Hitherto considered as being for the elite, household water filters have over the years been gaining in popularity. Reasons being the rising number of people settling in urban areas and the pressure this puts on facilities such as drinkable water supply and last year’s prolonged cholera epidemic in the country. Though experts acknowledge that water filters do not provide foul-proof protection against some water-borne diseases, their use however reduces the risks of taking water of doubtful quality.
The business in water filters has no doubt seen some increase over the past years, though it cannot be said to be a boom yet. One noticeable change is the ready availability of water filters in a growing number of shops in Yaounde. These include some of the city’s super markets and second hand shops. In terms of cost, the asking prices for brand new 15-litre and 25-litre water filters are FCFA 19,500 and FCFA 29,500 respectively. However, smaller models also exist – for about five, ten and fifteen litres. Prices here are understood to be about FCFA 7,500, FCFA 10,000 and FCFA 15,000 respectively.
According to Wikipedia, the free Internet encyclopedia, types of water filter include media, screen, disk, slow sand filter beds, rapid sand and cloth filters. Point-of-use filters for home use include granular-activated carbon filters (GAC) used for carbon filtering, metallic alloy filters, micro porous ceramic filters, carbon block resin (CBR) and ultra filtration membranes. Some filters use more than one filtration method. An example of this is a multi-barrier system. Jug filters can be used for small quantities of drinking water. Some kettles have built-in filters, primarily to reduce lime scale buildup.
Water filters are also used by hikers, aid organizations during humanitarian emergencies, and by the military. These filters are usually small, portable and light (about a kilogramme or less), and usually filter water by working a mechanical hand pump, although some use a siphon drip system to force water through while others are built into water bottles. Dirty water is pumped via a screen-filtered flexible silicon tube through a specialized filter, ending up in a container. These filters work to remove bacteria, protozoa and microbial cysts that can cause disease. Filters may have fine meshes that must be replaced or cleaned, and ceramic water filters must have their outside abraded when they have become clogged with impurities. These water filters should not be confused with devices or tablets that are water purifiers, some of which remove or kill viruses such as hepatitis A and rotavirus.
