Written by: Tommy Stricklin // Last Updated: May 17, 2023
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This post was created in collaboration with SpringWell Water. We thank the author Tommy Stricklin who is Springwell’s chief water specialist for the time and effort he put into this. Over to Tommy!
Systemic water fluoridation is known as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century. However, it is also a major cause of increased dental and skeletal fluorosis, especially in children.
Unfortunately, once fluoride is added to our water supply, individuals cannot control how much of it is ingested. In this case, proper water filtration is the only way to remove excess fluoride from drinking water to make it safe for your family.
Ceramic water filters are popular high-end filter units. But people wonder if they can help make a water supply fluoride-free. Read further in this article for details.
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Key Takeaways
- Many ceramic water filters can remove at least some fluoride from water.
- However, the outer ceramic shell doesn’t do much to remove fluoride. It’s the filter media inside that determines if a ceramic filter will remove fluoride from water or not.
Do Ceramic Filters Remove Fluoride?
Yes, ceramic filters can remove fluoride from water. However, the ceramic structure itself plays a minimal role in the purification process. Instead, the filter media integrated inside the cartridges determines the effectiveness of a ceramic filter against fluoride.
If you’re wondering why removing fluoride from drinking water is necessary, the answer is simple: Consuming too much of it can have effects on one’s dental and skeletal health.
Currently, the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water recommended by the American Dental Association is 0.7 ppm. While non-fluoridated water can still naturally have around 0.3 ppm fluoride, some ground or well water can also have higher concentrations.
That’s why it is the safest option to go with a water filtration system that successfully removes fluoride – such as a ceramic water filter that contains the right type of filter media.
What Else Does a Ceramic Water Filter Remove?
A ceramic filter removes or reduces the level of fluoride in your water depending on the filter media inside of it. However, fluoride is not the only water impurity/contaminant a ceramic filter can reduce.
Depending on brand and model, ceramic filters are highly effective at what they do and can easily remove various types of water pollutants that could cause harmful when consumed.
Here’s a list of these water pollutants:
Bacteria
Do you know that the consumption of unsafe drinking water causes 60% of deaths from diarrheal diseases? Bacterial pathogens can quickly enter your body and make you seriously ill.
However, there are ceramic filters which successfully remove 99% of all pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, and E. coli.
Viruses
High-end ceramic water filters also remove infectious viruses.
Chemicals
Apart from bacteria and viruses, harmful chemicals in water can also have hazardous effects on your health.
Ceramic filters with activated carbon cores can remove a wide range of such chemicals. These include chloroform, pesticides, PFAS, disinfectants and their byproducts, and trace pharmaceuticals.
Metals
Lead, nickel, copper, chromium 6, arsenic, aluminum, mercury, iron, manganese, and cadmium are examples for metals that can be removed by ceramic water filters.
Radiological Contaminants
Besides that, some ceramic filters can also help remove radiological elements that can adversely affect children’s health in particular; namely uranium, thallium, plutonium, and radium.
Unpleasant Odor and Taste
Even if you get a clean water supply in your home, ceramic filters can help increase the overall aesthetic quality. Removing unpleasant tastes and odors, you can enjoy much more refreshing drinking water.
What Are Ceramic Water Filters and How Do They Work?
Now that you know the functionality ceramic filters offer, you are probably ready to purchase one for your home. However, if it is your first time selecting a water filter, here’s all the information you need in order to make the right buying decision.
Mainly, ceramic filters consist of highly functional filtration media encased in a robust ceramic outer shell. These media range from granular activated carbon and activated alumina to KDF and ion exchange resin, and constitute what types of water contaminants will be removed.
While most of the range of filtered substances depends on a ceramic filter’s inner core, that doesn’t mean the porous outer shell does not serve a purpose. Instead, if you think about how a ceramic filter works, its outer shell acts much like a sieve. This way, when water first enters the filter element, almost all suspended particles are trapped in the tiny ceramic pores and never make through to the inside.
Moreover, said pores are fine enough to filter out microscopic bacteria, cyst, protozoa, and viruses.
In addition, some ceramic filters come with added silver to discourage mold and algae formation.
What Is a Ceramic Water Filter Made of?
This may vary between different brands and models, but most ceramic filters are made out of fine silica powder. Silica powder has its origins in the cell walls of microscopic algae that have deposited on lake beds over millions of years.
The substance is also commonly known as diatomaceous earth. It has various applications, including in insulation, as a polishing agent, and, most importantly, in ceramic water filter manufacturing.
Further Reading:
- Best Fluoride Water Filters
- The Best Rated Water Filters for Removal of Chlorine and Fluoride
- Reviews of the Best Fluoride Water Testing Kits
- How to Get Rid of Fluoride in Water?
- Can Fluoride Be Boiled Out of Water?
Ceramic Water Filter Pros and Cons
Ceramic water filters are highly productive and functional, tackling a wide range of bacterial, chemical and other types of contaminants. However, if you’re thinking of purchasing one for your home, you should know both sides of the coin.
Here, I have listed the pros and cons associated with ceramic water filters to give you a complete picture.
Advantages
- Made from natural, organic materials that cause no harm to human health, a ceramic filter won’t contaminate your water even after prolonged use.
- Their ultra-fine filtration technology is ideal for removing parasites and incapacitating bacteria. Some models are even certified to eliminate viruses in water.
- Most ceramic filters are affordably priced.
- Their long-lasting filtration capacities lower maintenance cost. Plus, you don’t have to go through the hassle of replacing the filter element every couple of months.
- They are available in many different sizes, so you can purchase one according to your needs.
Disadvantages
- Ceramic filters tend to clog easily because of their fine pores, so they need to be cleaned frequently if your water supply has high levels of sedimentation or hardness.
- Going for a 100% ceramic water filter without any carbon or KDF will be ineffective against chemicals. You won’t get rid of chlorine, trihalomethanes, and similar stuff.
- The quality of ceramic filters varies between different brands. If you go for a cheap option, it may not deliver what you are expecting.
- A ceramic water filter is rather fragile and brittle, so it can easily crack if subjected to incompetent handling.
- The very fine pores slow water flow considerably. If you purchase a gravity-fed water filter, you’ll get a flow rate of around or up to one gallon per hour.
How Much Does a Ceramic Water Filter Cost?
The cost of a ceramic water filter highly depends on the design, brand, and model. For example, you could use the Big Berkey gravity water filter system with 2 Berkey Earth ceramic filter elements which will cost you around $430. Just the filter elements cost around $60 for a set of two.
How Long Does a Ceramic Filter Last?
If we only consider the ceramic filter element itself, it can easily last you a few thousand gallons of filtered water. Again, if we take Berkey as an example, you can get up to 3,000 gallons or 3 years out of every cartridge.
What’s important is that you maintain the ceramic outer shell well by frequently cleaning it.
Other Types of Water Filters That Remove Fluoride
Apart from ceramic filters, many types of water filters can help remove or lower the amount of fluoride in water.
Reverse Osmosis Systems
For one, reverse osmosis systems use a semi-permeable membrane and other filter elements to purify water. The RO membrane can filter out up to 99% of all water contaminants including fluoride!
Anion Exchange
An anion exchange filtration system is rare but effective against fluoride. However, up till now, the process is not really available for residential use. You can only find it in industrial applications.
Activated Alumina
Activated alumina is one of the most popular filter media used for fluoride removal – and rightly so since it is highly effective.
Distillation
If you need a foolproof method to remove any fluoride from your drinking water, then distillation is your go-to process.
However, while it successfully removes all traces of fluoride, the process is not ideal for everyday use. That’s because water distillation removes everything; the bad and the good impurities. Lacking beneficial minerals, distilled water should be passed through remineralization before consumption.
Bone Char
Bone char is an unpopular but effective method to reduce fluoride levels in water. The adsorptive filter media is formed by charring cattle or pig bones. Its tricalcium phosphate content makes it efficient for fluoride reduction.
If you have any thoughts about the question, does a ceramic filter remove fluoride from water, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Tommy Stricklin
Tommy Stricklin is SpringWell Water’s chief water specialist with more than 2 decades of experience and knowledge within the residential water industry.
Learn more about Tommy and the rest of the BOS Team.
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