Installing a water filter under the sink

Water is a resource constantly in demand by humans in large quantities. With an average daily consumption of 3 liters daily, one person consumes more than 1 ton per year. Worn-out utility networks cause poor water quality, and this affects human health. Therefore, it has to be cleaned using special filters.

Requirements for the installation location of water filters

Installing filtration equipment will require a lot of space - placing it on the working surface of the table will be extremely inconvenient. An acceptable place to place water treatment equipment is under the sink. Internal dimensions allow you to install the required equipment close to the connected networks. The side surfaces of the shelves' walls allow you to rigidly attach the equipment to the furniture body.

The presence of valves or ball valves will speed up the installation of equipment, but the intended location of the filtration unit and storage tank should not block access to the shut-off valves for further maintenance.

ATTENTION! Intermediate horizontal shelves will interfere with the installation of water purification equipment.

Equipping the filter system with a storage tank will not allow using the space of single-leaf shelves less than 60 cm wide. With sizes of 50 or 40 cm, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of transferring the tank or set of filters to the cavity of the adjacent shelf.In order not to be mistaken in size, when choosing a filtration unit, you must first measure the free internal space under the sink. After that, feel free to purchase the selected equipment.

In the corner of a rectangular sink or next to a sink of any configuration, provide a place to install a purified water tap. After installation, it should be able to drain water into the sink and take in water with a convenient approach and use.

What types of water filters are there?

To bring the composition of water closer to the required standards, various types of purification equipment are used:

• jugs, with cartridges and nozzles for connecting to a tap and without;
• multi-stage flow units;
• filtration systems using reverse osmosis;
• installations using ultraviolet cleaning technologies.

Jug filters with replaceable filters do not require a permanent connection to the water supply. They are made of transparent plastic and installed on the working surface of the kitchen table. The disadvantage is that it is inconvenient to use, since it is necessary to fill the container in advance and there is not always enough purified volume of water for one-time consumer purposes. The advantage of such equipment is its low cost and ease of maintenance.

A multi-stage flow filter is manufactured in the form of:

• one container;
• several containers.

The first category of equipment is made in the form of a single vessel in which a multilayer filter is located, allowing the liquid to undergo several degrees of purification. The result is purification from suspended particles, salts and other harmful substances. Such designs are connected directly to the mixer tap as water is needed.There are varieties of models with a separate tap for purified water. The advantage of such designs is their low price and ease of maintenance. Has a small resource of use.

A multi-capacity flow filter is made in the form of three plastic vessels, each of which purifies water from certain components. The first stage of coarse filtration allows you to get rid of suspended particles. The second stage purifies the liquid from ammonium, iron and various salts. The third one removes chlorine and chemical compounds of organic substances that are harmful to humans. At the last stage, a fine carbon filter is used.

Such equipment uses the popular standard size of replaceable filtration cartridges 10 by 2.5 inches, which have a cleaning resource of up to 1600 liters. The equipment set includes a separate faucet for purified water, which is installed next to the mixer. The use of multi-stage filtration units has found wide application in everyday life and is in great demand. Ease of maintenance, sufficient resource and average price level are among the advantages of such structures.

A popular and effective method of water filtration is a multi-stage reverse osmosis system. The use of such high-tech equipment purifies water from mechanical, biological and chemical substances at the molecular level.

This equipment consists of a three-stage filter in which polypropylene and carbon cartridges perform preliminary cleaning. Then the water flows to membrane filters, the number of which is determined by the design of the installation.The membrane system allows you to purify water to a spring state, and then enrich it with organic compounds necessary for humans. Thanks to the use of this technology, the water quality is commensurate with melted glaciers. The equipment is equipped with a separate tap for supplying purified water.

The advantage of these filtration units is the high quality of cleaning and the increased service life of replaceable cartridges up to 5000 liters (depending on the manufacturer). The disadvantage of such equipment is its high cost and high maintenance. The cost of replaceable membrane cartridges significantly exceeds the price of propylene filters.

REFERENCE! The latest purification method developed by American scientists involves exposing water to ultraviolet rays, which can destroy harmful substances of various origins. UV lamps are used as a filter element, the surface of which must be periodically cleaned of deposits.

This method is ineffective for clearing cloudy liquids because they are not translucent. Low cost and simplicity of design are the advantages of this design. The disadvantage is the need for frequent cleaning of the surface of the lamps for high-quality operation of the equipment.

How to install a filter under the sink

Having assessed the possibility of installing filtration equipment under the sink, we will prepare the following installation tool:

• drill with a set of drills;
• a set of wrenches, including tubular wrenches and a screwdriver;
• adjustable wrench;
• sealing fum tape or flax with sealant.

Having made sure that the equipment is in accordance with the equipment, they begin to carry out the work step by step.

1. First of all, you need to turn off the water supply and relieve the residual pressure by opening the mixer tap.
2. Then select a place to install a purified water tap and drill a hole for its installation.
3. Using decorative washers, rubber gaskets and a lock nut, mount the faucet to the surface of the sink.
4. Unscrew the cold water supply hose. In its place, a water intake unit for connecting to the filter system is installed. Before installation, you need to make sure that there are rubber gaskets.
5. After installing the unit, connect a standard cold water hose to the tee in which the supply is shut off to check the tightness of the connections for leaks.
6. Filtration equipment and a storage tank are placed under the sink in such a way as not to restrict access to taps and connections. Using self-tapping screws, the equipment is attached to the side walls of the furniture; the storage tank can be installed without additional fasteners.
7. A hole is drilled in the sink drain pipe to connect the filtration unit to the drainage system. Using a special clamp, the house sewer system is connected to the required pipes of the membrane element.
8. In accordance with the instructions for the filtration equipment, connect all pipes to the required fittings.
9. Open the tap at the water intake unit, allow air to escape from the system and check the connections for leaks. If deficiencies are found, they are eliminated.
10. The equipment is washed for 10–15 minutes, and after that it is used with pleasure.

IMPORTANT! The water system tap must be left under the sink, and the filtration equipment unit must be installed after the valve for ease of further operation.

Features of using water filters

In pursuit of pure life-giving moisture, the consumer can use imported spring or well water. Providing housing with an external source of water will require a considerable amount of effort to collect it, deliver it to the house and bring it into the apartment. The use of filtration equipment will completely relieve the consumer from the difficulties of such supply and provide a high-quality environmentally friendly product.

An important aspect of using apartment cleaning systems is the regular need to replace cartridges. The service life and filtration capacity life of replacement elements are indicated by the manufacturer. To constantly maintain the required quality of the water used, monitor the amount of purified liquid used. Modern models of recent years are equipped with a special meter, but this option is used on expensive installations.

After installing the filter, the consumer can use drinking water whenever and as much as he wishes.