Best Sediment Filter for Well Water and Municipal Water – Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Sediment in household water is a problem throughout the world, of which the US isn’t exempted. Even though studies have yet to link sediment (is it just dirt?) to any negative health effects, there are other contaminants, including pathogenic contaminants that can be found in municipal and well water.

This imposes the need for a good filtration system, which will ensure that household members don’t expose themselves to the many health risks associated with contaminated water.

That’s where sediment filters come in play. The first step in any multi-stage water filter systems is to filter out the sediment, as the particles may damage or shorten the life of the other filter materials down the line.

If you’re getting a multi-stage system, it will come with a sediment filter. If not, choosing the right sediment filter can be a challenging task, whether you’re using municipal water or your own well, as there are a large number of them out there. To make the search easier, this guide contains the information that you’re looking for.

Let’s start with some of the best sediment filters for well water and municipal water.

Best Sediment Filter Reviews

Top 3 Sediment Filters for Municipal Water

If you’re using municipal water, there are very powerful filters that can ensure that it’s free of sediment and other particles that come into your pipe. Let’s dig a bit deeper into some of these solutions.

1. Watts WH-LD Premier Whole House Filter System

This whole house water filter can ensure that only clean water comes out of all your water outlets. It removes both dirt and rust so that nothing bad reaches your appliances.

The 50-micron cartridge filter does a great job of removing fine particles. The system features a clear housing, which allows you to whether there’s a need to the filter cartridge. Change out the filter cartridge is made easy by the built-in bypass valve, which provides easy access to the system without having to turn off your main water line.

The ¾” port on the lid fits most standard plumbing systems, so there’s a very high chance that it will fit yours as well. If not, it wouldn’t be a problem to find an adapter. The stainless steel inserts are reliable and make the system easy to install, provided that you have some basic plumbing knowledge.

The system has a wide safe operating temperature range of 40- 100°F and pressure range of 20-100 PSI. This covers year-round operation for most parts of the United States.

2. Culligan HF-360A Whole House Sediment Filter

If you’re looking for an affordable solution to the sediment problem in your water, this system is worth considering. First of all, it’s perfect for keeping small particles out of your water. It’s able to trap particles of 10-50 microns, while the additional SCWH-5 filter is able to trap particles as small as 5 microns.

This makes it great for removing all types of sand (coarse/fine/extra fine), rust, and dirt. This system holds a WQA certificate, which guarantees its structural integrity and material quality.

The clear housing is easily accessible due to the shut-off valve, so you can monitor the filter’s work and replace it when needed. It comes with a premium P5 filter cartridge and supports other Culligan cartridges, including the P1, S1A, CW-MF, CW-F, and SCWH-5. It also comes with a ¾” inlet and outlet, but the fittings are not included.

Culligan offers a 5-year warranty on this whole house filter, which in a sense is expected of one of the leaders in water treatment products.

3. DuPont WFPF13003B Whole House Filtration System

This is another affordable solution that can do wonders for your plumbing system. It’s capable of filtering up to 15,000 gallons of water between filter replacements.

The Dupont 500 Series Poly Block cartridge is a very capable filter that can remove particles as small as 10 microns. It does a great job of removing sediment from your water which will give the water a better taste and preserve your home appliances. And if you need more power, you can swap up the standard filter cartridge with a high-performance cartridge.

For the price, this filter is surprisingly effective, so it’s worth checking out. DuPont also offers a 3-year limited warranty on the WFPF13003B, so you should be covered if any malfunction happens.

Top 2 Sediment Filters for Well Water

The above three options are definitely some of the best solutions for those using municipal water. But what if your water source is your own well? Check out the products below to see some of the best options on the market right now.

1. iSpring WSP-100 - Sediment Water Filter

The iSpring WSP-100 uses a slightly different technology than found in the ones above. The reusable spin down sediment filter is a powerful way of preventing larger particles from reaching your finer filters and home appliances.

The iSpring is perfect in situations when you have to deal with particles of varying sizes. It is built to deal with particle sizes ranging from 50 to 1000 microns. The stainless steel mesh filter is suitable for rough water which finer filters aren’t capable of dealing with.

When used in conjunction with other filters, this creates a multi-level filtration system that extends the life of each filtration stage. It’s recommended to flush and clean the filter on a regular basis. Doing this every day would be ideal, but even a weekly flush should suffice.

Depending on the specific issues regarding your well water, you might have to clean the filter more thoroughly, as simple flushing might not be enough. In that case, soaking it in vinegar or cleaning it with a brush should get the job done.

If you decide to opt for this solution, make sure to choose the micron size carefully. Larger particles can easily clog filters that are designed for smaller particles. Depending on the quality of your water, a common solution is to use several of them in series, starting from the larger micron to the smallest. If you’re not sure about the size you need, it might be a good idea to consult a professional.

2. Rusco 1-100ST-F Sediment Trapper System

Rusco takes an innovative approach to the removal sediment from contaminated water. The centrifugal separation technology that the filter uses traps sediment and draws it to the bottom of the reservoir. The particles fall to the bottom of the cover, keeping it away from the screen.

The filter screen is reusable and easily cleanable. The clear cover allows you to check whether there’s a need for cleaning, and if it is, you can do it in a matter minutes, after which the filter will be at its full power. Just open the valve and flush the sediment, and you’re good to go.

In case of heavy sediment, Rusco recommends using this filter in conjunction with their spin-down model for maximum effect. As a general recommendation, this sediment trapper should mainly be used as a starting point towards complete sediment removal.

As for the quality, the materials of both the housing and the filter ensure its durability and non-corrosiveness. The high impact polymer resin gives the system all the strength it needs to effectively work against larger particles of 100-200 microns in size.

Sediment Filter Buyer’s Guide

Now that you have an idea of what’s required of sediment filter for municipal and well water, it’s time to discuss everything that you should know when choosing the right filter for your plumbing system. Making this decision requires a certain level of knowledge, so keep reading to learn everything you should know.

What Is Sediment?

Simply put, sediment is any solid material trapped in a liquid that eventually settles to the bottom. It can be found in many different forms, from animal or plant remains to dirt and minerals. Generally speaking, it’s a naturally occurring substance that can be transported by many agents, with water being one of the most common.

Its size can vary greatly, going from very fine silt to large boulders. As for the sediment found in drinking water, the most common particles include sand, clay, rust, dirt, and various forms of organic material.

Depending on the substances, it can cause a variety of negative effects. Regardless, all sediment can cause serious damage to home appliances that rely on water for operating. If the problem isn’t dealt with in a timely manner, it can significantly reduce the efficiency of your appliances and have a detrimental effect on the quality of the water.

Depending on the degree of its presence, sediment can alter the look and taste of your water. If you’re able to notice this, it’s a sign that the problem has become serious enough to require action.

Sediment filters can bring a variety of benefits to a household that has a sediment problem in its tap water. Aside from making the water more pleasant to drink, it can preserve the life of everything that comes in contact with it, including clothes, dishes, and expensive appliances. It can save quite a bit of money in the long run, so it’s often a worthy investment.

If you believe this is the case, you should start thinking about the kind of filter that would suit your needs the best.

Sediment Water Filter Types

There are two main types of sediment water filters: spin-down and cartridge filters. Each of them has its own set of benefits and shortcomings, so understanding the difference is an important step towards choosing the right one.

Reusable Spin-down Filters

The last two products on our list are examples of this type. These versatile filters are great for medium to large-sized particles. This is very effective for protecting finer filters and the entire plumbing system from these larger particles.

How Does It Work?

Spin-down fitters have the filter media spun around the core. This ensures multiple layers of filtration, which is what ensures their versatility. Depending on the mesh size, they can be effective against different particle sizes, varying from 25 to 1000 microns.

The filter traps larger particles, so they don’t damage fine filters that can get clogged if they encounter them. This is why they’re commonly used as the first line of defense in multi-level filtering solutions.

As far as the operating pressure goes, most types can support up to 150 PSI. Depending on the pipe size, these filters can support flow rates of up to 90 GPM.

When to Use It?

If you’re using cartridge filters and you notice that they get clogged too frequently, you might benefit from a spin-down sediment filter. Due to the abrasiveness of large particles, fine filters can easily get damaged and lose their effectiveness far sooner than they’re supposed to.

This is why using spin-down filters upstream of them provides maximum filtering capabilities. Spin-down filters only allow small particles through, and the downstream fine filters would trap them without having to deal with large sediment particles that they’re not designed to handle. So it is great for well water.

Benefits

Spin-down filters make up for the shortcomings of cartridge filters. Their benefits include:

Cartridge Filters

Cartridge filters are effective against finer sediment particles that spin-down filters aren’t able to trap. They’re a good choice for systems that deal with low concentration contaminations of less than 100 PPM (parts per million).

If you decide to go with them, there’s another decision you’ll have to make: pleated or spun. Let’s take a closer look at both of these designs.

Pleated Cartridge Filters

Benefits of these filters include:

Spun Cartridge Filters

While pleated filters focus on wide filter coverage, the main advantage of spun filters is their depth. The filter media is wound around the base, which provides multiple filter layers. What this entails is an ability to trap particles of varying sizes.

They’re the most common type of filters and ensure protection from a variety of sediment contaminants. The thickness of the media along with the construction complexity allow these filters to trap even the smallest of sediment particles.

The main advantages of this design include:

What to Consider When Buying a Sediment Filter?

Now that you’ve seen how the main types of sediment filters work, you might already have an idea of what’s best for your home. If not, don’t worry, as there are a couple of questions that you have to ask, after which you should be ready for the final decision.

1. What’s Your Main Water Source?

The first thing that you need to take under consideration when choosing a sediment filter is the source of your water. Municipal and well water can vary greatly with respect to the sediment types and sizes. For this reason, answering this question is a good starting point towards finding the right sediment filter.

Well water is at a very high risk of heavy contaminants. If your water comes from a river, it might contain both small and large sediment of varying types. Organic sediment from the river can be very heavy, so a spin-down filter is a safe bet in this situation. The good news is that this is fairly easy to notice in most cases, so you’ll know what you’re dealing with.

When it comes to municipal water, the issue is a bit more subtle. You might have very little to no sediment which you might not be able to notice it right away. This is where a water analysis is recommended, which you should be able to obtain from your water company. As a general rule, cartridge filters are most suitable for municipal water due to their ability to filter out finer contaminants.

Once you’ve decided on the filter type, you can proceed to the finer detail.

2. What Sediment Type Are You Dealing With?

As you can see in the first section of this buyer’s guide, sediment comes in a variety of forms. From fine silt to large sand and even rocks, there are all kinds of contaminants that you have to filter out, mainly depending on the source of your water.

Once you have identified the type of sediment found in your water, you’ll be ready to think about the filter size, as it’s the main differentiator between different sediment types.

3. What Size Micron Filter Will Work the Best?

Once you’ve assessed the sediment type, every decision to come will be easier to make. The first one is in relation to the filter size. As referenced, the size of a grain of sand can vary from 75-150 microns. If sand is your biggest issue, a 50-micron sediment filter should do the job just fine. Don’t make the mistake of going with a filter size that’s much smaller than the sediment in your water. As stated, a filter that’s too small can easily be clogged by larger particles, which can be quite inconvenient and costly.

Only go with small filter sizes in case you’re dealing with minute sediment which feels slimy and you’re unable to see every speck of.

4. What Is Your Main Water Issue?

Not every water issue has sediment as the main culprit. A mistake that people make is associating hard water with sediment, which doesn’t have to be the case.

For hard water problems, you should go with a water softener. If you’re trying to solve a hard water issue for a specific water outlet, you could benefit from a shower or a faucet water softener.

Sediment filters work the best for sand, silt, and other contaminants mentioned in this guide. Always make sure that this is the problem that you need a solution for before investing in a sediment filter.

It should be said that sediment doesn’t have to be the only issue you’re facing. It might be one of the easiest to notice, but there are many other issues that you might not be able to see unless you have a copy of your water analysis.

If your water contains iron, bacteria, sulfur, and other organic and inorganic compounds, you should think about a whole house filtration system. These multi-stage water filters tackle multiple issues one at a time far beyond just sediment.

The Final Word

Hopefully this guide is able to help you get a better idea of what it takes to get rid of sediment. Once you answer the above questions, you’ll be ready to choose the filter that will help you deal with this issue in the most effective way.

While browsing, pay attention to the features mentioned in our reviews. Your filter needs to be of the right size and capable of good flow and low pressure drop if you don’t want to sacrifice the quality of your water usage. Give this decision a bit of thought, and you’ll be on your way towards enjoying clean water.