Bob NH
In the Trades
Iron filters are backwashable filters as are water softeners. In line cartridge filters are not. You have to change the cartridges often depending on your water. I say again. These filters in my opinion are useless.
bob...
Bob (Speedbump) doesn't like cartridge filters.
They are effective in removing what they are designed to remove. If you have to change the filters it is because they are removing what they are supposed to remove. If you are changing them too often it is because the filter is too small for the flow rate (not enough filter area) or for the dirt load in the water. If there are too many very fine particles you must either decide to not remove the very fine particles or add more filter area.
Cartridge filters are widely used in industry because they are effective in doing what they are supposed to do, which is to remove the stuff they are rated to remove.
Backwashable sand-type filters are rarely used in the process industry because they don't remove small particles of the size that the industries want removed from their product. Backwashable sand-type filters are widely used in large-scale water treatment because they are very effective when special chemicals are added to the water to cause the small particles to coagulate so they can be collected in the filter bed. The same kinds of chemicals are added to swimming pools so that the sand filters will be effective. It is not practical to add such chemicals to small residential systems.
An ion exchange water softener does some filtering but it is a poor device for removing suspended solids (dirt). Any particle removal is incidental to its ion-exchange function.
I am just trying to determine the best way to filter the water at my sink (the main faucet, not the faucet for R/O should I go that route). . . .
I don't mean to sound confusing...I just want advice on how to best filter the water that is not being softened. These two lines (sink & fridge) will run straight to main pipe after the holding tank (or possibly to iron filter/sandtrap)if they are installed). . .
If you want to do the best job of just filtering (removing sediment from) water that goes to the sink and fridge, then get a cartridge filter. Check the link to Harmsco that I posted above (my post # 10). You can get whatever size and micron rating you want or need. Send me a PM if you need help finding what yo need.
If you ever get a Reverse Osmosis system it will be necessary to filter the water ahead of the RO system, but the system will probably have its own filter.