I am always blown away when I see a blocked up water filter. When you look at a blocked cartridge, it’s a horrible sight because it’s usually covered in all sorts of gunk.
If how it looks isn’t off-putting enough, just think of all that sediment ending up in your home or inside your body.
Nobody wants that!
When we see water filters that are blocked up with sediment, it's because cartridges haven't been changed for years and the sediment that builds up outside of the cartridge gets a life of its own—all sorts of things start growing in it.
Sediment is not good for your home or your body.
Sediment Pollution
What is the sediment in our water?
Sediment is a suspended solid. It can be:
- sand,
- silt,
- clay,
- soil,
- algae and other organic matter,
- rust from metal any other solid that has broken down enough to suspend in solid-like microplastics or other pollution.
Where does the sediment in our water come from?
SEDIMENT WATER POLLUTION
It all depends on your water source.
There are four primary water sources, treated town city scheme water, and untreated water that comes in 3 forms;
1. Rainwater
2. Above groundwater from dams, lakes, streams and rivers
3. Below groundwater - bore water.
TOWN/CITY WATER SEDIMENT
If you are in the city, sediment comes from your water source (dam), the water pipe network to your water treatment plant, the water pipe distribution network that brings the water to your home and the pipes within your home.
Water Treatment Plants can't remove all the sediment from the water due to the volume of water it must treat. Once it leaves the water treatment plant, the water picks up sediment in the water pipe distribution network.
These pipe networks are not sparkling clean on the inside. In fact, they have to flush the water distribution pipes regularly to clean and scour out the sediment and other debris in the water pipe network.
We’ve had customers who had to change their cartridges as a result of this flushing because of all the sediment that blocked up their sediment cartridge.
As annoying as that is, it's better to have a sediment cartridge otherwise your other cartridges get ruined.
If you don't have a water filter, all that sediment goes into your home and body.
RAINWATER SEDIMENT
Rainwater is collected on roofs and stored in tanks through a gutter system. The debris that lands on the roof or the breakdown off the actual roof or gutter material turns into sediment that will collect in your tank. This can consist of leaves, twigs, branches or the material in your roof/gutters (metal flashings like lead, ceramic pieces, or rust.)
DAM/LAKE/STREAM/RIVER SEDIMENT
Above ground water sources collect all the same sediment that a town or city dam can collect for city scheme water. The difference is, you have to do the sediment removal. (We can help you with that!) Water treatment plants only use massive coagulation systems to remove large amounts of sediment from the water before disinfecting it, but the job is only half done.
BORE & WELL SEDIMENT
Below groundwater sources can be full of sand, silt, clay and soil. These water sources are caverns under the ground where all of these types of sediment will fall into.
My Water Filter recommends sediment protection
7 REASONS YOU SHOULD USE A SEDIMENT FILTER AND WHY WE RECOMMEND IT.
- Water free from sediment is more enjoyable to drink. Sediment can change the taste and experience of your water.
- Sediment will block up your water filter cartridges and make them less effective at removing contaminants.
- Sediment can slow your flow rate down, which is unnecessarily frustrating.
- Sediment cartridges are very cheap and will save you money in the long term. If you are planning to use suitable quality cartridges for life, the cost of having one blockage would be worth five years of sediment protection.
- Sediment is not healthy, and you shouldn't drink it. No one asks for extra sediment in their water.
- Sediment can fill up your home appliances and make them less effective. (Hot water system, washing machine etc.)
- If you are using UV, sediment can block the UV light from doing its job and killing bacteria.
Sediment Protection
If you are thinking of getting a new water filter or new water filter cartridges, most water filters come with the option of getting sediment protection. If you have trouble finding what you are looking for, you can contact us via email, live chat, or phone and we are happy to help.
To see our range of sediment cartridges click here.