This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ceramic candle filters (CCF) used for domestic purification of water. They are considered cheap and in the past were very popular in Brazil. The efficiency of this system to remove Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and eggs and cysts of nine different enteroparasites (helminths and protozoa) was investigated using three different conditions of contaminated water. The microbial samples were suspended in tap water and filtered using quadruple CCF. The experiments were carrying out for eight days by taking two samples at intervals of 24 h from the top (raw water) and bottom (filtered water) units. Bacterial and parasitological analyses were performed according to current methods often used for drinking water quality monitoring. The experiments confirmed that CCF was very efficient to guarantee water free from P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and enteroparasites. We concluded that CCF can be used as a household method to provide safe drinking water with the advantage of being an affordable and culturally acceptable solution as well as sustainable and particularly indicated for low-income communities where the access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare are limited..
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