How many cartridges should there be and how to choose a filter with superpowers.

“The more cleaning steps, the better!” – this logic will not help you choose the right water filter. The number of “stages” or cartridges is a feature of the filter design, not an indicator of its quality. In fact, even one cartridge purifies water in several ways at once.

What’s going on inside a standard cartridge?
If we open the plastic case, we will see a “carbon rod” – a carbon block. These are tightly packed granules of activated carbon: they work as a sieve for small particles (rust, grains of sand) and at the same time as a sponge for dissolved impurities (they absorb chlorine from water, unpleasant odors, etc.).

The finer the coal granules and the denser they are compressed, the better the module retains harmful impurities. Remember a terry towel: you need as many small loops as possible so that it absorbs well. But if the coal is “tamped” too tightly, water will not be able to flow through it. Therefore, in standard cartridges, the coal is large enough, which limits the efficiency of water purification.

What happens inside the Aquaphor cartridge?
Carbon granules in Aquaphor cartridges are 2 times smaller than in a standard cartridge and are tightly packed. In order for water to seep out, Aquaphor specialists invented Aqualen – fibers that permeate the cartridge like many thinnest roots. Water flows along these fibers, as if along a channel, and is evenly distributed throughout the entire volume of the cartridge. Each coal granule is involved in cleaning. Compared to conventional carbon blocks, such a cartridge removes impurities from the water 4 times faster, and manages to purify the water deeper.

And also, while coal fights chlorine and rust, Aqualen fiber captures heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic) from the water, which often get into the water from old water pipes.

How multi-stage cleaning in a flow-through filter works
Stages are commonly referred to as cartridges in a water filter. Correctly selected cartridges in one filter distribute the load and responsibilities among themselves. The effect of their combination is stronger than that of each cartridge separately, and they last longer.

The cartridges are combined into one cleaning system for the following effects:

We combine several carbon cartridges of different porosity * – we get a filter in which the cartridges are not clogged with rust, silt and sand for a longer time. Each subsequent cartridge removes finer particles than the previous one. This is how, for example, the Crystal and Trio filters work.
Aquaphor Crystal
The first cartridge will remove sand and pollen, the second – flour and paint pigment, and even a particle of tobacco smoke will not pass through the final “sieve”. Each subsequent pore is finer than the previous one: 5 microns, 3 microns and 0.8 microns. So the cartridges purify water deeper and last longer.
Each carbon cartridge is an additional time for the carbon to contact with water. This means the cartridges will have time to absorb more chlorine and other dissolved contaminants as the water flows through the filter. Also, several cartridges will purify more liters of water before having to be replaced.
The filter can be tailored exactly to your needs using one or more superhero cartridges.
Superhero Cartridges
In addition to standard carbon cartridges, a cartridge with a special “filling” can be installed in the system – this filter has a “superpower”.

Hollow-fiber membrane – fights against bacteria and viruses, defeats 100% of bacteria without “illegal methods” (does not use dangerous bactericidal additives). Great for purifying water for feeding babies, nursing mothers and pregnant women, as well as for allergy sufferers and people with sensitive digestion. There is a hollow fiber membrane in the Crystal ECO filter.