How to purify water at home: filters and folk methods. Methods and mistakes in water purification at home

Let's first understand why purify water if it looks clear, doesn't smell bad, and tastes tolerable?

Although tap or well water looks good, it needs to be cleaned.

Because it contains lime, iron impurities, various salts of heavy metals. It contains harmful microorganisms - microbes, viruses.

In addition, ordinary tap water has a lot of chlorine, which is added to destroy harmful microbes.

But chlorine destroys the proteins that are contained in the body.

Water from a well and a tap is different in terms of impurities. It enters the apartments with chlorine, and from the well with impurities of lime and iron.

How to purify water at home: technical devices

To understand how to purify water at home with technical devices, you need to understand what types of filters and types of water purification are, and also understand what ozonation is.

There are 4 types of filters:

1. In-line filter

2. Filter jug

3. Desktop filter

4. Reverse osmosis system

1. In-line filter. It is screwed to the water pipe, inside the filter there is a cartridge, water passes through it. You can put a lot of filters with a variety of cartridges: carbon, sediment.

Advantages:

Cheap filter.

The cartridge must be replaced after 2-3 months.

The filter purifies water from certain impurities, it depends on which cartridges are used.

The cartridges are very easy to replace.

It takes up little space on the faucet.

Flaws:

Removes exactly those impurities that a particular cartridge removes.

The pressure (pressure of water) decreases slightly.

There is no permanent supply of water.

It skips some bacteria.

2. filter jug- This is a vessel that has a cartridge for water purification. When water is placed in a jug, it passes through the cartridge and is cleaned.

Advantages:

Inexpensive.

Easy to apply.

The filter jug ​​can be moved to any place.

Flaws:

Water is not cleaned under pressure, that is, it is not cleaned too much.

The water is on outdoors, that is, microbes from the air can get there.

The cartridge needs to be replaced frequently with a new one, so system costs increase.

If the cartridge is not changed, then it becomes dirty and then the water becomes worse than from the tap.

This filter does not remove some bacteria.

3. Tabletop filter. It has its own faucet and can be connected to a pipe or to the faucet itself. It can have a capillary membrane, it removes impurities down to 0.001 microns.

Advantages:

It can be placed in the most convenient place in the kitchen.

It is very easy to replace the cartridge.

Buying is inexpensive.

Flaws:

Bacteria build up there.

He doesn't take on water.

Some types of viruses and bacteria remain after its application.

4. Reverse osmosis systems, their main part is a membrane, it filters water according to the principle of reverse osmosis. Usually, they have several filters up to the membrane that purify the water and the tank. The tank stores clean water. The membrane itself is continuously cleaned by part of the filtered water, all impurities go down the drain. Mineralizers can also be used to improve the taste of water.

Advantages:

The water becomes perfectly clear.

The systems are easy to use.

The tank accumulates a supply of clean water.

The system destroys all bacteria, viruses, removes salts of heavy metals.

Flaws:

High price

The system takes up a lot of space.

Types of water treatment:

De-iron filters eliminate manganese and iron. They have manganese dioxide, so when a solution of manganese or iron gets there, a reaction occurs, these substances become insoluble and remain in the filter, then they are removed when further water enters.

Filter softeners soften the water. They contain backfills, thanks to which they eliminate impurities of manganese, iron, nitrates, salts of heavy metals, nitrites, sulfates, and harmful organic impurities. The filters need to be regenerated with brine, which is why they have a brine tank.

UV sterilizers. Water is irradiated with ultraviolet light, which destroys bacteria. Use ultraviolet lamps mounted in a rigid housing.

Carbon filters. Activated carbon perfectly removes chlorine, various gas solutions, organic substances. Activated charcoal made from coconut shells is now used, which has an adsorption rate 4 times greater than charcoal made from ordinary wood.

Sediment filters. They eliminate any mechanical particles, such as river sand, rust, and other sediments. To remove very large particles (more than 20-50 microns), disc or mesh filters are used for coarse cleaning. Their disadvantage is if they become very dirty or a large number of water, they need to be rinsed very often.

Reverse osmosis filters. These are by far the best filters out there. The reverse osmosis process separates water and various impurities at the molecular level, they are different parties membranes. The membrane retains large molecules of harmful organic compounds, bacteria, but freely passes oxygen. In this way, perfectly purified drinking water is obtained.

Water ozonation

For example, you can purchase an ozone generator from Tienshi, which adds ozone to the water. If you process food (fruits, vegetables) with such water, it will cleanse them of hormones, harmful microbes, chlorine, pesticides.

Place the ozonator spray in a pot of water, turn it on, let it work for 20 minutes. A layer of dense foam appears on the surface of the pan, which must be removed.

How to purify water at home: folk methods

Consider how to purify water at home using the simplest folk methods.

1. Settling

This is the easiest and easiest way. Fill the bucket with water in the evening, and early in the morning carefully drain 2/3 of the water from the bucket into a clean bowl. If you defended water from a well, then the remaining 1/3 of the water will contain lime, clay, river sand, and iron. And if the water was taken from the city tap, then all the chlorine will evaporate overnight. True, with this method, pathogens of intestinal infections and salts of heavy metals remain in the water.

2. Boiling

Another fairly easy way is to boil water for 10-15 minutes. Then all microbes will die, and impurities of calcium, iron, magnesium will precipitate. But it works well for well water. But the chlorine remains.

3. Freeze

Pour water into a large enamel saucepan, then place in the freezer. When half of the water from the pan becomes ice, then take it out. Dirt will collect in its middle part. If you pour boiling water from the kettle into its middle, the dirty water will melt and flow down, and you will be left with only pure ice. Pour out the dirt that you have left at the bottom of the pan, salts of heavy metals and iron will remain there. Melt clean ice.

The disadvantage of freezing - with this method, the water contains few mineral salts, which are useful. To eliminate this drawback, you can pour 100 ml of mineral water into 1 liter of such water.

4. Application of silicon

Silicon removes many harmful bacteria. Purchase silicon, rinse it thoroughly. Dip it in a pot of water, cover it with gauze, leave for 3-5 days, and best of all for 7 days in the dark. After carefully pour the settled water into another container, close the lid. Do not drain the bottom layer of water, let 3 cm of water remain in the flint saucepan. There will be impurities of lime, iron, salts of heavy metals. A white film forms on silicon. Therefore, the stone must be scrupulously washed from dirt. Wipe the silicon with a toothbrush. If you do not have silicon, then you can take a root vegetable earthen pear. Jerusalem artichoke has greatest content silicon compared to other root crops and vegetables.

And the water that you poured into another dish can not only be drunk, but also used for cooking.

5. Cleaning activated carbon

Charcoal not only removes unwanted odors, it also collects a large amount of harmful impurities. Put 5 tablets of charcoal on cheesecloth, wrap and place overnight in a pot of water, 1 tablet purifies 1 liter of water. In the morning, the water will already be purified. This method is perfect for purifying water from a well, it removes iron and lime impurities.

Silver cleaning

Place a silver fork or spoon in the bottom of a pot of water. Let the water settle all night. Then after 12 hours in the morning silver will remove a large number of harmful microorganisms. But the disadvantage of silver is that it does not purify water from salts of heavy metals and iron. And also with an excess of silver in the body, specific diseases can occur, skin pigmentation can change.

How to purify water at home: reasons for failure

To understand how to purify water at home, it is important to remember that each specific filter, as well as any folk remedy, removes only certain impurities, so you need to use them in combination. For example, silver removes harmful bacteria, while activated carbon removes lime and iron impurities. If you know exactly what harmful impurities are contained in your water, then select certain filters that are necessary for you and folk remedies. Try to analyze your water to determine its composition.

Also, do not forget that in the filters you need to change the cartridges as they are used. Especially often change cartridges in filter jugs.

Every modern person knows that drinking tap water is very risky. It contains various harmful impurities, pollution, salts of heavy metals, chlorine compounds and other substances hazardous to health. However, even boiling water does not solve the problem. Yes, you can buy already purified water in the store, but bottled water costs money, and using it all the time is quite expensive.

Tap water can be purified by yourself. There are several ways to do this.

settling

To neutralize the microorganisms present in the water, it is chlorinated. It not only gives water bad smell and taste, but also poses a threat to health: during boiling, chlorine forms very harmful chemical compounds. Even more dangerous for humans is the fact that chlorine tends to accumulate in the body.

Getting rid of this scourge is quite simple: just pour tap water into a glass dish and stand for 6-7 hours. During this time, impurities of heavy metals and chlorine compounds will evaporate from the water. You can use ¾ of settled water, and the rest should be poured out. Rinse the container before pouring a new portion of water into it.

Silicon Enrichment

Silicon is able to give water increased activity, it is the strongest bactericidal properties. After treatment with silicon, water acquires pleasant taste, it can be stored for a long time, does not "bloom" and does not deteriorate. Where to get silicon? Stones are sold in pharmacies, you can buy them at various stone exhibitions.

To make silicon water, you need to thoroughly wash several silicon stones, then put them in an enamel or glass dish and pour water over it. After a few days, the water is saturated with silicon, it can be drunk and used for cooking. Make sure that the dishes are in the room with room temperature. Exposure to direct sunlight is undesirable.

A jar or can of silicon water must first be covered with gauze, and then, when it is saturated with silicon, with a lid. Such water should not be boiled: in its raw form, it is curative and will help you get rid of many diseases.

Cleansing with activated carbon

Activated carbon is a well-known water purifier and is used in a wide variety of filters. After treatment with coal, water acquires a pleasant taste and smell, since coal absorbs almost all harmful substances in tap water.

Several activated charcoal tablets must be wrapped in several layers of gauze and placed in a glass dish with water. It is enough to hold the coal in water for 12 hours so that the water is purified.

Make sure that the water with coal is not in a room that is too warm, otherwise pathogenic bacteria will quickly multiply in the coal environment.

freezing water

Freezing tap water salts of heavy metals are neutralized. Defrosting allows water to acquire a new strong energy, which it generously shares with a person.

To purify water using low temperatures, you need to put a container of water in the freezer and keep it there for 7-8 hours. During this time, an ice crust will appear on the surface, in which salts of heavy metals will concentrate. This crust should be removed, and the remaining water should be poured into another bowl and put in the freezer again, now for 10-12 hours. After that, you should pour out the water that has not frozen, and the rest should be thawed and used for drinking, cooking and washing.

Important: only the water from which it is obtained is useful clear ice. If the ice looks cloudy, the water from it is saturated with harmful substances. Therefore, doctors recommend only clear, clean ice to defrost and drink. Melt water from it is very useful for the skin, so you can actively use it for washing. In the skin after such washing, recovery processes are normalized, melt water will help remove toxins from the body and improve metabolism.

Silver cleansing

To make the water pure, it is enough to put a silver object on the bottom of the water container - jewelry, a spoon or something else, it does not matter. It is best to choose a 999 silver item for this purpose.

Water containing silver can be stored for a long time. The only warning: you can’t drink such water uncontrollably, since an overdose of silver is just as dangerous as an overdose of lead (silver is a toxic metal).

Purification with wine

Tap water becomes clear 15 minutes after you add ordinary white wine (1/3 wine to 2/3 water).

Filtration

Perhaps the most effective way to purify water can be considered filtration. The most popular today are filter jugs with a carbon cartridge. It is relatively inexpensive, but effective: carbon filter absorbs the vast majority of harmful compounds contained in water. Do not forget that the filter will have to be changed quite often - every 1-2 months, depending on the water consumption in your family.

Folk ways to purify water

Add 1 teaspoon to 1 liter of water apple cider vinegar and honey, as well as 3 drops of iodine. After a few minutes, all microbes will die in the water.

For 1-3 liters of water, you need 10-15 rowan leaves and a handful of hawthorn berries. After 2 hours the water will be clear.

But what about boiling? After all, most of us are accustomed to using this particular method to disinfect water and purify it from harmful impurities. It turns out that in order to die most of microorganisms, it is necessary to boil water for 10-15 minutes. In addition, it is recommended to boil already pre-settled water, since almost all the chlorine has already evaporated from it.

Taking care of your own health and the health of your family, determine for yourself best way water purification.

Purified water

"...6) purified water - water from an underground or surface source of drinking water supply, including from centralized and non-centralized water supply systems, which has undergone water treatment before bottling into containers and with changed sanitary and chemical characteristics of the source water;..."

Source:

Government of the Russian Federation dated 09.03.2010 N 132 "On mandatory requirements for certain types of products and related requirements for design processes (including surveys), production, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, storage, transportation, sale and disposal contained in technical regulations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is a member state of the customs union"

Official terminology. Akademik.ru. 2012 .

See what "Purified Water" is in other dictionaries:

Purified water (water purified, aqua purificata) Water for the preparation of medicines, except for those that must be sterile and non-pyrogenic, unless otherwise indicated and authorized by the competent authority ... Source: GUIDE TO ... ... Official terminology

Purified angro water, packaged in suitable containers, stored under conditions that provide the required microbiological purity, and does not contain any added substances ... Source: WATER QUALITY GUIDE FOR USE IN ... ... Official terminology

DISTILLED WATER- DESTILLED WATER, or distilled, aqua destillata, is obtained by temporarily turning water into steam and then cooling, resp. condensation | steam into water, and the water is purified from all inorganic and organic impurities. For honey... Big Medical Encyclopedia

WATER DISTILLED- (Distilled water) water purified by distillation from impurities dissolved in it. Samoilov K.I. Marine Dictionary. M. L .: State Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF of the USSR, 1941 ... Marine Dictionary

Distilled water- Distilled water - purified water, practically free of impurities and impurities. Obtained by distillation in special distillers. Contents 1 Characteristics 1.1 Chemical ... Wikipedia

purified water- - [A.S. Goldberg. English Russian Energy Dictionary. 2006] Topics energy in general EN clarified water …

treated waste water- - [A.S. Goldberg. English Russian Energy Dictionary. 2006] Topics energy in general EN final effluent … Technical Translator's Handbook

Water- Since ancient times, people began to understand the great importance of water not only for people and all kinds of animal and plant organisms, but also for all life on Earth. Some of the first Greek philosophers even put water at the head of the understanding of things in nature, and ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

purified water- valytasis vanduo statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Nuotekų vanduo, išvalytas valymo įrenginiuose. Vandens valymą sudaro trys etapai: mechaninio valymo, biologinio valymo ir cheminio valymo. atitikmenys: engl. finished water;… … Ekologijos terminų aiskinamasis žodynas

16) pure water sea ​​or fresh water, including disinfected (purified) water, which does not contain microorganisms, harmful substances and toxic plankton in quantities that can damage the safety of aquatic biological resources;...

There is no life without water. A person is ⅔ water. During our life we ​​drink about 75 tons of water. At the same time, we drink 80% of our diseases, said Louis Pasteur. According to the World Health Organization, 85% of known diseases are transmitted by water, causing 25 million deaths each year. In addition, polluted water accelerates the aging process by 30%.

According to the former director-general of the World Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, many cases of illness and death could be avoided with inexpensive and affordable water treatment.

Of course, you can drink tap water, but it is hardly necessary - every schoolchild knows about this today. City water usually contains a lot of mechanical and chemical contaminants. There are many bacteria and viruses in the water. For example, if a person for a long time continues to drink water with excess iron, he can get liver disease. The water we use contains a lot of calcium and magnesium salts. This makes the water especially hard. The use of such water is bad for both household appliances as well as in the human body. Unfortunately, sanitary standards require that water treatment plants must add chlorine to disinfect water, which also negatively affects health.

Boiling alone cannot solve the problem of water purification - far from all the “additives” contained in it settle in the form of limescale on the walls of the kettle. It is worth imagining that something similar accumulates in our body in order to stop consuming unpurified water once and for all. To avoid such a problem, you need to take care of complete water purification.

What water to use?

Some buy bottled drinking water. Bottled water is varied in composition. And before making a choice in favor of a particular brand, you need to carefully look at what they offer you and for what money. Mineral water, for example, is better to use as prescribed by a doctor. But unfortunately there are a lot of low-quality manufacturers and fakes on the market, there is an opinion that up to a third of the bottles sold in Russia are not high-quality water!

In this state of affairs, consumers have to learn to recognize fake water, relying only on themselves. If this is table water, then it should not have any smell, there should not be a film on top, there should not be sediment. True, we must remember that there is medicinal waters, in which a small sediment is allowed.
The technology for the production of fake mineral water is very simple: water is taken from the tap, iodine, salt and soda are added to give it a specific taste, and then carbonated in cheap saturators (something like a large siphon).

The first sign of a fake is a low price. Wholesale fake is offered 15-20% cheaper than the original, and retail prices for it are about 5% lower than for real mineral water. So if you come across water at prices below the average market, you should be wary: most likely, it got into a bottle from a tap.

You should also pay attention to the date of release of water: the original products are not stale in warehouses, and if the mineral water was released more than six months ago, this is probably a fake. Because the glass container it is more difficult to fake, fake mineral water is most often bottled in plastic containers.

Another important point: before buying mineral water, you need to learn how to read the label. For example, if Caucasian water is bottled in Tula, then this is not Caucasian water, but Tula. Each label must correctly indicate the composition of the water and the number of the well, the address and telephone number for contacting the manufacturer. And, finally, if the label is pale, poorly printed or carelessly pasted, its quality is fully consistent with the quality of the contents.

Household water treatment methods

For water purification in living conditions people use different ways. However, not everyone knows how to properly implement them and what side effects may occur.

All methods of water purification can be conditionally divided into two groups: purification without the use of filters and purification using filters.

Water purification without filters

This option is the most common and affordable, since water purification does not require the purchase of additional devices, except for ordinary kitchen utensils.

Boiling

We all know from childhood that raw water You can not drink, but only boiled. Boiling is used to destroy organic matter (viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, etc.), remove chlorine and other low-temperature gases (radon, ammonia, etc.). Boiling does help to purify the water to some extent, but this process has a number of side effects. The first is that when boiling, the structure of water changes, i.e. it becomes “dead”, since oxygen evaporates. The more we boil water, the more pathogens die in it, but the more it becomes useless for the human body. Secondly, since water evaporates during boiling, the concentration of salts in it increases. They are deposited on the walls of the kettle in the form of scale and lime and enter the human body during the subsequent consumption of water from the kettle.

As you know, salts tend to accumulate in the body, which leads to the most various diseases, ranging from joint diseases, the formation of kidney stones and petrification (cirrhosis) of the liver, and ending with arteriosclerosis, heart attack, and more. etc. In addition, many viruses can easily endure boiling water, since they require much more high temperatures. Also note that only chlorine gas is removed when water is boiled. In laboratory studies, it was confirmed that after boiling tap water, additional chloroform is formed (causes cancer diseases), even if the water was freed from chloroform by purging with an inert gas before boiling.

Conclusion. After boiling, we drink "dead" water, in which there is a fine suspension and mechanical particles, salts of heavy metals, chlorine and organochlorine (chloroform), viruses.

settling

Settling is used to remove chlorine from water and settling of large particles. As a rule, for this, tap water is poured into a large bucket and left in it for several hours. Without stirring the water in the bucket, the removal of chlorine gas occurs from about ⅓ of the depth from the water surface. It is this layer that is then used for consumption.

Conclusion. Efficiency this method water purification leaves much to be desired. After settling, it is necessary to boil water.

Freezing

This method is used for effective cleaning water by recrystallization. It is much more efficient than boiling and even distillation (the process of obtaining distilled water), since phenol, chlorophenols and light organochlorines (a number of chlorine-containing compounds are the worst poison) are distilled along with water vapor.

Freezing is based on the chemical law, according to which, when a liquid freezes, the base substance crystallizes first in the coldest place, and lastly, in the least cold place, everything that was dissolved in the base substance solidifies. This phenomenon can be observed on the example of a candle. In an extinguished candle, away from the wick, pure transparent paraffin is obtained, and in the middle, where the wick burned, soot collects and the wax turns dirty. All liquid substances obey this law.

At home, water purification by freezing can be organized very simply. Pick up enamel pan that fits with the lid into freezer your refrigerator. The main thing is that the volume of the pan should be at least 1 liter, since in a smaller volume the process of separating pure ice and dirty unfrozen water is unlikely to take place.

Fill the pot with water. Cover the pot with a lid so that there is a two-finger gap between the lid and the water. Then the cold will penetrate into the pan from below and from the sides, so that under the lid the water will not have time to freeze in 24 hours, and if it does, it will be the last thing. The pan should be kept in the freezer for so long that the water has time to freeze about half (for a 3-liter pan, this is just a day).

When you pull out a pot of half-frozen water, you will see for yourself that the ice is as clear as a diamond around the edges, and that the unfrozen water in the middle is so dirty that it resembles tea in color. The ice above this dirty water is not very clean and is pierced even with a finger. This ice must be cut with a knife and drained of all dirty water. If you took out the pot late so that the water is completely frozen, then take the kettle with boiling water and pour a stream into the middle of the pan - boiling water will “wash” all the dirty ice from the middle in half a minute, leaving the round timber the purest ice. Leave clean ice to thaw.

Water purification using filters

Modern filters for water purification mainly use ozonation methods, the use of active silver and activated carbon, iodization, ultraviolet, ozonation and reverse osmosis.

Water ozonation

Water ozonation as a water treatment technology is popular in Western countries. The principle of operation of ozone during purification is as follows: the molecules of this reactive form of oxygen penetrate the cell membranes of organic substances and quickly oxidize them. This causes the cell death of the microorganism. Water treatment with ozone improves palatability water and eliminate bad odors.

The use of active silver

The cleansing properties of silver have been used by man since time immemorial. Once upon a time, water was simply kept for some time in silver vessels, it was believed that after that the water was completely disinfected. The modern use of silver for water treatment is to combine silver ions with the shell of bacteria. This method, however, has opponents who argue that since silver is a heavy metal, this kind of purification is dangerous for human body. To date, silver is also used for long-term storage of initially pure water.

Activated carbon

Activated carbon is a reagent for sorption (from Latin sorbeo - I absorb) water purification to remove chlorine, odors and colors from water. Due to its high sorption capacity, activated carbon effectively absorbs residual chlorine, dissolved gases, organic compounds. The porous structure of activated carbon and, as a result, a large surface area, ensures its high efficiency.

iodination

Iodization is a commonly used method of water purification in swimming pools. In addition, specially designed iodine tablets are convenient for disinfecting water in field conditions, for example, drawing water from an old rural well or a fontanel that is crystal clear at first glance.

Treatment of water with ultraviolet rays or by means of an ultraviolet membrane is recognized as one of the most effective ways water treatment. The technology of water disinfection using ultraviolet light consists in the passage of special photochemical reactions, as a result of which the cells of microorganisms in the water are seriously damaged and the bacteria die.

Reverse osmosis is a method of water purification, previously used only for desalination. sea ​​water. At the moment, advanced reverse osmosis treatment provides hundreds of thousands of tons of drinking water per day around the world. Based on reverse osmosis systems, household water filters are produced, which are one of the most efficient and reliable water treatment plants. What is the principle of operation of reverse osmosis systems? The main cleaning element of these systems is a semi-permeable membrane, which is able to pass through itself only water molecules, but at the same time prevents the penetration of substances with molecules. bigger size(salts of heavy metals, impurities, rust). As a result of purification by reverse osmosis, water and substances dissolved in it are separated at the molecular level, while almost perfectly pure water accumulates on one side of the membrane, and all impurities remain on its other side. So, reverse osmosis provides a much higher degree of purification than most traditional methods filtration. The reverse osmosis membrane is capable of removing organic matter from water. Big size viruses and bacteria also virtually eliminates the possibility of their penetration through the membrane.

Modern household filters

Before you install a filter in your home, you must understand why you are doing it. That is, what result are you waiting for! Today, there are a lot of filters that differ in configuration and methods of use.

Low Filters - Faucet and Pitcher Heads

This category includes simple cleaning filters with a small resource; as a rule, this is a purification from mechanical impurities and from chlorine dissolved in water. The cartridge resource of such filters is very small - on average it is enough (for 3-4 people) for a period of 15-45 days (the more expensive the jug or nozzle, the better the cleaning and the longer the cartridge resource), after that the cartridge needs to be changed. They have a high cost and low quality of water treatment.

Faucet nozzles

This category includes the simplest filters mounted on faucet diameter from 15 to 20 mm. Purpose: post-treatment of tap water (used for drinking). The bulk of this kind of filters purifies water from mechanical impurities and chlorine. Although some manufacturers offer nozzle filters with cartridges containing an ion-exchange resin - capable of partially softening water (water softening has a very small resource - several tens of liters) and partially picking up heavy metal salts.

This category includes the simplest bulk type filters used for post-treatment of tap (prepared / disinfected) water. Principle of operation: the jug is divided into 2 parts (treated water is poured into the upper part, purified water accumulates in the lower part of the jug), water passes by gravity through the filter material (cartridge) while being purified from mechanical impurities, organochlorine compounds, and partly from heavy metals.

Filters of average degree of purification - 2nd, 3rd stage filters

These filters are designed to purify tap (prepared) water to the state of drinking water. A large assortment and variety of filters in this category allows us to divide them into several types, and they are distinguished based on the following parameters: the number of purification stages (mainly 2 and 3-stage water purification filters); differ in location, after their installation (lower location “under the sink”, upper location “on the table”); single-flask (one flask can contain both one and three stages of purification) and multi-flask (as a rule, no more than 3 flasks); also, since all filters of this category are flow filters (i.e., water is filtered through flow), another important factor is the method of connection to the pipeline. All filters in this category are cartridge filters (as a rule, the Slim Line (SL) - 10 standard is used), i.e., they require the replacement of a replaceable element after the cartridge life is exhausted.

2-stage filters: (usually 1st stage: mechanical cleaning, 2nd stage activated carbon cleaning)
3-stage filters: (usually 1st stage: mechanical cleaning, 2nd stage activated carbon cleaning, 3rd stage ion exchange resin, or pressed fine activated carbon enriched with one or more additives: silver, ion exchanger, crystals hexametaphosphate, etc.)

2, 3-stage filters: perfectly removed - mechanical impurities, chlorine, organochlorine compounds; partially removed - pesticides, iron, manganese, heavy metals, trichloromethane, oil-containing products, hardness salts, not removed - bacteria, viruses, chlorides, nitrates, nitrites, fluorides.
The cost and quality of water purification is average.

High purity filters - reverse osmosis, filters with ultra filtration membrane

The main filter element in high-purity filters is a membrane, in terms of purification quality, the best is the reverse osmosis method (the main filter element is a reverse osmosis membrane), followed by nanofiltration and ultrafiltration (ultra filtration membrane). The most widespread is the reverse osmosis method of water purification, as the most effective, and domestic reverse osmosis systems (RO systems) in Europe, North America are the most common household water filters. It is worth noting that almost all bottled drinking water is purified by reverse osmosis, and water purified by a household reverse osmosis filter will not differ from that sold under well-known brands ...

In addition to reverse osmosis filters, high purity filters include filters with an ultra filtration membrane. They are less common, but just as worthy of attention, especially since their cost is somewhat less than the cost of reverse osmosis filters.
The cost of such filters is low, and the quality of water purification is very high.

Filters with ultra filtration membrane

One of the methods of membrane water purification is cleaning with an ultra filtration membrane. Ultrafiltration membrane made of tubular composite removes all particles larger than 0.01 µm (micron), including bacteria, viruses, as well as dissolved salts of heavy metals, iron, mercury, arsenic, manganese, etc. The filter with an ultra filtration membrane is a flow filter with a capacity of ~ 150 - 200 liters / hour. Outwardly, such a filter is similar to a reverse osmosis filter, but still, reverse osmosis cleaning is finer (higher quality) than cleaning with an ultrafiltration membrane.

5 stage water purification system with ultra filtration membrane has the following purification stages:

1) The first stage is a preliminary mechanical cleaning cartridge (material: twisted or foamed polypropylene), designed to remove mechanical particles and suspensions with a diameter of up to 10 microns (microns).

2) The second stage - a cartridge containing granular activated carbon, removes chlorine and its compounds, organic substances, gases, improves taste.

3) The third stage is a cartridge based on compressed activated carbon (Carbon-Block), designed for post-treatment of water from organochlorine compounds and mechanical impurities up to 0.5 microns (micron).

4) The fourth stage is an ultra filtration membrane made of a tubular composite with a hole diameter of 0.1–0.01 microns. The membrane removes almost all organic pollutants, foreign impurities dissolved in water, salts of heavy metals, iron, mercury, arsenic, manganese, etc., as well as bacteria and viruses.

5) The fifth stage is an in-line cartridge based on coconut activated carbon, which removes odors and improves the taste of water.

In addition to the 5-stage system, there are filters with 4 stages of purification, in such filters there is no 3rd stage (cartridge based on compressed activated carbon (Carbon-Block)).

Reverse osmosis water filters

Reverse osmosis water filters produce the highest quality (complete) water purification at home. Such harmful substances as magnesium, mercury, nitrates, nitrites, strontium, arsenic, cyanide, asbestos, fluorine, lead, sulfates, iron, chlorine, … are removed from the water. etc…., all bacteria and viruses.
Household reverse osmosis filters are divided into flow reverse osmosis filters and storage. The main difference between flow and storage filters is the performance of the membranes.

In storage filters, the membrane performance is low (on average 150–300 liters per day (~ 0.1–0.15 liters per minute)), therefore, in such filters, a storage tank is simply needed in order to be able to accumulate a certain supply of clean water (usually 8–11 liters). Water is gradually filtered and accumulated in the tank, after the tank is filled, water filtration stops. The constant filling of the tank is automatically maintained by the filter, i.e. it turns out that in the storage filters there is always a supply of clean water of 8–11 liters.

In domestic reverse osmosis flow filters, high-performance membranes are installed (provided performance is at the level of 1-2 liters per minute). In such filters, a storage tank is not needed. In terms of cost, flow filters are approximately 2–2.5 times more expensive than storage filters.

Both for reverse osmosis storage systems and for flow systems, an important indicator is the water pressure at the filter inlet (pipeline pressure). The pressure must be at least 2.8 atm. (in houses with centralized water supply, pressure below the specified one is quite rare, as a rule it is the upper (lower) floor or the historical center of the city with worn out pipelines), in case of lower pressure, an additional pressure increase pump is installed.

The most popular models of storage reverse osmosis filters:

a) 5-stage reverse osmosis filter (reverse osmosis system): 1st stage - preliminary purification from mechanical impurities ~ 15–30 microns (microns); 2nd stage - cleaning with activated carbon from chlorine and organochlorine compounds; 3rd stage - fine purification from mechanical impurities ~ 1–5 microns (microns) or additional purification with pressed activated carbon (this additional stage in a 5-stage filter allows you to better protect the membrane - which in turn will last longer); 4th stage - cleaning with a membrane (reverse osmosis method); 5th stage - carbon post-filter.

b) 5-stage reverse osmosis filter (reverse osmosis system) with a mineralizer: This filter has a mineralizer added. 1st stage - preliminary cleaning from mechanical impurities; 2nd stage - cleaning with activated carbon from chlorine and organochlorine compounds; 3rd stage - fine cleaning from mechanical impurities or additional cleaning with pressed activated carbon; 4th stage - cleaning with a membrane; 5th stage - carbon post-filter. + separate mineralizer, which allows you to balance the salt composition of water.

c) 5-stage reverse osmosis filter with a pressure increase pump (reverse osmosis system): in this filter, unlike 5-stage osmosis, only a pump is added - which must be used if the pressure of the water entering the treatment is less than 2.8 - 3 atm., in all other cases, the reverse osmosis filter can be used without a pump.

d) 4-stage reverse osmosis filter (reverse osmosis system): 1st stage - preliminary purification from mechanical impurities ~ 15–30 microns (microns); 2nd stage - cleaning with activated carbon from chlorine and organochlorine compounds; 3rd stage - cleaning with a membrane (reverse osmosis method); 4th stage - carbon post-filter.

Reverse osmosis filters are compact and easy to install in the kitchen under the sink, a separate tap for drinking water is installed on the sink (filters are equipped with everything necessary for connection).

On the pages of our site, we often talk about the fact that in order to be healthy, you need to drink clean water (here you can read about that). However, where can you get it if tap water does not always meet the criteria of “clean” and “healthy”? And, to purchase a special filter for water purification - not everyone and not always succeeds?

Today World Without Harm decided to tell you about the available ways to purify water at home, and consider their advantages and disadvantages. And, here's which way is better - we are waiting for feedback from you, our readers ...

One of the most available ways how to purify water at home is the way to freeze it. Experts and followers of the theory of the benefits of ice water claim that in the process of freezing water, you can get living and clean water, and all this without any special devices or devices. You just need a container for freezing, a freezer in an ordinary refrigerator and ordinary water that you have collected from the tap. From all this we will extract clean water, which will be useful to drink, and on which it will be useful to cook food.

How to freeze water properly

Well, to freeze water, let's take a deep container, you can use a saucepan (find out here), and pour water into it, but so that approximately 1 centimeter remains to the edge of the container. Now carefully, trying not to spill the water, put the container with it in the freezer. You and I need to freeze 0.5 volume of water in our container.

The freezing time here will depend on the volume of your container, therefore, we will not indicate the exact time.

Later, when you have already filled your hand, you will be able to determine for yourself how long it takes you so that half of your water can freeze.

When the water turns halfway into ice, you will need to break through the ice crust with a sharp knife and carefully drain the water that has not frozen. It is she who is considered the most harmful, and it contains all those not very useful impurities. The ice that you have left, you can melt and use such ice water for cooking and just drinking.

Benefits of ice cream water

Benefit ice cream water is that pure water freezes first, and that part of it, in which there are a lot of impurities, freezes longer, and when you drain the unfrozen water, you get rid of all that harmful that is in your tap water . By the way, experts recommend

after you drink a glass of such water, put a little salt on your tongue and absorb it (the water itself can be salted if you don’t want to dissolve the salt) - this is necessary so that when drinking living water, the necessary salts are not washed out of your body.

Such water, like melt water, has therapeutic and prophylactic properties, helps to normalize the metabolism in the body (learn all about) and quick recovery after an illness, helps to adapt in extreme conditions, increases muscle performance, and has anti-allergic properties (and, you know,? ), you can drink it at bronchial asthma, with, with allergic dermatitis.

Disadvantages of ice cream water

And, although the freezing method is far from perfect (the degree of water purification is determined by eye), nevertheless, such water more useful than that that flows in our taps. Therefore, you can use ice water.

And now a way to purify water for the laziest. Pour tap water into an enameled or glass container, but do not rush to immediately use it for cooking. Leave the container of water for 1 day. It is important that the container is open - this will contribute to the fact that chlorine, ammonia and other not very useful gaseous substances will disappear from the water during this time. After such a daily settling, you can boil water for 1 hour on low heat, but so that the water still boils a little. With this method of water treatment, you can cleanse it of most of the harmful substances.

Disadvantages of Boiling Water

First, if your tap water contains chlorine, then boiling it will not help you clear it. Moreover, as a result laboratory research it was confirmed that

in the process of prolonged boiling of tap water, an additional amount of chloroform, a carcinogen, is formed in its composition, which causes cancerous tumors, and this occurs even if the water was freed from the chlorine content in it by purging with an inert gas before boiling.

So, it is necessary to boil water, but it is important not to overboil it. Moreover, salts of heavy metals can often be found in the composition of our tap water. In the process of prolonged boiling of water, the liquid evaporates and the concentration of salts and heavy metals in the remaining water increases. And, all those harmful substances from which we so want to purify our water are deposited on the walls of the kettle in the form of scale or lime, and some of these substances will enter the human body.

So, in any case, boiling water that has not been purified by a special filter, in which mechanical particles, chlorine, heavy metal particles can be found, is not very useful and does not contribute to the complete purification of water.