The well is the main source of drinking and industrial water in a country house. It becomes the only one when there is no centralized water supply. High quality of well water is the key to the health of the whole family, so the owner of the house has to use a variety of filters to clean the water from the well in the country. The choice of device type depends on the intake and the degree of contamination of the liquid.
The need to use filters for water from the well in the country
Placing a well on a site in compliance with all requirements of SanPiN 2.1.5.980-00 and SNiP 2.04.02-84 * does not guarantee clean water. External factors: the composition of the soil, the depth of the aquifer, the presence of a swamp or a navigable river nearby, a household waste dump or chemical production - this is just a small list of reasons that can make a shallow well unsuitable for operation. If a warehouse with fertilizers or pesticides is located nearby, and harmful substances have leaked into the ground, it is better to bury the well. You can not water the garden from it, since the plants absorb the poison. Even water from artesian wells, raised from great depths, may need additional treatment if it does not meet sanitary standards.
There is a simple way to check liquids for impurities. It is necessary to collect water from the well into a transparent bottle and put in the shade for 2-3 hours. In the presence of impurities, sediment will appear at the bottom: limescale, grains, white or brownish flakes.
When a liquid with the smell of iron comes from a well or a well, a yellowish or brownish precipitate forms over time, hence many Fe salts are dissolved in it. This happens when an aquifer passes through rocks saturated with this metal. Only filtering will help to reduce the content of iron ions to 0.3 mg / l, the relevant standards.
If the water according to external signs meets the standards: transparent, pleasant to taste, there is no unpleasant odor - but there are doubts about its quality, it is necessary to analyze the composition in a specialized laboratory. In the future, the analysis data can be used to select the desired device.
Types of filters, principle of operation and device
Filters differ in technical characteristics, depending on the type of impurities with which they interact, for example:
- fine and rough cleaning to remove mechanical impurities: sand, debris, large particles of bottom sludge;
- with a cartridge filled with ion exchange resins for softening and removing dissolved metal salts: calcium, magnesium, iron;
- to improve the taste, with a carbon cartridge providing cleaning from gaseous chlorine and organic impurities;
- for mineralization, saturating pre-purified distilled water with useful substances.
In a country house, the use of one or another type of device is limited primarily by the way in which the liquid is taken. At the cottage, water from the well is manually removed with a bucket or pumped by a drainage pump.
Water is easy to clean with a filter jug. The capacity of the flask of jugs of different brands is 1-4 liters. This is enough to provide a family for a short time. Cartridges change as they become dirty. A signal to replace is a deterioration in taste and a slowdown in filtration.The resource is enough to clean 750 liters of liquid.
When a seasonal or permanent autonomous water supply system is installed: a station for pumping water and equipment for main cleaning is mounted - it becomes possible to use a variety of filters for cleaning water from the well at the cottage.
The autonomous water supply system includes:
- well pump submersible or surface type;
- the mesh filter on a hose for water from a well;
- a system of pipes or hoses for supplying water to the house;
- storage tank;
- filter system for cleaning, softening and improving the taste, located in front of the faucet in the kitchen.
Filters for treating water entering a house from a well using an autonomous system may vary in the following ways:
- the number of cleaning steps: from one to four;
- temperature conditions: designed for hot or cold water;
- type of cartridges: winding, net and others.
Devices with a single-stage cleaning system are easy to operate, but provide minimal cleaning, get dirty quickly and require replacing the cartridge.
Products with a multi-stage system provide the highest quality water purification and mineralization. Mounted under the sink in the kitchen. But for work they need significant pressure in the system. Only in this case, the fluid is forced through the cleaning membrane. In addition, such a filter gives a large flow of water: when 5 liters of clean liquid are obtained, 40 liters of dirty are formed. The drain is discharged into a septic tank or cesspool. Large volumes of liquid will quickly lead to overflow and will require more frequent contact with a sewage service for pumping wastewater. This is expensive. Therefore, the use of reverse osmosis membrane systems in the country is expensive and impractical.
Easy to use and affordable flow filters nozzles on the crane. Models that are installed next to the crane or put on it, provide 1-2 levels of cleaning due to mechanical removal of impurities and cleaning the liquid with a carbon filter. Installed under the sink provide a three-stage cleaning.
Carbon filters are quickly clogged with sand, silted, so they need to be replaced regularly in accordance with the instructions.
The presence in the country of an autonomous water supply allows the use of a flow-through main filter, which can be of two types:
- Mesh: trapping of sand or rust is provided by a fine-mesh multilayer mesh.
- Cartridge: provides cleaning from mechanical suspensions, dissolved salts of iron, gaseous chlorine. Cartridges must be replaced as they become dirty.
When a main filter is installed in the system, the pressure drops, so when buying, you must choose a device with minimal hydraulic loss, and also consider the use of a more powerful drainage pump.
Criterias of choice
When choosing a filter for cleaning well water, it should be understood that we are talking about the health of the whole family. Therefore, the main criterion for choosing one or another device is to use it to obtain clean tasty water that does not contain impurities harmful to humans.
Do fluid analysis from the well. It will show the degree of pollution or compliance with sanitary standards. Perhaps a filter jug is enough for your summer residence. Or, on the contrary, only a multi-stage cleaning system, including several filters at once, will allow you to get a clean drink.
Depending on the task, when choosing you should consider:
- How much drinking water does a family need daily? The filter jug will easily provide one or two people with clean water, but a large family will often have to change cartridges - it's quite expensive. Make the calculations: maybe the water filter from the well from the submersible pump will be cheaper in the long run, so it’s cheaper to immediately equip an autonomous system.
- The qualitative composition of the liquid determines the type of filter that should provide: softening, deferrization, removal of microorganisms or harmful gases.
- The cost of consumables that ensure the operation of the device.
- The optimal combination of price, quality. Availability of warranty service.
Do not save when buying cheap models of unknown brands. The filter should be made of high-quality materials that are resistant to aggressive water so that it itself does not become a source of pollution over time.
Installation Features
The type of product determines the degree of installation complexity and service features. The filter jug is delivered completely ready for use. They rinsed the flask, poured water into the receiver and after a while it was already possible to drink. Installing a flow-through filter nozzle on the tap also does not cause difficulties, it is carried out according to the instructions attached to the product.
Installation of a main or multi-stage membrane filter is quite complicated; knowledge and technical skills are required. Therefore, if you are not sure that install the device strictly according to the instructions, it is better to invite specialists.
Operation and maintenance
In order for the filter to purify water from the well to serve as long as possible, it must be used for its intended purpose, regularly serviced, and replaced cartridges. Do not use the cartridge after the warranty period: accumulated pathogens or harmful substances can cause diseases.
The selection of new efficient models reduces maintenance time and provides significant savings on consumables. For example, when choosing a main filter, it is worth giving preference to a self-washing model, which does not require constant attention and does not need to be replaced with cartridges.
