Does a cheap Chinese water filter remove drying marks?

[Jockos]

The answer is: yes, it does.

I moved to this apartment 2½ years ago, and the local water purification system gives a water with a high mineral content, which left me with a lot of crud on my negatives that I didn't suffer before.
To its defense it's quite tasty, for being city water.

A few weeks ago I bought a cheap water filter that attaches to the faucet, and today I tried it out for the first time. Six 5x7 sheets and one roll of 120, not a single spot of crud (some dust though).

Looks like:

For ~$10 I give this filter: 5/5

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

My films certainly became a lot cleaner after I installed a water filter, but I still use a 1 + 200 mix of ILFORD Ilfotol in the final bath to eliminate drying spots. It's worth noting that excluding dust in other parts of the imaging process (camera, changing bag, reels, tanks, scanner and so on) all ultimately play a part in the cleanliness of your prints.

 

[charjohncarter]

Thanks for this information, I live in an area with very good water through a local supplier. It taste good and no water spots. But if I move your information could come in handy.

 

[sevo]

Define "cheap Chinese". A simple particle filter like the pictured one will remove grit and mud from the water, regardless whether marketed under a US or EU brand or under that by the Asian OEM. So yes, it will help if you have dirt embedded in the processed film. It will not reduce solute mineral content, the more common cause of drying marks - for that you would need a reverse osmosis filter, a much bigger and more expensive device (which usually also requires a storage tank and separate tap).