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Although we are in the 21st century, currently there are still regions of the world where there is no public access network for clean water. That is why many times it is necessary to develop ways to make homemade water filters that can be used in these areas of the planet or, simply, because in your house, the water comes out with small impurities.
In the following Green Ecologist article we are going to talk to you about how to make a homemade drinking water filter so that you can make clean water in your own home.
What is a homemade water filter for?
Homemade water filters can simulate what happens in nature, where the water is filtered naturally by materials such as sand and gravel, and emanates cleanly through the springs.
For this reason, this type of filters use the mechanical action of these materials to eliminate the impurities that the water has and together with carbon and benign microorganisms, it is also possible eliminate pathogens harmful to our health, What Vibrio cholerae, bacteria that cause cholera. When going through these materials, if it is done correctly, the water is getting rid of its impurities, leaving at the end clean and suitable for consumption.
We recommend these other Green Ecologist articles to better understand the great importance of a water filter system to obtain drinking water: Diseases caused by polluted water and Causes and consequences of water pollution.
What is needed to make a homemade water filter - materials
It doesn't take many materials to make a water filter, all you need is the following:
- Large plastic container, bottle type, approximately one meter high.
- Gravel.
- Fine sand.
- Small and medium-sized stones, pebble type.
- Activated carbon.
- Natural cotton or polyfill (padding for cushions).
How to make a homemade sand, charcoal and stone water filter - steps
Take note of the steps to make a homemade water filter easily:
- The first step to the manufacture of our homemade water filter or home water purifier is to prepare the material that we are going to use, properly cleaning all material. The plastic container will be cleaned with water and soaps with antibacterial action, while the stones and sand will also be cleaned with water and stirred to remove impurities, without adding soap. The water container must be properly closed to be able to fill it with water and extract it, using an upper and lower stopcock, through which the water comes out free of impurities.
- Once the material is properly disinfected and cleaned, we will begin with the manufacture of the filter itself. This filter manufacturing process consists of alternate the layers of the different materials correctly ordered so that they fulfill their function. You can see the proper order in the next section.
- It can also be fitted with a transparent tube of the same height as the system, in its outlet from the bottom, so that we know the volume of water that is filtered in the system and if the volume of water is the same in the system. tube than in the filter, this would indicate that the manufacture of the filter is not adequate, while if the level is a little lower it is well manufactured. On the other hand, if the resulting water level is very low, it would indicate that the system is plugged. Although this tube is not necessary, it is ok to use it to see how the filter works.
Order of layers of materials to make a water purifier
Starting from the lower layers and working up to the upper ones, the order in which you must add the layers of material to make a purifier of water is as follows:
- Cotton or polyfill layer between 3 and 6 cm.
- Layer of medium-sized stones with a height of approximately 25 cm.
- Layer of small-sized stones with a height of approximately 12 cm.
- Gravel layer with a height of approximately 3 cm.
- Activated carbon layer with a height of approximately 3 cm. This layer greatly increases the filtering properties of the system.
- Gravel layer with a height of approximately 2 cm.
- Layer of fine sand with a height of approximately 6 cm.
- Gravel layer with a height of approximately 6 cm.
- Layer of small stones, pebble type, with a height of approximately 12 cm.
If you want to make it easier, take note of this another way to make a homemade filterTaking into account that the cotton must always be placed at the base, where the water will come out.
- Cotton.
- Activated carbon.
- Fine sand.
- Gross sand.
- Gravel or stones of medium or small size.
If you don't have many materials, the minimums to use are cotton and activated carbon or, instead of the latter, sand and gravel. When you have it ready, place the water on top and let it fall through the filter, so that the materials collect the particles that we want to filter and finally the clean water comes out through the bottom tap.
Home Water Filter Operation and Maintenance
The home water purifier operation it is based on the entry of water with impurities through the upper part, which passes through the various layers of the system, reaching the lower part of the system clean and free of impurities. With this filter it is possible to greatly clean impurities from the water that enters, but if it is manufactured to be used by a whole family, it should also have another container to store this water free of impurities.
Regarding filter maintenance, every 6 months roughly, it is convenient disassemble the filter to clean again sand, stones, gravel and substitute activated carbon, because over time, it loses its filtering properties. Also, if its use is intensive, we should do it before.
The necessary size of our filter can vary according to our needs, from a larger one if it is for a family to a smaller and simple one if it is for a specific moment, or it can even be complemented with a rainwater collection system.
Here below you can see a video of this entire process to make your own homemade water filter.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to make a homemade drinking water filter, we recommend that you enter our category of Crafts with recycled material.
