How do natural filters remove unwanted particles from water?
Natural water filters, such as carbon filters, have been in use for thousands of years.
Though the ancient art of water filtration dates back to 2000 BC for humans, Mother Nature has been filtering toxins with sand, oysters, and minerals for even longer.
But what does “natural” actually mean when it comes to water filters?
Natural filters, such as carbon filters, reverse osmosis systems, and UV filtration, all filter out contaminants such as pesticides, hydrogen sulfide, metals, aqueous salts, bacteria, and microorganisms without the use of harmful chemicals or materials.
6 Natural Water Filters
Filters such as sand, oysters, charcoal, and minerals naturally filter the earth’s water supply. A few are even effective at removing unwanted particles from drinking water.
1. Sand
Sand has been used as a natural water filter for thousands of years. Using sand to filter drinking water dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times.
These days, sand is used in under-the-sink filtration and in swimming pool filters. As the water is filtered, solid particles (such as algae) are trapped in the sand.
2. Oysters
Oysters have their own water filtration system, too! These little mollusks can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.
The Billion Oyster Project has been cleaning up the polluted water of the New York Harbor through oyster filtration — and in turn, restoring a depleted population of oysters.
Will oysters ever become popular in home filtration? Only time will tell!
3. Charcoal & Carbon Filters
One of the most common natural water filters is activated carbon.
Activated carbon filters volatile organic compounds, pesticides, nitrates, hydrogen sulfide, metals, bacteria, and viruses through a process called adsorption.
The carbon bonds with unwanted chemicals, pulling them out of the water.
4. Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) filters remove PFAS or “forever chemicals” from water as well as contaminants such as metal ions and aqueous salts.
Forever chemicals are synthetic compounds that the human body can’t break down. They seep into the water supply from landfills, factories, and industrial facilities. These chemicals may cause serious health issues that can damage reproductive organs, lungs, and other major organs.
RO forces water through a semipermeable membrane, removing these contaminants.
5. UV Filters
Ultraviolet light is another effective way to filter contaminants, such as bacteria and organisms, from drinking water.
Like other types of filtration, water is passed through the filter (in this case the UV light). The light disrupts the genetic code of bacteria and organisms, making it impossible for them to reproduce.
6. Minerals
Mother Nature has been filtering our water with minerals for thousands of years, and humans have been using minerals to filter water for centuries.
Man-made water filtration systems have been shown to remove harmful particles from drinking water; however, they may also filter minerals our bodies need and can’t make on their own, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, and iron.
Minerals such as Maifan stone not only remove mercury, lead, calcium, and other heavy metals from water, but also add nutrients back into drinking water.
Maifan stone can also neutralize the pH balance of acidic water.
Wisewell’s Natural Water Filters
Wisewell’s water filtration system uses four types of natural water filtration methods, including carbon filters, RO filtration, a Maifan stone mineral filter, and UV light.
Many water filters (including whole-house filtration systems) only use one type of filter or filter out vital minerals that our bodies can’t make on their own.
Wisewell’s natural water filtration system, called “Full Spectrum Filtration,” removes unwanted particles, such as chlorine, sediment, and volatile organic compounds. It also adds back minerals that have been removed from your drinking water due to both public water filtration and home filtration.
Full Spectrum Filtration works by combining multiple natural filter processes: Carbon filters and RO filtration remove harmful particles, UV filtration kills bacteria and organisms, and Maifan stone filters remove additional unwanted particles and replenish minerals.
Get natural filtration for $699. No installation is necessary; just plug in your Wisewell water filtration system and get clean drinking water.
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Natural Materials Used for Water Filtration: https://sciencing.com/natural-materials-used-water-filtration-5371122.html
Billion Oyster Project: https://www.billionoysterproject.org/
How to Destroy "Forever Chemicals": https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-destroy-forever-chemicals/
