• Drip irrigation system filters must be equipped to handle various hard and organic particulates in the water supply.green grass texture image by Ivan Polushkin from Fotolia.com
  
  Drip system filters assist in filtering a variety of materials, from water being dispersed from a drip irrigation system. Such materials may include sand and organic materials, such as dirt and algae, as well as freshwater fish eggs that run the risk of hatching in the system and causing serious problems. Choosing the right filter for a drip system is necessary in the maintenance of optimal performance and overall system longevity.
  
  

Screen Filter

• The most economic of irrigation system filters, the screen filter, is also the most common. While effective at filtering particles such as sand, screen filters are less effective at the removal of organic materials including mold, algae, and slime. Rather than lying on top of the filter as the water streams through, organic materials have a tendency to become embedded in the material of the screen and are hard to clean away. Screen filters are easily maintained through simply flushing the screen with water. In some instances, particularly in those instances when extra cleaning is required, it is sometimes simpler to remove the screen filter from the drip systems and clean it by hand.
  
  

Disk Filter

• Comprised of round disks with tiny bumps in various sizes that have sharp points on the ends stacked one on top of the other, disk filters are effective at the removal of sand and organic. The sharp points on each disk allow spaces to occur between each of the disks where particulates are caught as the water moves through the drip system. Like screen filters, disk filters can be cleaned through flushing. However, the individual disks must be separated for thorough cleaning away of the filtered sand and other materials.
  
  

Centrifugal Filter

• Commonly called "sand separators," centrifugal filters are most effective in the removal of hard particles such as sand. In particular, this type of filter is extremely useful in areas where sand is abundant since centrifugal filters are slower to become clogged by large amounts of sand. This form of filter operates by taking dirtied water which enters the filter and swirling it within a cylinder. The motion of the cylinder results in the sand moving to the outer edges where it falls down the sides into a holding tank located at the bottom of the unit. Simple in design and relatively inexpensive, centrifugal filters are a great alternative to the more popular disk filter. When used in drip systems, use of a screen filter as a backup to the centrifugal filter acts as an efficient safety measure.