get an idea of water quality:
- Primarily, it is recommended to brew tea and carefully examine it. If the drink turned out to be cloudy, the color is not bright, the aroma is poorly felt, which means that the water is of poor quality.
- You can try to wash. If insoluble flakes have formed in the container, the solution does not foam, which means that the water contains an excess of hard salts. Obtaining an accurate result is possible after analysis in the laboratory. The service is provided by sanitary stations, water supply companies.
Important. The rigidity of one type can be easily removed by boiling (temporary), the other one cannot be removed even with prolonged heating to 100 ° C (permanent). The total hardness is understood as the total content of salts of the first and second types.
When boiling, acidic salts of carbonic acid (bicarbonates) and calcium and magnesium cations precipitate.
When heated to boiling point
The following calcium and magnesium salts do not precipitate:
- sulfate,
- chloride,
- silicate,
- nitrate,
- phosphate.
To evaluate the effectiveness, it is important to have an idea of the stiffness units used. According to GOST of 2014, stiffness is measured in conventional units — degrees (°F).
One such unit is equal to a salt concentration of 0.5 mol in mg/dm3 (g/m3), which is equal to 1 meq/l. In this way, 1°F is ½ mmol/l.
According to the SanPiN standards, taking into account the changes from 2021, the maximum acceptable concentration in drinking water is 7 mg-eq / l. In some regions, with the permission of the sanitary control authorities, a maximum of 10 meq / l is allowed.
Do you need a home filtration system?
A water purifier is essential if you cannot drink tap water:
- it is cloudy, smells bad;
- with a taste of iron or rotten eggs;
- strongly gives chlorine.
Also the filtration system needed if the water pipes are old and rustybecause they are the source:
- bacteria;
- silt;
- sand;
- gland.
Buying bottled water? Alternatively, you can install a water purifier, it will quickly pay for itself. But which model to choose depends on the quality of water and the volume of consumption.
Types of filtration systems for cleaning and softening
To reduce the concentration of hardness salts, well-known and innovative technologies are used for a long time.
Filters different:
- size,
- cost,
- regeneration methods.
Ion exchangers
The materials are polymer granules saturated with sodium ions. When passing a stream of water through a column with ion exchange resins exchange of cations takes place.
As a result, salts of carbonic acid with sodium cations are formed, which are highly soluble in water.
After the capacity of the ion exchanger is exhausted, it can be regenerated by saturation with a special solution. The recovery procedure is repeated several times, then the resin is completely replaced with a new one.
Reference. To date, ion exchange is one of the most budgetary and effective methods of water softening.
The disadvantages of the process are that the resin reservoir takes up space.
Received water saturated with sodium ionswhich should be taken into account in the daily diet.
membranes
In modern filters, a membrane transition of clean water into a separate zone is used due to reverse osmosis. Systems are more expensive than ion exchange resin units, provide filtration from all connectionsincluding hardness salts.
To obtain a product suitable for consumption, a mineralizer is additionally installed.
Magnet
The method of softening water with a magnetic field is now widely advertised. However, its effectiveness is relative.
Under the action of a magnetic field supplied by nozzles or with the help of electricity, the solubility of salts in general, hardness in particular, changes. After being treated with a magnet, they do not form a precipitate as quickly when the water is heated, which is important for closed circuits.
For other purposes, such purification is not very effective, salts are not removed, they are not converted into other harmless compounds, but only settle a little more slowly. Additional filtration is required to remove the precipitated precipitate.
Polyphosphate treatment
The addition of polyphosphate to hard water at a salt concentration of up to 7 meq/l leads to an increase in their solubility. A positive effect should ensure the safe long-term operation of water heating equipment.
In practice, it turns out that when cold water flows from a well sufficient softening does not occur.
Therefore, this method of influencing hard water is not recognized by the owners of country houses, as evidenced by numerous reviews.
What it is
Devices for the mechanical purification of hot water supply will “extend the life” of household appliances, faucets, and so on by “removing” substances from the composition of the liquid that destroy the integrity of the material of the plumbing, washing or dishwasher construction. The principle of operation and the main purpose of products for filtration do not need additional consideration. However, before proceeding to the analysis of classifications and specific filter models, it is worth paying attention to the main differences between the developments designed to clean cold and hot water supply products.
The hot water “treatment” technology eliminates the possibility of fine purification as such, which is common for the “cold” type, since boiling water itself is an “aggressive” source material. Given this fact, the first difference in filters for modifying hot water becomes logical. Housing materials, as well as replaceable cartridges used in their production, must be resistant to high temperatures and various kinds of mechanical damage. For such purposes, as a rule, they choose high-quality plastic or metal that can provide complete isolation of the filtration process from external circumstances. It is important to keep in mind that, despite the possible “replacement” of cartridges for cold water “treatment” units with those intended for hot water, reverse replacement is not possible due to the insufficient strength of the materials used in the creation of cold water filters.
Equally important is also the distinctive feature of «hot» cleaning, associated with the method of installation of its system. This type of filters is traditionally installed according to the main principle, in other words, «embedding» directly into the pipe. Their main purpose is a rough primary cleaning of rust and other impurities that adversely affect the chemical composition of the liquid flowing from all the pipes in the room. To purify cold water, flow structures are used that are unable to provide the entire apartment with clean water at a time, which is quite feasible in the first described case.
Rating of models and manufacturers of liquid softening systems
Growing awareness of the population about the importance of the quality of the water used leads to an increase in demand for purification systems for urban apartments and country houses.
An analysis of consumer impressions allows you to rank the most popular models.
Aquaphor Crystal N
Filtration complex for versatile purification of water flow designed for use in apartments and country houses.
It allows you to remove:
- hardness salts;
- oil products;
- pesticides;
- heavy metals;
- chlorine compounds.
The device includes three flasks with cartridges, allows you to normalize 6000 liters of water with an average concentration of hardness salts (5 meq/liter). Works at a speed of 2 liters per minute.
If the filter is used for very hard water from a well, then the softening cartridge will require regeneration ahead of schedule after 2 or 4 weeks, and then may cease to function.
Attention. Subject to the recommendations, the softener must be restored four times, after which the cartridge should be replaced with a new one.
The full price of the filter in Moscow is close to 3,000 rubles, one cartridge costs much less, about 700 rubles, which makes the replacement easy for the budget.
Geyser Standard
Three-block cartridge filter designed to work with flow water.
Removes:
- rust;
- sand;
- heavy metals;
- organic substances.
A cartridge with food grade ion exchange resin successfully absorbs hardness salts from water with an average mineralization.
The complex operates at a rate of 3 l / min. If the recommendations for use are followed, cartridge replacement is required only once a year. The price of the filter slightly exceeds 2 thousand rubles.
Aquaphor OSMO 50 version 5
The filter unit consists of several blocks on the console and a storage tank.
The complex consists of:
- cartridge for mechanical separation of impurities;
- absorber;
- softener;
- reverse osmosis systems that provide ultra-fine purification.
Device removes:
- coarse impurities;
- hardness salts;
- all dangerous substances.
Operating speed 7.8 liters for 1 hour.
Mechanical filtration cartridges require rinsing after 3 months, deep cleaning modules need to be changed after six months of intensive use, and a reverse osmosis cartridge can last 1.5 or even 2 years without a change.
The price of a filter complex with a storage tank exceeds 7,000 rubles.
Fibos softener
According to many users, this single-module filter demonstrates an effective softening effect. The device works according to the chemical principle of action, provides cleaning of the flow with a speed approaching 17 l / min.
Within an hour, such a model can clean up to 1000 liters. On sale there are more powerful modifications with a capacity of up to 3000 l / min.
Compact metal flask is easy to install, has a valve in the lower part of the body to remove accumulated impurities. With regular maintenance, washing the space for dirt, the filter is guaranteed to last a long time.
The price of models with average performance is 6,000 rubles, with increased power — 9,000 rubles.
Barrier Expert Hard
A complex of three modules mounted on a console cleans the flow from mechanical particles up to 5 microns in size, as well as hardness salts and other harmful components.
Device compares favorably with analogues by the ease of replacing the cartridge and the ability to avoid too much softening, if necessary by passing the flow around the filler in the cartridge.
The unit can be installed in any convenient place, such as under the sink. Installation is simple, the operation is available to home craftsmen. The resource of filter modules is 10000 l, the speed is 2 l/min. The price of the complex is close to 4000 rubles.
Types
Understanding the characteristic features of the production and installation of devices for the «processing» of hot water, we can turn to the issue of their classification according to the degree of purification and its possible methods.
Cartridge filters, implying the presence of a replaceable cleaning element in the design, in turn are divided according to the type of its production into:
- filament disposable (the main material for manufacturing is polypropylene thread or reinforced nylon, capable of «catching» particles equal to one micron in size. The replacement frequency of this cartridge is determined by the filter manufacturer and, as a rule, indicated on the product packaging);
- mesh reusable (the only possible material for their production is metal capable of holding particles with an average size of 10 to 100 microns).
The flushing type of displacement devices is considered a kind of refinement of mesh cartridge filters, due to the presence of a replaceable cleaning element. An improvement on the «predecessor» lies in the way the cartridge is cleaned. If in the first case it is necessary to remove it for this purpose, then in the washing filter it will be enough to open the corresponding valve, thereby changing the direction of the water flow. As a result of the change in flow, the water, washing away the impurities formed in the filter, will rush into a special reservoir.
Filters equipped with an automatic cleaning system are considered the most convenient and easy to care for. The design of this type of device implies the presence of gearboxes and timers that control their degree of contamination and pressure drops in the pipes. To automatically clean the mesh cartridge, the user must independently set the frequency of this process, based on the manufacturer’s recommendations and the volume of water regularly «passed» through it. The installed reducer, in turn, will be able to start flushing the cartridge unscheduled in the event of a sharp jump in pressure in the pipe, indicating the presence of a significant accumulation of dirt.
Before installing the device on the water main, make sure that the flask attached to it is strong. It is extremely necessary to do this in order to avoid situations when, with a sharp pressure jump, unable to withstand it, not only it, but the entire design of the cleaning device can “fly out” of the pipe. Further, turning off the water and choosing a good place that provides free access to the filter in case of unforeseen situations, you can begin to “mount” the devices. Traditionally, apartments are supplied with two drainage pipes, which means that there should also be two main structures. The final step is to process the joints of the pipe and filter with fum-tape and sealant. It is extremely important, after waiting for the “drying” of the “seams” processing materials, to make sure that the joints are absolutely tight. Only after there is no doubt about the correct installation of the filter, you can turn on the water.
Summing up the above material, it is possible to formulate the main features and characteristics that can be used as criteria for choosing a treatment device for «treatment» of hot water.
- Initial hardness of water in pipes. In accordance with this indicator, it is necessary to give preference to the filter model, which, according to the characteristics declared by the manufacturer, has the ability to soften the liquid, which is several times higher than the existing level of hardness. Otherwise, a certain part of the harmful salts will «leak» into the tap.
- The daily volume of water used, traditionally calculated by multiplying the generally accepted level of «water consumption» (2.5-3.5 liters per day) by the number of residents in an apartment or house. The figure resulting from multiplying this number of liters by three will be considered the minimum characteristic that the filter selected by the buyer must have.
- Documentation. Despite the sufficient evidence of this criterion, many neglect it, but in vain. The purchased treatment plant must have all confirming quality certificates, warranty cards from the manufacturer, and so on, which will ensure the buyer’s confidence in the authenticity of the product he has chosen and minimize the risk of detecting defects during installation or operation.
Features of selection for a private house
If the water in the suburban area has increased hardness, it definitely not worth using in its original form.
With a not very high degree of mechanical contamination, the capabilities of a conventional coarse filter will be sufficient. After it, you should install a column with an ion exchange resin or a filter using a reverse osmosis system.
Important. It will not be possible to immediately obtain a large volume of pure product, you need to wait for the end of the purification process.
If desired, a storage tank can be installed in a private house, in which to make a supply of purified water for the future.
Top Models
For clarity of how an ideal filter for purifying hot water should look like and what technical characteristics, the reader is invited to familiarize himself with the list of top models of main devices below.
Geyser Typhoon 10 SL
pros
- appearance
- compactness
- Possibility of flushing without removing the cartridge
- the presence of a connector for embedding a device that measures pressure in pipes
- quality of materials used in production
- effective «destruction» of rust
Minuses
- inability to install the device at a low level due to its internal design
- dimension
- the complexity of the direct mounting system
From 3990 ₽
Aquaphor AquaBoss 1-02
pros
- verified manufacturer
- compactness
- quality performance of their direct functions
Minuses
- low structural strength
- inclusion in the filter housing of fiberglass, hazardous to human health
From 1379 ₽
Honeywell FF 06 1/2″ AAM
pros
- verified manufacturer
- compactness
- durable material used to make the case
- direct flush valve
- the possibility of mounting the filter in the pipe in several ways
Minuses
- expensive replacement built-in cartridge
- does not cope with the removal of lime deposits
- inability to install additional equipment for measuring pressure in pipes
From 3894 ₽
Geyser Typhoon 20 BB filter
pros
- damage-resistant housing made of stainless steel
- the possibility of complex cleaning
- automatic regeneration of the cleaning component
- creates good pressure and water pressure at the outlet
Minuses
- high price
- transmission of lime during the «treatment» of dirty running water
- poor ergonomic properties
- difficulties in attaching the filter to the pipe
From 10300 ₽