I recieved a call from a man in Saskatchewan asking me about a home water filter he wanted to buy for his parents. Normally, I don’t spend a lot of time in the home filtration arena although I enjoy reviewing technology and have interest in how this industry matures and advances. Truly, a lot of sound water engineering principles get left behind when it comes to home equipment. Sadly, the folks promoting, selling and installing home water systems generally have little or no training other than reading the
product literature.
That said, I decided to start an occasional series of tips for home water treatment systems. Today’s lesson is about filter housings. Home water technology companies, like Hahn, for example, like to use clear plastic filter housings. The feeling is that clear housings allow you to see if the filter is dirty or plugged. RED FLAG! Avoid clear plastic filter housings for home water systems. The reason is simple. Organisms, including bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, algae, yeast and molds are largely photosynthetic. Light stimulates them to grow and proliferate. If you have clear plastic filter housings in your system, do yourself a favor and replace them with opaque housings. This will help keep the growth of undesirable organisms down to a minimum.
