Well sediment filter

Sherrie S
by Sherrie S
I have been buying 5 micron filters for the well water I use for the Koi pond. I have city water indoors.
My friend has a well for everything indoor and outdoor. No city water. Would a 1 micron filter be better for him or would it cause a slowdown on water output like a shower?
  2 answers
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Mar 31, 2012
    A filter system needs to be tailored to the soiling load and the desired end result. If you want to provide a basic level of protection for every thing a 5 micron may be just fine...with replacements installed as needed based on how quickly they "load". As a filter become soiled it will cause a drop in flow and cause some additional back pressure. These "residential" filters fall into a class called "depth" filters where the 5 micron pore size is nominal...the 5 micron is the average size of what gets trapped..."absolute" filters by comparison have a direct size exclusion and nothing bigger gets through...these tend to load more quickly and require more frequent replacements. The "absolute" types are normally used in industry specific applications and do not enter into the residential realm. I often call these basic filters "chunk" filters as they tend to remove the gross levels of contaminates. For "clean" drinking water people often supplement these "whole house" type systems with a point of use drinking water filter or reverse osmosis type system. It all depends on how much you want to spend and what your end target is. It would be entirely possible to filter domestic water to a "sterile" condition using 0.22 micron "absolute" filters...but the cost would be very high and that level of water quality is not needed for normal drinking.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 31, 2012
    KMS, thank you. I have reverse osmosis for my city water. I only use the 5 micron filters for my Koi pond. After seeing my pond filters I would never drink that water. However, I think you answered the question for my friend. He has some type of filtering for the well & also uses the 5 micron filters for his home dishwasher, laundry & showers. He probaby drinks bottled water.