Filters on the faucet for water: types and features of choice

Drinking tap water without boiling or a cleaning system is associated with great risks. The ecological state of the environment does not allow us to drink water not only from open sources, but also that which enters our homes from filtering stations.

Active chlorination affects a number of microflora, but chlorine is harmful in itself: it cannot clean the liquid from heavy metals, cadmium, colloidal iron and other impurities.

Cleaning systems come in many varieties. The simplest of them are mounted directly on the crane. About them will be discussed in our article.

Filters designed for mounting on a crane, have their pros and cons.

Considering the positive moments, it can be noted:

• compactness of the device;
• mobility: the filter is easy to install, and also easy to remove and take with you, for example, on a trip;
• No special tools are needed for installation: the cleaner is installed on almost any mixer or faucet;
• the working resource from 1500 to 3000 liters gives the chance for a long time not to change cartridges;
• there is no need for tapping into the plumbing system;
• the ability to soften water;
• acceptable price.

The disadvantages include a lower degree of purification than the filters installed under the sink.

The variety of filters makes the choice more diverse, but at the same time complicates it. You should carefully understand the types of products to understand which filter is desired in each case.

Models are divided by function, location, method and degree of purification, the volume of water to be purified. They are removable, permanent, flow, desktop and others.

• Removable. It is made in the form of nozzles on the crane. It is used for drinking water.To wash the dishes, the device is removed. Some models are equipped with a special valve that is enough to switch so that water does not flow through the cartridge. The quality of the liquid, obtained in a similar way, is close to the work of jug filters. Cartridge life is moderate.
• Constant. This filter is mounted on the mixer. It has a diverter - a special switch, with the help of which water is directed through the cartridges, which allows washing dishes with ordinary running water and saving a cleaning resource.

• Desktop. Benchtop cleaning systems are connected to the faucet with a flexible hose using an adapter. The bulk module is capable of filtering a liquid qualitatively, cleansing it qualitatively from harmful impurities. It has several degrees of purification.
• Wall. The kit is mounted on the wall and is connected to the water supply. Sometimes the system is equipped with an indicator indicating the need to change the cartridge.
• Flow through. The filter is installed under the sink, built into the water supply system and output to a separate tap or structure with a diverter. A multi-stage cleaning system (from 2 to 4 cartridges) is capable of holding mechanical and chemical impurities.The quality of cleaning exceeds the desktop system, but the disadvantages include the high cost of the filter and the periodic replacement of an expensive cleaning resource.

• Trunk. It is installed at the entrance to the apartment in front of the plumbing fixtures - right on the main pipe. It is applied to both cold and hot water. With it, you can protect household appliances (washing machine and dishwasher) from falling into the trash and lengthen the period of operation of appliances.
• Reverse osmosis. Expensive but effective filter models. No chemical reagents are used to clean the liquid. The filter is equipped with a thin-film membrane that allows only water molecules to pass through, the remaining impurities go down the drain.

Filters are classified by cartridge filling:

• Coal fillers contain extruded (activated) material. They are able to purify water from harmful impurities, remove odor and neutralize color.
• Mechanical have a polypropylene filling and are able to remove mechanical particles.
• Softening the filters contain Na-cationic resins, which helps remove heavy metals from the liquid.
• Iron reduction systems consist of backfills with calcite. This allows you to get rid of the taste and smell of iron, and the plumbing surface to protect against orange deposits.

• Nanofilters consist of a special membrane that can pass only water molecules.
• Capillary membrane made of tubes and designed for mechanical cleaning, while maintaining the mineral composition of the liquid. The thin work of the membranes makes it impossible to cope with more active contamination. Additionally, prefilters should be installed on poorly cleaned water pipes.
• Water salinity system installed on the filter with reverse osmosis, the work which deprives the liquid mineral components.

Before choosing a water purifier, you should understand what types of pollution it will have to work with and how much purified liquid it will take per hour.

The taste of water and its manifestations (taste of metal, odor, color, scale, sediment) can tellwhich filter is suitable for a particular kitchen: an increased percentage of salts leads to scale, so in this case you should select filters that soften the water; organic compounds change the smell and color of the liquid - a filter with a reverse osmosis system will help eliminate the problem. Having studied the types of cartridges described in the previous section, it is easy to choose the necessary model for your apartment.

Good ceramic or glass-filled plastic. Materials such as nickel, brass, bronze, and stainless steel may be involved in the manufacture of the product.

After examining the water pressure indicated in the product specification, you should compare it with the pressure available in the apartment. The amount of fluid that the filter is capable of operating is also taken into account: a small unit cannot cope with large volumes. It is better to choose the combined mixers., since it is not always possible to install an additional tap in the tight space under the sink. You can pay attention to the size of the storage tank under the sink. It is a storage facility for purified water.

Sometimes this water requires mineralization: it is enriched with the minerals of calcium, magnesium, sodium, necessary for a person. You can purchase filters with bioactivator: passing through a special bioceramic cartridge, the structure of water is restored, acquiring its natural forms of molecules. This fluid has a beneficial effect on the human body.

Ultraviolet has an additional bactericidal function, cleans water well and retains its mineral properties. Faucet nozzles are suitable for lightly soiled water pipes. They cope with a small amount of water, are affordable and easy to install. With these nozzles get drinking water, which is used for cooking.

When choosing a model for a crane, they also take into account the size and shape, the functionality and principle of operation, the design and installation method. The number of people in the family, the presence of children and the frequency of use of the device affects the purchase of a filter.

The presence of children involves the use of fluid with active cleaning, which can provide a reverse osmosis system. Imported filters are not always superior to domestic ones: they rely on the appearance, and only then on the content. In addition, Russian products are adapted to our water supply.

The filter valve has an additional channel through which the purified liquid flows. A special valve regulates the flow of treated water. The crane nozzle itself looks like a cylinder. The principle of its operation depends on the method of water treatment of the system, and there are only two of them: using an ion-exchange membrane or adsorption.

The adsorption method is quite simple. Its cartridges consist of a porous structure, which has a greater density than jug filters.The cleaner is designed for increased pressure, which ensures a stable quality of work. Harmful impurities, passing through the porous structure, linger in it.

The model with an ion-exchange membrane is more complicated. The liquid passes through the mesh and the flask with ion exchangers. With their help, water is purified from heavy metals, chloride compounds and some types of bacteria.

The filter capacity is designed to clean up to 1 liter of water per minute.but lower throughput ensures better filtering quality. The maximum resource output - up to 3000 liters.

Review the water filter on the mixer, see the following video.