How to Choose a Pre-Filter? Why Do Ultrafiltration Pre-Filters Clog Easily? 3 Key Reasons and Solutions
A few days ago, I received a message from a netizen. He said that an ultrafiltration pre-filter clogs very easily, and after installation, the water pressure would drop significantly.
But on the same day, a customer sent me completely different feedback: after installing ultrafiltration, the water in the home’s water tank became very clear, and they no longer had to drink muddy yellow water.
Why is there such a big difference in user experience between different pre-filters?
The core reason is not that “ultrafiltration is difficult to use,” but that ultrafiltration pre-filters have higher requirements for filter quality, filter specifications, and maintenance methods.
Why Can Ultrafiltration Achieve True Whole-House Water Purification?
For pre-filters, I have always believed that, based on current technological development, only ultrafiltration can achieve whole-house water purification in the true sense, while it is difficult for other types of pre-filters to achieve the same filtration effect.
The reason is simple: ultrafiltration is one of the types of pre-filter technology capable of achieving higher filtration precision.
Ultrafiltration can intercept fine mud and other impurities in the water before they enter household pipelines, reduce the amount of sand particles and other impurities entering the household water supply system, help keep water pipes relatively clean, and help extend the service life of water-related appliances in the home.
When sand particles and other impurities in the water are reduced, daily household water use can also become cleaner. For example, during laundry, problems such as clothes becoming yellow due to the influence of sand and other impurities can also be improved.
Therefore, the core value of a pre-filter is not only to filter incoming water, but more importantly, to provide front-end protection for the entire household water system.
Why Do Ultrafiltration Pre-Filters Clog Easily?
However, ultrafiltration has one very obvious problem:
The higher the filtration precision, the higher the requirements for filter quality, filter specifications, and maintenance methods.
If an ultrafiltration pre-filter is not selected correctly, two typical problems may occur:
- A significant drop in water pressure;
- Fast filter clogging.
These are also the main reasons why many consumers have a negative experience after using ultrafiltration pre-filters.
So, why do users of ChengrongTimes’ ultrafiltration water purification equipment give our products a thumbs-up?
Because we have always been solving one core problem:
We need to achieve true whole-house water purification while ensuring the user’s water experience, and at the same time extend the service life of ultrafiltration filters through continuous improvements in product structure, filter materials, and cleaning methods.
Of course, ChengrongTimes water purifiers also cost more. Users need to pay a higher purchase cost, and what we need to do is use better water purification equipment and provide a more comfortable water experience to deliver value in return for this additional cost.
What Are the 3 Main Reasons Why Ultrafiltration Pre-Filters Clog Quickly?
Why do ultrafiltration pre-filters clog easily?
Based on practical experience, there are mainly three reasons:
1. The Quality of the External-Pressure Membrane Filter Is Not Good Enough
The first is the quality of the filter itself.
The quality of an external-pressure membrane has nothing to do with whether the membrane fibers can be pulled apart. The reason an external-pressure membrane can adopt this structure in the first place is because the membrane fibers have sufficient structural strength.
The factors that truly affect the quality of an external-pressure membrane are:
- The quality of the membrane fiber raw materials;
- The thickness of the membrane fibers during spinning.
Generally speaking, the better the raw material quality and the thicker the membrane fibers are spun, the higher the production cost and the better the quality of the external-pressure membrane.
Chengrong ultrafiltration factory has always insisted on using sufficient materials and sufficient membrane fiber content.
Because external-pressure membranes have a supporting layer, some manufacturers will spin the PVDF membrane layer that actually performs the filtration function extremely thin in order to reduce costs.
Chengrong ultrafiltration factory, however, has always used sufficient materials for its membrane fibers.
Cutting corners is an absolute red line that Chengrong factory will never cross.
The raw materials we use are at a high-end level in the industry and feature three imported configurations.
For ultrafiltration pre-filters, the quality of the filter itself is the foundation that determines filtration performance, service life, and clogging speed.
2. The Ultrafiltration Filter Specification Is Too Small
The second reason, which is also easily overlooked by many households, is:
The filter membrane flux is too small.
There is more than one specification of ultrafiltration filter.
Different specifications of ultrafiltration filters correspond to different water production capacities.
If the actual household water consumption exceeds the filter’s water production load, the equipment will operate under overload for a long period of time.
The result is:
Higher water production load → higher filter load → faster clogging.
Therefore, many people believe that “ultrafiltration pre-filters clog easily,” but this is not necessarily a problem with ultrafiltration technology itself. It may be because the filter specification does not match the actual household water consumption.
Based on my many years of practical experience, I have summarized two formulas that take both water-use experience and economic cost into consideration, helping customers select the membrane flux specification suitable for their household water consumption.
For the specific ultrafiltration filter size that should be selected, you can refer to our product details page, as well as our previously published videos and articles.
3. The Ultrafiltration Filter Is Not Properly Maintained
The third reason is one that many users overlook most easily:
The filter cleaning method is incorrect.
For external-pressure membranes, impurities in the water are continuously intercepted on the surface of the membrane fibers.
As the service time increases, some impurities will not only adhere to the surface of the membrane fibers but may also enter the pores of the filter.
This is the truly difficult part of external-pressure membranes:
When more and more pores experience irreversible clogging, the effective filtration capacity of the filter will continue to decrease.
Therefore, if an ultrafiltration pre-filter is to extend filter life, simply performing a basic rinse is not enough.
For external-pressure membrane filters, I have always emphasized:
Hand-wash while backwashing.
This cleaning method can solve two problems at the same time:
First, clean the impurities on the surface of the membrane fibers;
Second, through backwashing, flush out as much of the impurities trapped inside the filter pores as possible.
This can delay the rate at which the pores become irreversibly clogged, thereby extending the service life of the external-pressure membrane filter.
How Does ChengrongTimes Solve the Problem of Ultrafiltration Pre-Filters Clogging Easily?
To address the clogging problem of external-pressure membranes, ChengrongTimes mainly solves it from three aspects.
First: Improve the Quality of External-Pressure Membrane Filters
Chengrong ultrafiltration factory insists on using sufficient membrane fiber materials and pays attention to the quality of PVDF membrane raw materials and membrane spinning thickness.
Because for ultrafiltration filters, what truly determines filtration capacity and service life is not simply the word “ultrafiltration,” but more importantly, what materials and structure the filter uses and what specifications it is manufactured to.
Second: Select the Appropriate Filter Membrane Flux
Different households have different water consumption levels, so their requirements for ultrafiltration filter water production capacity are also different.
If the filter specification is too small and the actual household water consumption is relatively high, the clogging speed will naturally increase.
Therefore, when purchasing a pre-filter, you cannot only look at filtration precision. You must also consider whether the filter specification and membrane flux match the household’s actual water consumption requirements.
Third: Change the Filter Cleaning Method
One of the biggest structural innovations of the ChengrongTimes hand-wash pre-filter is the use of a dual-clamp design.
Traditional single-clamp structures have certain limitations during filter cleaning, while the dual-clamp structure allows users to remove only the lower housing and perform:
Hand washing + backwashing at the same time.
This design makes filter cleaning more direct and easier to operate.
The purpose is very clear:
Not only to clean impurities on the surface of the membrane fibers, but also to remove as much of the impurities inside the filter pores as possible, thereby delaying irreversible filter clogging.
What If You Don’t Want to Hand-Wash the Filter?
We have also encountered some users who do not want to regularly hand-wash their ultrafiltration filters.
For these users, ChengrongTimes has also developed:
- Smart Rotary-Washing Pre-Micro-Ultra Water Purifier
- Customized Smart Ultrafiltration
One of the main differences between these two smart products is their filtration precision:
- Smart rotary-washing model: 0.1 micron
- Customized smart ultrafiltration: 0.01 micron
Users can preset the filter cleaning interval and cleaning duration.
After the settings are completed, the equipment can clean the filter according to the preset schedule, so users do not need to perform frequent manual maintenance.
Although smart pre-filters cost more, for users who do not want to hand-wash filters and want to reduce maintenance time and effort, the time and maintenance costs saved also have value.
If elderly people or children are the main users in the household, we also recommend the smart pre-filter.
How Should You Choose Between Hand-Wash and Smart Pre-Filters?
If you do not mind regularly maintaining the filter and want to reduce the equipment purchase cost, you can choose a hand-wash ultrafiltration pre-filter.
If you do not want to hand-wash the filter and want to reduce manual maintenance, you can choose a smart rotary-washing pre-filter.
If you have higher requirements for filtration precision, you can consider 0.01-micron smart ultrafiltration.
What truly determines whether a pre-filter is easy to use is not simply that “the higher the filtration precision, the better.” Instead, you need to consider:
Filtration precision + filter quality + membrane flux + household water consumption + cleaning method.
Only when these factors are properly matched can an ultrafiltration pre-filter truly perform at its best.
Ultrafiltration Pre-Filters Are Not Difficult to Use—They Need to Be Selected and Used Correctly
Therefore, I have always believed:
It is not that ultrafiltration is difficult to use. Many consumers simply do not know how to correctly select and use ultrafiltration.
Ultrafiltration has high filtration precision, so it naturally has higher requirements for filter quality, specifications, and maintenance methods.
If the filter is too small and household water consumption exceeds the filter’s water production load, clogging will accelerate.
If the filter quality is poor, service life and filtration performance will also be affected.
If the filter is not cleaned for a long time, impurities will continue to accumulate on the surface of the membrane fibers and inside the pores, which will also cause the filter’s water production capacity to decrease.
However, as long as you:
Choose the right specification + choose the right filter + master the correct cleaning method,
an ultrafiltration pre-filter can significantly improve the household’s whole-house water environment.
For households that genuinely have problems such as sediment and muddy yellow water, installing a suitable ultrafiltration pre-filter can indeed result in a very noticeable improvement in the water-use experience.
Pre-Filter FAQ
1. Why should you choose ultrafiltration for a pre-filter?
Because ultrafiltration pre-filters have higher filtration precision and can intercept fine mud and other impurities in the water, reducing sand particles and other impurities entering household pipelines and helping protect the household water system and water-related appliances.
2. Do ultrafiltration pre-filters clog especially easily?
Not necessarily.
Ultrafiltration has high filtration precision, so it does require more attention to clogging than lower-precision filtration equipment. However, if the filter quality is good, the filter specification matches household water consumption, and the correct filter cleaning method is used, clogging can be significantly delayed.
3. Why does water pressure drop after installing an ultrafiltration pre-filter?
One of the most common reasons is that the filter specification does not match household water consumption.
If the filter membrane flux is too small while household water consumption is relatively high, the equipment may operate under a high load for a long time, which can affect the water-use experience.
4. Why do ultrafiltration filters clog?
There are three main reasons:
Filter quality, filter specification, and filter maintenance method.
In particular, an excessively small filter membrane flux and failure to use the correct cleaning method for a long period of time can accelerate filter clogging.
5. How should an external-pressure membrane filter be cleaned?
For the ChengrongTimes hand-wash pre-filter, the lower housing can be removed through the dual-clamp structure, allowing the external-pressure membrane filter to be cleaned by hand washing and backwashing at the same time.
This method can clean impurities from the membrane fiber surface while also flushing out impurities inside the filter pores as much as possible.
6. What is the difference between 0.1-micron and 0.01-micron ultrafiltration?
The main difference is filtration precision:
0.1-micron ultrafiltration has a filtration precision of 0.1 micron;
0.01-micron ultrafiltration has a filtration precision of 0.01 micron.
The specific choice should be based on actual household water-use requirements and filtration precision requirements.
7. What should I do if I don’t want to hand-wash the pre-filter?
You can choose a smart rotary-washing pre-micro-ultra water purifier or smart ultrafiltration.
Users can preset the filter cleaning interval and cleaning duration to reduce manual maintenance.
8. Is a pre-filter better when it has higher filtration precision?
You cannot look only at filtration precision.
When choosing a pre-filter, you should also consider filter quality, filtration precision, membrane flux, household water consumption, and filter cleaning method.
Even with high filtration precision, an undersized filter can still affect the actual water-use experience.
9. What are the characteristics of ChengrongTimes pre-filters?
ChengrongTimes mainly focuses on three core problems of ultrafiltration pre-filters:
High-quality external-pressure membrane filters, reasonable membrane flux selection, and more effective filter cleaning methods.
At the same time, for users who do not want to hand-wash filters, ChengrongTimes has launched smart rotary-washing pre-micro-ultra water purifiers and smart ultrafiltration.
ChengrongTimes: Making Ultrafiltration a Truly Easy-to-Use Pre-Filter
Chengrong ultrafiltration, customers have no worries.
No rust for ten years
No water leakage for ten years
After-sales service for ten years
ChengrongTimes water purifiers never forgive themselves when it comes to quality.