DIY water filters

Filters help get rid of the following substances and manifestations:

• chlorine impurities;
• nitrates;
• sulfates;
• nitrites;
• pesticides;
• odors
• coloration;
• turbidity;

Unfortunately, this method of purification is also not ideal, it has features and limitations in use.

Do it yourself

Features of manufacturing simple filters - in the layering of materials with various cleaning properties. Each new level contributes to the additional removal of impurities, impurities or certain properties of water.

To build a filter with your own hands, you can use available fillers and simple devices.

In domestic conditions, for a home-made filter as cleaners you will need:

1. Paper napkins, gauze or wide bandage. Water from a well or water supply system is perfectly cleaned with their help, but the fragility of materials is the reason for their frequent replacement.
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2. Thin cotton, canvas or linen, cotton wool more durable in composition, last longer.
3. Charcoal, which can be purchased at the store or made by yourself.
4. Silver coin or other small silver items.
5. Small pebbles, gravel, clean river or quartz sand, previously washed and calcined for disinfection.

As containers for unfiltered and purified water, you can use a plastic or enamel bucket with a lid and a plastic five-liter bottle. The volume of utensils used can be increased or decreased depending on the need.

Walkthrough:

1. Step 1. In the lid of the bucket for clean water, in the center, you need to cut a hole for screwing a plastic bottle with its neck down. The fit of the two elements must be tight. The cut edges should be treated with sandpaper or a file, and 5-6 punctures should be made in the cork of the bottle to drain the purified liquid.
2. Step 2 Preparing a tank for water purification. If a five-liter or other plastic bottle is used, it is necessary to carefully cut the bottom to fill the vessel with filtration materials and insert it into the opening of the bucket lid.
3. Step 3 In place of the neck, a thin fabric or cotton wool is laid on the inside from the inside with a snug fit to the walls. From above, it is necessary to fill in 5-6 cm high previously prepared crushed coal and slightly compact it with a heavy object. This is the main filtering component, its capabilities are calculated approximately from the ratio: 1 tablet of activated carbon per 1 liter of liquid.
4. Step 4 On top of the coal layer, gauze or a bandage should be laid out in several layers, carefully closing the previous level, and on top place silver pieces or coins for bacterial cleaning.
5. Step 5 Place a layer of clean sand with a height of 2-2.5 cm and make sure that it does not leak to the coals. Mixing may cause the filter to clog. Sand enhances filtration without letting in foreign particles. From above, you need to put gauze in 4-5 layers so that there is no funnel when filling the tank with water.
6. Step 6 You can start test cleaning after filling the tank. If the design is determined for continuous water supply, it is important to monitor the pressure, which should not exceed the filter capacity.

The performance and quality of filter cleaning depends on the number of layers and their density. It is considered the best indicator for an hour to clear 2-3 liters of water.

It should be noted that purchased filters essentially have the same cleaning properties, even if instead of a charcoal filler, ground coconut shell that has undergone pyrolysis is used.

It is possible to cook coal yourself by calcining hardwood in a fire placed in metal utensils. Ephedra cannot be used because of the large amount of resins contained in them. Birch logs are ideal for making activated carbon.

Filtration layers should fill approximately 2/3 of the total volume of the bottle, and 1/3 is left for unfiltered water.

DIY flow filter

Manufacture water filter possible provided that the water is supplied with a specific and stable pressure. The main purpose of such installations is the removal of chlorine odors, additional cleaning and disinfection.

To assemble the structure, you will need three flasks of the same size, a filler and ¼ inch nipple adapters, which have the direction of the carrier. The filter material may be coal.

The flasks must be connected in series, the middle should be filled with filter material. The filter is connected to the water supply system by a tee. The joints are carefully sealed to prevent leaks.

It should be remembered that over time, the filters themselves become dirty too. Cloth, cotton and paper cleaners need to be changed as they wear. Sand can be washed with reverse water flow until the water is completely clear.

The carbon layer must be replaced due to infection by bacteria. The maximum filtration period for sand is 3 months, and for coal - 1 month.

Overview of Filtration Materials

Water purification is carried out through porous layers of materials that can be replaced as necessary or in connection with the tasks. To determine the quality level of filtration, water should be sent for laboratory analysis. Sometimes it is enough in terms of taste characteristics and visually feel the difference between the source and purified water.

The main list of filtration materials is traditional: cotton wool, gauze, cotton fabrics, pebbles, coal. But sometimes the question arises, what to prefer and why?

River or quartz sand

In order to mechanically purify water from impurities and contaminants, sand is used. Quartz is considered the most suitable because of the suitable shape of its grains and mineral purity. The particle angularity resists sticking; this property is important for filtration. Quartz sand is finely dispersed, which enhances the quality of water treatment.

Charcoal or Coconut Shell

The use of coal is associated with the purification of pesticides, traces of chlorine, ozone, organics due to the adsorption process. Efficiency is achieved subject to the porosity of the structure.

If coal was produced by the factory method, then technology ensures the presence of pores in charcoal. The independent production of coal does not lead to the desired stage, although there will still be a certain porosity.

The best cleaning structure of coal is achieved by charring a coconut shell or plum seeds, apricots or peaches.

Lutrasil

An additional component for the filter, recently appeared on the modern market. The presence of special fibers made of polypropylene in it provides high-quality cleaning from impurities and substances harmful to humans.

Principle of operation

Water passes through several layers of the filter, sequentially freed from various contaminants. The more levels, the higher the degree of purification. Fillers can be different, each has its own filtration features and capabilities.

First stage of cleaning - This is a mechanical screening through porous materials of particles of rust, sand, clay, any debris that may be contained in water. Thus, transparency is achieved, giving an external appearance of purity.

Subsequent filters can change the color, taste, smell of water, change its chemical composition.

In the role of cleaning layers apply:

• tissue or gauze;
• cotton wool;
• paper napkins;
• quartz sand;
• charcoal;
• lutraxil;

To carry out effective water filtration, you need to know its features, composition. This information helps in filter selection. For example, when receiving water from an artesian well, a lot of iron and hardness salts get into the drilling process. Accordingly, the cleaning should be aimed at removing the iron content of the selected reagent.

Advantages and disadvantages

Cleaning constructions made independently from improvised means and materials are quite inexpensive, convenient and affordable. This is their great advantage over purchased filters, installations that do not take root at all in country houses, cottages because of the cost and unacceptable conditions for use.

Any ordinary person can make the simplest and at the same time effective filter with the help of household tools and devices: a knife, a plastic bottle, a bucket, cloth and other materials.

The disadvantages of home-made designs for traditional filtration are:

1. Inability to retain pollution and high level infection. Filter pores can only partially resist harmful substances.
2. A typical cleaner problem in the internal accumulation of contaminating microorganisms, the concentration of which increases with the use of filtration materials. The lack of self-cleaning affects the operation of the entire system as a whole. But a solution to this problem has not yet been found.
3. Trace elements needed by a person in particles, commensurate with the size of the contaminants, are also retained by filters and demineralize the water.