This guide is to help you keep your UV system in tiptop condition. It’s aimed at our domestic audience but is equally as valid for commercial systems as well. UV systems are very simple piece of equipment that are really easy to keep in working order. These bits of advice will give you the main points in keeping it as such.

When does a UV lamp need replacing and what does it do?

UV lamps use Mercury to give out the right type of UV (ours won’t make white clothes glow in the dark). But the Mercury is used up and after one year and so the lamp needs changing for a new one. The Mercury still has harmful effects if not disposed of properly so still get rid of them properly at your local recycling centre. For more on what lamps we can offer check here for more details.

UV systems maintenance

Depending on where you are in the world will affect the quality of the water your UV unit is treating. If you’re in a particularly hard water area then you’ll find that you could have an issue with hardness building up on the water side of the quartz sleeve. The lamp running hot accelerates this process so you might need a scale reduction filter to go in line with the UV system. While that might be a bit more expensive to install, the difference is going to be marked.

Maintenance is fairly simple and a lot of domestic manufacturers try to make it as user friendly as possible. However, if you’re not confident getting hands-on with your UV system then a local plumber would be your best port of call in getting it serviced. Getting experienced engineers like us would be considerably more expensive and a bit overkill. Plumbers are usually more than happy with there.

 

Pre-filtration for UV units

Carrying on from the previous point, there are many situations where pre-filtration is going to be used in tandem with a UV unit. The majority of the time, they’re used with standard sediment filters just to make sure that the water is in as good condition as possible to make sure the UV unit gets the best chance to do its job.

Carbon filtration is used where the water is either discoloured (it’s usually an amber colour caused by Tannins in the water, seen here), or has a problem with taste or smell. Carbon filtration is simple enough to install and look after but it is slightly more expensive than sediment filtration.

Water tests are often requested by local authorities and will show up a host of other issues that are remedied with a combination of filtration and UV. If you’re unsure of what your test results mean feel free to send a copy through to us to look at. We’ll be happy to cast our eye over it at no charge.

If that sounds good or you just want to get in touch and ask about anything else, either contact us through our website or call us using the details you can see below.