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Sediment Filters

Whole House Sediment Filtration for Turbid Well Water — Maryland, WV, VA & PA

Big Blue whole house sediment filter installed by Mr. Water LLC
A Big Blue heavy duty sediment filter, installed and labeled.
20 inch R30-BB pre filter clogged with sediment, pulled during service
A 20" R30-BB pre-filter, pulled during a service call — this is what your plumbing is being protected from.

Sediment in your well water is one of the most destructive forces on your plumbing system and water treatment equipment. Sand, silt, clay particles, and rust act like fine sandpaper on every moving part in your home — from water softener control valves and reverse osmosis membranes to kitchen faucet cartridges, shower valves, and washing machine inlet screens. A properly sized and installed sediment filter is the first line of defense for protecting your entire water system.

Mr. Water LLC installs whole house sediment filtration systems for homes and businesses throughout Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. We carry filters in stock and can recommend the right system based on your water quality and flow rate needs.

What We Install

Types of Sediment Filters We Install

1 Standard Whole House Cartridge Filters — 10" and 20"

The most common sediment filtration solution for residential well water. A standard housing holds a replaceable filter cartridge that captures sand, silt, rust, and other particulate matter before it reaches your water treatment equipment and plumbing fixtures.

  • 10" cartridge filters are suitable for lower sediment loads and smaller households
  • 20" cartridge filters provide greater capacity and longer service life between changes — recommended for most well water applications in our area
  • Available in a range of micron ratings depending on the particle size needing to be removed
  • Simple homeowner serviceable design — cartridge replacement is quick and straightforward
  • Should always be installed between the well tank and any water softener, iron filter, or other treatment equipment

2 Big Blue Filters

Big Blue housings are a heavy duty, high flow sediment filtration option for homes and light commercial applications with higher water demand or heavier sediment loads. The larger 4.5" diameter cartridge provides significantly more surface area than a standard cartridge filter, resulting in longer life between cartridge changes and less pressure drop across the filter. Big Blue filters are an excellent choice when your well water has high levels of sediment or sand, you need higher flow rates without pressure loss, you want to extend the time between filter cartridge changes, or you're protecting expensive downstream equipment like water softeners or RO systems.

3 Automatic Backwashing Sediment Filters

For well water with consistently high sediment levels, a backwashing sediment filter is the most effective long-term solution. Unlike cartridge filters that require periodic manual cartridge replacement, automatic backwashing filters clean themselves on a programmed schedule — flushing accumulated sediment down the drain automatically. These systems use a media bed — typically filter sand or a specialty filtration media — and a timed control valve that initiates a backwash cycle to clean the media and restore filtration capacity. The media bed itself isn't maintenance-free forever — over time it will need to be dumped and refilled with fresh media to keep the system performing properly. Ideal for wells with high sand or fine silt content, homeowners who want a low-maintenance solution, and applications where cartridge replacement would be required too frequently to be practical.

4 Spin-Down Sediment Strainers

For applications where large particles like sand and coarse sediment need to be removed quickly and easily, a spin-down strainer can be installed as a pre-filter. Water enters the strainer chamber and spins, causing heavier particles to fall to the bottom of the unit where they can be flushed out via a flush valve. Spin-down strainers work best as a first stage of filtration before a cartridge or backwashing filter downstream.

Why It Matters

What Unfiltered Sediment Does to Your Water Treatment System

Sediment is the enemy of every water treatment system. Installing a proper sediment filter protects every component downstream and extends the life of your entire water treatment investment.

Water Softeners: Sediment clogs the control valve, wears out pistons, seals, and o-rings, and can pack down the resin bed reducing softening capacity
Iron Filters & Acid Neutralizers: Sediment accumulates in the media bed and reduces water flow and treatment effectiveness
Reverse Osmosis Systems: Fine sediment fouls the membrane prematurely, dramatically shortening its lifespan
UV Lights: Turbidity (cloudiness from sediment) shields bacteria from UV radiation, reducing disinfection effectiveness
Faucets & Fixtures: Sand and grit destroy cartridges in kitchen and bathroom faucets, shower valves, and washing machine inlet screens
Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions — Sediment Filters

How do I know if I have sediment in my well water?

Common signs include visible particles in your water, clogged faucet aerators, frequent faucet cartridge failures, gritty feeling water, or reduced water pressure over time. Sometimes sediment is fine enough that you can't see it but it still causes damage downstream.

How often does the cartridge need to be changed?

It depends on your sediment load. Some customers change cartridges every 3 months, others go 6-12 months between changes. A good rule of thumb — change it when you notice a drop in water pressure across the filter.

What micron rating do I need?

We recommend the appropriate micron rating based on your specific water conditions. Finer micron ratings remove smaller particles but clog faster. We'll help you find the right balance for your water.

Can I install a sediment filter myself?

Changing the filter cartridge is something most homeowners can handle themselves once the system is in place — it's quick and straightforward. Installing the system itself is a different story. Proper sizing, placement, and connection to your existing equipment matters, and an incorrectly sized or installed filter can cause pressure problems or damage downstream equipment, so in most cases we don't recommend self-installation. We're happy to handle the installation for you.

Does a sediment filter soften water or remove bacteria?

No — sediment filters only remove physical particles. For hardness, iron, bacteria, or other water quality issues, additional treatment equipment is needed. We'll evaluate your complete water quality and recommend the right combination of equipment.

Ready to Protect Your Water System?

Send a few photos of your current setup and describe what's going on — visible particles, clogged aerators, a filter you're not sure how to size — and Scott will let you know what it'll take to fix it, no salesman required.

Send Photos & Get a Straight Answer