Coronavirus is 120nm, or 0.12µ. Virtually impossible to filter. Masks and such are meant to catch the aerosol droplets the virus rides in, not so much the naked virus.Hey there,
Wonder how effective these really are.
I see some of them go down to 0.1 micron.
I think typical viruses go down to only 10 microns.
Your kitchen's cold-side tap is probably not softened, to avoid the sodium in favor of the calcium. I think that might even be code most places.Me, I'm on well water and except for a softening system, I drink it from the tap.
Yes, and i know some filters go down to 0.1 micron, but i wasnt specifically trying to target viruses just general water filtering unless it did turn out to be able to filter viruses too. It si good to know it is hard to filter though.Coronavirus is 120nm, or 0.12µ. Virtually impossible to filter. Masks and such are meant to catch the aerosol droplets the virus rides in, not so much the naked virus.
[edit] Filtration is possible with ultrafiltration membranes such as reverse osmosis.
Boiling might make filtration harder if lime scale comes out after boiling. It will probably foul a filter. I suppose you could decant off of the stuff that comes out of solution, leaving it behind.Yes, and i know some filters go down to 0.1 micron, but i wasnt specifically trying to target viruses just general water filtering unless it did turn out to be able to filter viruses too. It si good to know it is hard to filter though.
Also, boiling after the filtering would help with the viruses which i might consider doing too.
For some reason i wasnt being notified of replies in this thread or else i missed them somehow i happened to look in the section with this thread that's how i knew there were replies now.
Hi, i meant boil after filtering.Boiling might make filtration harder if lime scale comes out after boiling. It will probably foul a filter. I suppose you could decant off of the stuff that comes out of solution, leaving it behind.
Well i think we have sediment. I might get a water quality tester.Al, if you are not on a private well your water is already "sanitized" with chlorine and filtered typically through sand beds at the municipal water treatment plant. Or do like my wife does and buy bottled water (she didn't grow up drinking Coastal Georgia well water and doesn't like the taste). My water from the well is softened to remove calcium and iron, fine mesh screened at the well pickup point (which is ~800 feet above the end of the well casing so much settles out by gravity if somehow sucked up the casing), filtered (don't remember the micron size but very small and backflushed regularly), aerated (to remove sulfur dioxide gas which, if you weren't brought up drinking it, is pretty nasty and smells like rotting eggs) before it comes into the house. Yearly or so we will pour some Clorox into the well to kill any wee beasties that may grow there. And the 4" PVC well casing is capped, albeit not airtight, to keep critters, leaves and such out. They do make filters that you screw into your kitchen sink spout also or, as my daughter uses, a gravity filtration tank on the kitchen counter that holds ~3 gallons or gallon-sized ones for the refrigerator.
Here in GA, the County Extension Agent (Agriculture Specialist) provides them for free. Or Culligan Salesmen but you'll have to listen to their high-pressure sales pitch.I might get a water quality tester.
I installed a whole-house water filter years ago. It's a cheap way to dramatically improve the life of your plumbing and fixtures. My water softener used to need service every few months because it would become fouled. Now it goes and goes. I'm thinking I may have not opened it up even once in the years since putting in the filter.Well i think we have sediment. I might get a water quality tester.
No way. Not remotely worth the bother when a brand new one is nearly free and a ten minute job.You don't backflush the filters?
My housing is clear also, and I recommend that. The filter won't be white for more than a few minutes, so it looks about the same throughout its life. But in my case I can watch the sludge layer on the bottom grow over time.Ours last a couple of years but they are 12-15" long and ~8" dia. and NOT free. They're in a clear plastic housing so you can see if they are accumulating anything.
Actually the Ohm meter thing works pretty well. The readings always come in at around 200k Ohms.You don't backflush the filters? Ours last a couple of years but they are 12-15" long and ~8" dia. and NOT free. They're in a clear plastic housing so you can see if they are accumulating anything. The Zeolite bed of the softener gets backflushed each time it regenerates. I had a Zeolite spun glass pressurized tank develop a leak after 30 years but never had one clog? The salt tank accumulates some solids left behind from the salt after it dissolves into brine but not much.
@MrAl I wouldn't expect much from an Ohm meter. Pure water is an insulator and so is calcium. The minuscule quantity of iron would be a very tiny blip on a very precise meter. The big concern over water quality these days is from dissolved waste chemicals and heavy metals that require lab testing probably using electrospectrography. And at our age, if it hasn't bothered us by now it ain't gonna. Slow slow accumulation affecting mostly developing children.
Correct, anything that comes out on a filter is not contributing to conductance. Molecules need to be dissolved and ionic to conduct.Maybe it just gets out chemicals that are not readable via conductance measurements.
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