Water filter installs and service – Shrewsbury, MA

There are many solutions available to address water quality issues experienced with Shrewsbury well or town water. Cartridge style water filters and whole house water filters will be reviewed in the balance of this write-up. Matching the right technology and sizing the system to meet the water usage demands of your home are important.  Additionally, a professionally plumbed system is paramount as well as maintenance of the system throughout the years. This will optimize the useful life and proper functioning of your new water filtration equipment.

WATER FILTER CARTRIDGES

Various types and sizes of filter cartridges with differentiating features are available to mechanically remove contaminants from the water. These filters do not work on removing dissolved impurities from the water as other technologies must be used for this purpose.

SEDIMENT FILTERS

SEDIMENT WATER FILTER CARTRIDGES, as their name implies, are for removing sediment (particulate matter) from the water supply. The micron rating of the filter is designed to remove particles at or greater than a specified size. Also, capacity in terms of how long the sediment filter will work before it is no longer able to remove sediment is important.

Specifying a micron rating that is too small, for example, may cause an unacceptable drop in water pressure.  A micron rating that is not small enough may produce less than optimal results in keeping sediment out of your water supply.  Sometimes trial and error becomes the route to determining what works best in your situation. Experienced water treatment professionals will know what will work best in different situations.

These filters are important because sediment can be abrasive to all of your water using appliances.   Additionally, it can negatively affect other types of water filtration or water softening equipment that you may have installed or are planning to install. Removing sediment is also a good step in providing better drinking water, although not the only step if a higher level of purity is desired.  (For more on high quality drinking water, see the link at http://reverse-osmosis-water-purification/.

CARBON FILTERS

CARBON WATER FILTER CARTRIDGES use activated carbon to remove chemicals (such as chlorine, volatile organics and others) and some bad tastes and odors from water. These filters are also components of reverse osmosis purification systems to remove chlorine from water prior to flowing to the systems’ membrane.   Membranes can be negatively affected by the chlorine. Water passes through activated carbon, which is porous, trapping certain particles that are attracted to the material in a process known as adsorption. At some point, adsorption capacity is exceeded and the filter must be changed in order to be effective. As with sediment water filters, the micron rating and size of the filter must be matched to the specific situation.

There are also other types of water filter cartridges for very specific purposes such as pH neutralizing, pipe protection and others. These may be introduced to you by your water treatment professional if your particular situation warrants them.

WHOLE HOUSE, POINT OF ENTRY WATER FILTERS

WATER SOFTENERS

A water softener is a type of whole house water filtration system that is designed for removing hard water minerals (magnesium & calcium) as well as dissolved iron and manganese from the water.  For water with high levels of iron or manganese (“the Stainers”), an “up-flow” water softener is recommended to prevent mineral build-up in the bottom of the water softener.  Also, high efficiency water softeners that are more efficient with both water and salt usage are preferred.

POINT OF ENTRY FILTERS

These systems do not require the frequency of change-outs that cartridge filters do and have the ability to automatically clean themselves.  This extends the life of the media inside the tank.  If your town supplied water is high in chlorine, a point of entry carbon water filter may make sense.  The larger capacity will last much longer and also remove more of the chlorine due to longer “contact time”.

In addition to the above, there are other types of systems to remove bad tastes, odors and sediment.   Starting with a water test will lead to the right approach.  For more on common bad odors & tastes in New England water supplies, see the link at http://bad-odor-taste-water/.

H2O Care is an established full service water filtration and testing organization, originally formed in 1989.  Offices are located in Stow, Middleton & Lakeville, MA).  See our published articles on common regional water problems in Water Technology Magazines at http://h2ocare/pub. Contact us at service@h2ocare.com or 800-539-1100.