Are Ceramic Filters Fit For Almeria Water?

Ceramic water filters are one of the most common solutions bought by homeowners in Almeria to combat the generally poor water quality. Low-cost, easily available and with cartridges that are changed annually, it's easy to see why they're a popular choice.

Ceramic vessels have been used to store water for thousands of years, but its use in water filtration was conceived in the early 1800s in London. Waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera were rampant in Victorian London and drinking water was extremely low quality and filled with 'matter'.

The pioneering 'candle' ceramic water filters were designed to strain out bacteria and solids, and they proved effective against the drinking water challenges of the 1800s - visible particles and microbes.

How Ceramic Filters Work

The ceramic water filters sold today use a micro-porous shell, often with a carbon core, to physically trap sediment and a variety of bacteria and one-celled organisms, or parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

What ceramic filters are not designed to do is remove dissolved contaminants such as nitrates, most heavy metals, salts, pesticides, and the human-made chemicals known as PFAs which are commonly used in industrial and commercial processes.

In short, ceramic filters are great 'polishers' of water that is already of fairly high quality, improving taste and odour and removing some basic contaminants, but they are a two hundred year old technology that cannot combat modern man-made dissolved chemicals, salts and a wide range of heavy metals.

The Age of Reverse Osmosis

Conceived in the late 1950s, reverse osmosis systems (RO) push water through a membrane with pores that are around a thousand times smaller than ceramic filters. This ultra-fine barrier reduces salts, many heavy metals, nitrates, pesticides and other micro-pollutants to well over 99% efficiency. The result is drinking water with low total dissolved solids (TDS), that tackles both particles and dissolved contaminants.

In fact, RO water filtration is so effective that higher end machines can produce medical-grade water that's used in dialysis machines where purity is a life or death matter.

Modern Contaminants Versus Yesterday's Problems

Back in the days ceramic water filters were invented, the enemy was waterborne diseases. Today, in European countries, modern sewage systems and better healthcare have made these instances extremely rare. The greatest drinking water challenges in today's homes are dissolved contaminants - nitrates from agriculture, microplastics, heavy metals, salinity and disinfection by-products, along with PFAs (man-made chemicals).

Why Ceramic Filters May Not Work Well in Almeria

It's fair to say that when we replace filters, we are most commonly replacing ceramic filters. These countertop or under-sink units are very popular because they're low-cost and easy to fit. However, local water supplies usually have elevated levels of dissolved solids and contaminants. In the face of the average drinking water supply here, a ceramic filter may improve the taste, but leave the dissolved contaminants - the material that may cause long-term health effects - unchanged.

And the real kicker? You think the filter is making your water pure because it tastes better.

Customer Story: The 12-Month Filter that Lasted 8 Weeks

An owner of one of the Almeria area's most popular ceramic brands on sale gave us a call after noticing an odd taste just two months after changing his filter's cartridge (€41 ceramic filter cartridge with an advertised life of 12 months). Comparison tests of drinking water going in to the filter, and coming out of the filter showed no reduction in contaminants. In other words, the water was too contaminated for the ceramic candle filter's capacity, collapsing its usable life to just under two months. If the customer had continued with his filter unit, he would be paying nearly €250 a year in replacement cartridges for a budget machine that cost under €200 in the first place and failing to filter out many contaminants to boot.

Customer Story: A Clogged Ceramic Filter that Made Water Worse

We had a call from homeowners in the Mojácar area who had bought their house two years previously that had an under-sink ceramic filter already installed, and they wanted us to do a free water test to see if it was working well. They hadn't changed the cartridge since buying their house, having no prior experience of water filters and not knowing they contained cartridges that needed replacement.

In this case our 'before and after filter' results showed significantly higher contamination after the water had been through the filter. The clogged cartridge was depositing what it had trapped, and what had built up in it over time (likely bacteria and solids), back into the water. It was producing water that was hazardous.

Choosing The Right Water Filter for Your Home

• If your drinking water is of higher quality, low in dissolved contaminants and you mainly want the taste refining and a basic microbiological barrier, a ceramic + carbon filter may be right for you.

• If you need a broad reduction of solids, nitrates, pesticides, heavy metals and FPAs (man-made chemicals), and a consistently low-TDS water for brewing, cooking and peace of mind - choose a reverse osmosis unit.

The Critical First Step: Testing

There is no 'one size fits all' water filter. The only sure way to avoid disappointment, un-necessary expense and water quality issues is to test your water first, then match the solution to actual contaminants found and the levels of them.

We can perform a free 24-point test against Spanish/EU criteria and advise firstly whether you need a water filter and, if you do, which approach is right for your situation.