In essence there are three types of water filtration, or more precisely, three styles of water filtration methods. They are mechanical, chemical oxidation reduction (redox) and absorption. Following is a report of how each functions.

Mechanical Filters
This is simply having a barrier that has holes smaller than what it is that you want to remove. This process of filtering removes tiny particles that are suspended in the water such as dirt, silt, sand, sediment, rust and other un-dissolved particles. As water passes through the media the elements are held or inhibited and effectively taken from your water.

Contingent on the quality and/or kind of the filtering medium, matter as small as 0.5 microns are able to be separated from your drinking water. For the purpose of reference, a micron is equivalent to 1/25,000 of an inch, the diameter of one thread of your hair is around 100 microns.

An assortment of substances are used to manufacture mechanical filtering media. Ceramics and various resins cover the bulk of this kind of water filtration.

Redox or Oxidation-Reduction
Redox is a procedure in which electrons of one atom are passed on to another. What this means is that where you blend two different metals you get an electrochemical process that oxidizes a multitude of chemicals often discovered in ground water in addition to our civic water supplies, thus removing them from your water. The heavy metals like cadmium, aluminum, chromium and lead are removed by the electrochemical process. Metals such as these are drawn to the filter’s media, very similar to a magnet.

KDF Fluid Treatment, Inc., manufactures the most widely used media of this kind, a coper and zinc mixture, and has retained the patent ever since 1987.

Adsorption: Activated Carbon
Activated carbon soaks up organic substances that can make your water smell and taste bad. Also it possesses the ability to get rid of pesticides, chlorine and its byproducts. This product is extremely porous with a immense surface area, to the extent that the carbon in a common countertop water filter would comprise a surface area of around 200 football fields.

The term “activated” refers to a procedure that makes the carbon more porous than it would be on its own. Activation is achieved by using steam, a chemical process or by controlled production processes when making the carbon.

Activated carbon works like this: As water flows over the surface dissolved chemicals attach themselves to the carbon permitting the water to keep moving. This process is termed absorption.

Activated carbon will fall into one of three categories: carbon block (CB), granulated activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). The CB type works better at higher pressures, while the granulated activated carbon and performs acceptably with municipally supplied water. The PAC type is less common in residential use.

Some of the types of material used for producing activated carbon are coal, wood, lignite, coconut shell and such. Coconut shell is thought of as the ideal material when producing filters for drinking water due to its penchant to make the water taste better.

Be advised that water filtering does not totally get rid of contaminates, they will just lessen them. Yet a first-class water filtration system will remove the majority of the unwanted contaminants it is intended to eliminate. Make sure to buy only water filtration systems certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) These filters are going to have been tested to verify the manufacturer’s claims. In other words you are going to know what you are buying.

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