Author Archives: filter_guy

How safe is your water?

Posted on August 25, 2014 by filter_guy

To harvest rain water or use water from the public water supply – what to do? According to a recent article in the New York Times, which mentions the trouble with the Silver Lake reservoir near Los Angeles California, public … Continue reading →

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Microcystin removal by slow sand water filtration

Posted on August 5, 2014 by filter_guy

Will a slow sand filter take out microcystin toxins more effectively than conventional water filtration (rapid sand filtration) ? It appears as though the answer is yes: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12203961  (information is in the abstract; access to the entire document requires a … Continue reading →

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What if the public water system becomes unusable?

Posted on August 4, 2014 by filter_guy

What would you do if you found out that the public water system had been contaminated by powerful toxins that could not be removed by boiling? Setting up a rain barrel or two might be a good idea. Incidentally, according … Continue reading →

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DIY 5 gallon slow sand filter update

Posted on June 20, 2014 by filter_guy

Back in September of last year, we started 3 small 5 gallon slow sand filters. They are still running, and marginally cleaning the water that runs through them. So far, the best water quality is from filter 10b, followed by … Continue reading →

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Will a DIY slow sand filter produce potable water?

Posted on May 20, 2014 by filter_guy

We continue to get questions about the filters we describe producing “potable” water. Again, I’ll try to address this issue. These filters are not 100 percent foolproof and they are not magical. They require maintenance and specific actions to keep them … Continue reading →

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Five gallon DIY slow sand filter update

Posted on May 2, 2014 by filter_guy

The five gallon slow sand filter experiment, mentioned in September of last year (2013) is still in progress. Due to some unforeseen issues, the EPA tests cannot be done as of yet. We will attempt to start some field tests on the three … Continue reading →

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Can I save money on my water bill by using a rain barrel?

Posted on April 28, 2014 by filter_guy

If the cost of the water; and the cost of the infrastructure that brings the water to “you” and takes it away when you’re done with it are considered; then, on paper, a rain barrel will pay for itself in several … Continue reading →

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Designing a DIY slow sand filter: what to consider

Posted on April 18, 2014 by filter_guy

Update April 16, 2017: The 5 gallon filters, and the smaller 6 inch filter mentioned in this post DO NOT WORK. They either add biological contamination, or do not remove any biological contamination. Do not use them.   I am writing … Continue reading →

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A counter top slow sand water filter

Posted on April 17, 2014 by filter_guy

This filter (we call it a “micro” filter) uses a 2 liter soft drink bottle, a rubber band a plastic straw, some plumbers putty, and coarse sand and fine sand. The fine sand on the top is .15 mm effective … Continue reading →

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It is now April 11, 2014. Filter 10a, 10b, and 10c have been running steadily for about 6 weeks.  Filter 10a uses .25 mm effective size sand, filter 10b uses .15 mm effective size sand,  and filter 10c uses .20 … Continue reading →

Posted on April 11, 2014 by filter_guy | Comments Off on DIY 5 gallon slow sand filter update