20Inch Big Blue (BB) PP Sediment Filter – 5 micron

Polypropylene Sediment Filter

Polypropylene (PP) also known as Melt Blown and Melt Spray are usually the first stage in a water filtration system and the most common and affordable sediment cartridge filter.

It serves to remove visible dirt particles such as sand, dust, mud and rust. After the water passed through the filter, the water may appear to be clean, however looks can be deceiving and most water contaminants are smaller than what our eyes can see. These contaminants may not be removable by the sole use of a sediment filter.

Melt Blown sediment filters are manufactured by melting polypropylene plastic. Spraying the molten plastic out of small nozzles, almost like candy floss, and then winding this sprayed, melted plastic onto a rod. This process forms a multi-layered filter that doesn’t use a chemical binder. These filter cartridges provide high purity filtration and is organic free.

Sediment filters are rated by a micron number.  A micron rating for a water filter is a way of indicating the ability of the filter to remove contaminants by the size of the particles. A filter that is marked “5 microns” has some capability in capturing particles as small as 5 microns. A micron is another measurement of a particle size. A micron is one-millionth of a meter or one twenty-five thousandth of an inch.

The most common sediment filters available are 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, and 100 micron filters. The micron number refers to the largest dirt particle that will pass through the filter.

To give you more perspective, look at the sizes of the following objects:

• Eye of a needle – 1230 micron
• Beach Sand – 700 micron
• Silica Sand – 100-200 micron
• Table Salt – 100 micron
• Average Human Hair – 60 micron
• White Blood Cell – 25 micron
• Red Blood Cell – 8 micron
• Spider Web – 2-3 micron
• Bacteria (Harmful) – 0.3-2 micron
• Viruses – 0.01-1 micron