Sediment Removal

Sediment Removal is the process of removing particulate (sand, gravel, geological decay) from suspension in your water.  Although not harmful to us, sediment in our water has some real negative effects on our home and appliances.  

Our homes are loaded with sensitive equipment that use the water.  Dishwashers,  refrigerator water and ice dispensers, toilets, and clothes washers all rely on rubber and nylon seals to keep the water in place.  Add sediment to any of these, and valves and seats will begin to weep and wear resulting in premature repair and replacement.

Not only are appliances affected by sediment, but so are your water treatment systems.  Most of the systems rely on surface area contact with either a mineral, media, or UV exposure.  Sediment will clog and coat these reducing their efficiency resulting in premature system maintenance, or system failure.

Some of the UV (ultraviolet light) systems to kill bacteria require a sediment filter in place prior to guarantee the performance of their system.  We like to use them in place before most systems because we know how much longer and better systems work when their active ingredient is kept clean.

Cartridge or System?

The majority of the systems we install receive a changeable cartridge filter to handle the sediment.  These are rated on their pore size from 1 to 50+ Micron (millionth of a meter!).  A common household filter is a 5 Micron, meaning anything smaller than 5 microns will pass through.  For a irrigation system where high flow is important, a 20 Micron filter may be used allowing more water through, as well as slightly larger particles.  Cartridges do need to be changed periodically based on water quality and water usage.

Some wells produce large amounts of sediment requiring often filter changes. In this situation, we then consider a backwashable filter.  This type of filter uses a filtering media with a control valve that will backwash (clean) on a set schedule.  Although larger, it may be more cost effective than frequent filter changes over a lifetime.

Please give us a call at 800-667-1507 to see how we can filter out some of these issues!