Frequently Asked Questions
Q. "Can these filters be used with cold water?"
A. Yes, these filters are designed to work with hot or cold water.
Q. "What is a micron rating?"
A. The average size of the openings between pieces of the filter media are represented in microns. For example, a 40-micron filter has larger openings than a 5-micron filter. Consequently, the 40-micron filter element will let larger particles pass through the filter than the 5-micron element.
Q. "Someone told me I should lube a replacement o-ring; is this true and why?"
A. O-rings, if not correctly lubed, can expand, and sometimes stick, to a filter housing, which can make it difficult (sometimes nearly impossible) to open the housing. To prevent this, simply prepare the replacement o-ring by applying enough silicone lubricant to give it a nice gloss all over before installing. Petroleum lubricants or faucet grease are not recommended as they typically cause o-rings to swell.
Q. "My water has been leaving Blue/Green stains. How can I filter this out?"
A. Green or blue stains are usually a result of a combination of copper pipe and acidic water. This needs to be treated with an acid neutralizer. We always recommend you have your water tested locally.
Q. "I have a lot of sand in my water. Will your sediment filters take out most of the sand?"
A. Yes, they will probably take the sand out but we want satisfied customers for the long haul. Most brands of sediment filters will take out sand but it clogs the filters very fast. We want to warn you that you would probably have to buy a LOT of sediment filters all of the time and constantly have to replace the filters. Ultimately it will hit you that you really should have a sand separator filter before a regular sediment filter. It is best to try to separate most of the sand out of your water before using a sediment filter (a stainless steel sand filter is the "best" way to go if you have sand and have somewhat aggressive or acidic water). Also please recognize that a sand filter will eliminate most of the sediment. For maximum sediment removal you should use both a sand separator and a sediment removal filter.
Q. "Do you offer water filters that purify the water?"
A. The term "water purification" is much abused. Some use the term to sell cheap water filters at high prices. We offer a lot of choices in water filtration, all are quality products. Please note: You will need to know the quality of your water because if you have high bacteria, giardia, or other contaminants in your water, not all water purification systems (including ours) will take care of these unique water situations.
Q. "I have a filter cartridge that is 2 3/4" x 20". Do you offer an adapter that I can put two of your 9 3/4" filters together?"
A. Yes, because we have had a number of requests we do offer/sell a coupling. It won't fit all of the housings that we sell, and may also work on a number of other brand filter housings. Order the number #155003 coupler offered above. It is smaller than our Jumbo W20 coupler and is only designed to fit most, but not all of our smaller-than-Jumbo standard filters. Please note: some of the carbon filters we offer are not designed to be coupled together.
