What do Whole of House Carbon Filters Remove?
Whole of house carbon filters effectively remove chlorine, trihalomethanes, chemical pollutants and associated tastes and odours from the water supply to the home. Carbon filters also reduce colour and turbidity, resulting in sparking fresh, sweet tasting water from every tap in the home.
Carbon filters have deep beds of activated carbon which is manufactured from a variety of organic substances such as coal, coconut and lignite through which the water flows. Activated carbon is carbon that has been heated to very high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to form millions of microscopic holes. The vastly increased surface area that results from the activation process substantially improves the chemicals removal efficiency of the carbon and increases filter life.
Backwashing
Filters require regular backwashing to flush accumulated sediment/ pollutants to drain. Regular backwashing will keep the carbon bed clean and ensure that the filter continues to operate to its optimum efficiency. Backwashing should be for 2- 5 minutes every 3-4 weeks and can be initiated either manually or automatically. Automatic models are preferred by most families and are usually set to backwash in the early hours of the morning when the filter is not in use.
Filters should be left in service even when the home empty as regular flushing also aids in preventing the formation of bacteria colonies that can form when water flow to the home is interrupted for long periods of time.
As contact time improves the effectiveness of chemicals removal, it is important to size the carbon filter to the flow rate to the home. Ie Higher flow rates will require a larger volume of carbon.
Our carbon filters are much like our water softeners in that we have automatic and manual models. The only difference is that the automatic models carry out a backwash process automatically. On the manual units, the backwash process must be carried out manually.
Choose a whole of house activated carbon filter or big blue carbon filter
For whole of house carbon filtration customers have a choice of a big blue carbon filter or a whole of house activated carbon filter.
The difference is, the activated carbon inside a whole of house carbon system does not require replacement on a 12-18 month basis like big blue cartridge filters do. Whilst the initial purchase price may be substantially higher than a big blue carbon filter, the ongoing costs to maintain the filter system is next to nothing. Activate carbon filter can also achieve higher flow rates.
