Water treatment systems: installation of water treatment equipment for the home

Recommendation points

• Reverse osmosis is not a panacea
• Fighting impurities
• Mechanical water treatment
• Reduced hardness and mineralization
• Disinfection of water
• Improvement of organoleptic characteristics
• Conclusion

In the article we will reveal in more detail the issue of preparing drinking water for ourselves and our households. You can navigate the variety of equipment on the market and make a choice in accordance with the type of source and the original quality of the liquid.

Remember that before drawing up a set of equipment for your own water treatment plant, it is necessary to take water for its analysis in the nearest laboratory accredited by the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance services. As a result, you will receive a list of more than thirty indicators, each of which reflects the content of certain impurities in the water..

Reverse osmosis is not a panacea

It seems a logical question: why analyze water and compose a unique filtration and purification system, if only one osmotic membrane is guaranteed and completely deprives water of all impurities? Nevertheless, reverse osmosis plants have their own disadvantages, most of which are expressed in low productivity, high equipment complexity and high cost..

In addition, it is not fully established whether the water purified by reverse osmosis is completely harmless when consumed. In addition, why filter water for technical needs, consuming the resource of the membrane?

The optimal place for such installations is a separate point of water intake for drinking, while water, previously purified by more primitive methods, passes through the rest of the water supply.

Fighting impurities

Anything in a liquid other than water is called impurities. By their nature, they can be dissolved ions or dry residue of various types. The essence of proper water preparation is to deal with different types of pollution only with those means that are specially designed for this..

It is very important to remember that most water treatment plants have a strictly limited service life of filter elements. Therefore, excessively scrupulous cleaning can be as unjustified as its complete absence..

Absolutely the entire plumbing system is very vulnerable to solid microscopic particles and all kinds of chemical compounds that are not dissolved in water. Even on polypropylene pipes, plaque can form, which narrows their throughput, not to mention household appliances in which water is heated with the accompanying formation of scale. Therefore, at the inlet from the mains, coarse mechanical cleaning systems are installed, at least a mesh filter with a serviced core.

All other points of water intake are served individually or grouped according to common characteristics. To flush the toilet or water the lawn, the water is filtered at will. The kitchen sink, bath, shower and other washstands must be connected through a disinfection and fine filtration system. The drinking water tap is optimally connected through the above-mentioned reverse osmosis unit. Naturally, expensive equipment should be installed only when clearly necessary..

Mechanical water treatment

All kinds of mechanical filters will help to clear the water from the dry residue. Their main parameter – cell size – can range from one to several tens of microns. Such filters effectively cope with the retention of particles of silt, sand, rust and large multicellular organisms.

We can say that the installation of such a filter at the entrance to the house must be performed unconditionally. But with the mesh size, everything is not so obvious. It is possible to filter water until the smallest particles are removed, but such an installation will be low-efficient, cause difficulties in maintenance and replacement of consumable elements.

By the way, some modern filters have the function of regeneration and backwashing. When the operational regulations are fulfilled, such devices serve for 20-30 years. In modern versions of filters, the issues of automatic flushing are solved, as well as the nuance of the mass release of litter from the main wire, which occurs when water is supplied by the hour.

Reduced hardness and mineralization

You can protect water heaters from scale in different ways. The most obvious one is to soften water with chemical reagents that convert dissolved salts into a dry precipitate that can be easily removed by fine filtration systems or not removed at all if the water has a purely technical purpose..

If you plan to use water for drinking, it is better to pay attention to water cationization devices. This softening method is completely safe, but it requires some energy consumption and does not have a high productivity..

Also suitable for human consumption is water purified by filters on ion exchange resins. Their resource is limited, but such installations can work completely autonomously for a long time..

Disinfection of water

One of the most important indicators in the results of water analysis is the level of bacteriological contamination. Under normal conditions, microorganisms contained in tap water are harmless to humans, however, pathogenic bacteria may occasionally appear, especially when water is taken from surface or geothermal sources.

All water, with which a person will have any contact, should be disinfected. This applies to water for showering, washing, swimming pools (in this case, the consumption of chlorination products is reduced), drinking, cleaning and cooking.

Almost all installations are characterized by their own energy consumption. Disinfection can be carried out by intense ultraviolet radiation or by ionization. Such installations are characterized by low productivity, because for complete disinfection, water must be processed for a long time..

An alternative solution to the problem is offered by devices of the reagent principle. With the help of a special dispenser, disinfecting substances are introduced into the water in a concentration small enough so as not to harm a person.

Improvement of organoleptic characteristics

A very common case – according to all parameters of laboratory analysis, water corresponds to normal, but has a repulsive taste, color or smell. This problem can be easily solved with the help of absorption plants..

Their simplest example is carbon filters, which, in addition to mechanical cleaning, pass water through activated carbon granules. This helps to eliminate most active chemical impurities..

Instead of conventional activated carbon, more effective formulations with a long service life can also be used. One of the best indicators is coconut charcoal, among other things, it also provides the possibility of regeneration and washing. Such installations can operate in a fully automatic mode..

Remember that sorption filters not only eliminate unpleasant tastes and odors, but also remove most of the compounds poisonous to the body, such as free chlorine or arsenic, from the water..

Sorption carbon filter: 1 – control unit; 2 – filter housing; 3 – a water-lifting tube; 4 – activated carbon; 5 – lower distribution system; 6 – gravel bed

Conclusion

It is best to design a water purification complex at the stage of laying rough plumbing. This will not only ensure maximum functionality and device life, but also reduce piping and connections..