What is A Ceramic Filter and How it Works

The ceramic water filter is made of porous clay and has a coating of colloidal silver solution. Ceramic water filters strain the dirt and bacteria out of the water as it passes through the pores of the ceramic filter pot and kill bacteria as it comes into contact with the colloidal silver.

In creating ceramic water filters, ground rice husks (or other organic material) are added to the clay mixture. The rice husks burn out in the high temperatures of the kiln, creating thin clay walls with cavities in between. These thinner clay walls increase the speed that the water moves through the filter, while still requiring water to pass between clay particles and therefore still removing dirt and pathogens.

Silver also kills bacteria. It is used on airplanes, by NASA in space, and in hospitals as a disinfectant. The silver solution in ceramic water filters is very important in killing bacteria. Laterite, also added to the clay has a high amount of iron oxide in it. The iron has a positive charge when in the filter and seems to hold onto viruses which have a negative charge (like a magnet that holds onto metal). This can help remove viruses from the water. Be aware ceramic filters do not eliminate chemical contaminants that could be in some source water.

The ceramic filter pot is set in a plastic receptacle tank with a plastic lid and a spigot (or tap). The ceramic filter pot is manually filled with 10 liters of source water. The water is purified as it seeps through the ceramic filter pot at a rate of approximately 2 liters per hour. The plastic receptacle combined with ceramic filter pot can store up to 35 L of water.

For further information on how ceramic filters are made please visit Potters without Boarders or Potters for Peace.

Ceramic Filter Parts and Filtration System
Simple and Effective

Cheese/Soft Cloth:Prevents debris in source water flowing into ceramic pot. Eliminates twig, dirt or other contaminants from flowing into ceramic filterLid: Helps to keep pathogens, dirt and contaminants out of the container during the filtration process

Ceramic filter: Impregnated with colloidal silver which eliminates 99.8% of all water borne bacteria that can result in diarrhea, typhoid, cholera and dysentery. Porous material within the clay allows for water filtration flow at a rate of 4 liters/hour

Plastic bucket: Holds the filtered water

Plastic Spigot: Used to access the cleaned filtered water.