The Problem with Water - Part-1

Should I own an in-home point of use water purifier? We feel you should, because water is so important to bodily functions, it is imperative to use pure water.

Let's consider the three problem areas in water and discuss each one. Then let's talk about ways to deal with these problems objectively and arrive at a solution.

Problem 1 - Bacteria, Pyrogen, Virus

BACTERIA

Bacteria is present in virtually all untreated water. Bacteria is not all bad, but many kinds are deadly. 80% of all disease is water borne. Cholera, typhoid fever, typhus, diphtheria, dysentery, flu's - these used to wipe out thousands in the 1800's and early 1900's.

We began using chlorine in the early 1900's to help control these diseases. Chlorine soon gained in popularity in America about the same time Europeans quit using it.

(They saw the effects of it on the soldiers coming home from World War I that had been gassed by it.)

Chlorine's long-term considerations were greatly outweighed by bacteria's short-term effects. Today, however, our mentality is - if a little chlorine was good, more must be better.

Pyrogen is nothing more than bacteria which are dead. Have you ever wondered where the bacteria go after the chlorine kills them? Suppose you were eating supper and a fly landed on your plate. Your wife reaches over and kills it, but leaves it on the plate. The fly is dead, but nevertheless it still lies there. Can you consume it now because it is dead? Pyrogens cause sicknesses, low-grade fevers, intestinal tract disorders and other symptoms.

With virus epidemics each year, you would think medical science would be more aware of the part water might play. Many water systems get their water from rivers and lakes that receive treated waste water (some in rather large amounts).

Since they won't allow human waste to be used to fertilize crops for human consumption, why do they allow it to be dumped into our water supplies? Don't worry, well just add more chlorine. Remember - a unit cannot be called a purifier unless it removes bacteria and virus.

Problem 2 - Chemicals and Organic Substances

Many chemicals and organic substances are deadly alone, but when combined with another can really become a serious health threat. One of the most dangerous of the chemicals is one we add to eliminate problem l - bacteria.

Chlorine is not only dangerous by itself, but when it mixes with other substances can form even more deadly combinations - many of them known cancer causing agents. Chloroform is created when chlorine mixes with decaying vegetation. Chloroform is a known cancer-causing agent.

With all the discussion of additives in food and the problems many of them cause, one just has to wonder why government hasn't been talking about additives in water, like chlorine. The truth is that they have no inexpensive way to kill bacteria. Many other chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, etc, are found in measurable amounts in most municipal water systems.

The problem which needs to be addressed is how to purify the one-half of one percent of water for drinking, cooking and ices in our home. We certainly can't expect the government to do it. It would literally cost a fortune to us and them. Many new chemicals are being produced daily along with those already in existence, and some of these are showing up in our tap water supplies.

This is alarming in some areas of our country. If someone is concerned about their health, they should never take their drinking water for granted.

Problem 3 - Dissolved Solids

This problem is receiving more and more attention as the days go by. The minerals contained in water are inorganic minerals. These minerals attach themselves to blood vessel walls, accumulate in organs or joints, contributing to many different types of problems - hardening of the arteries, kidney and gall stones, arthritis, just to name a few.

It is believed the average European will consume roughly 450 pounds of dissolved solids in his or her lifetime. The body is able to rid itself of much of this, but always remember that water's job is to cleanse the body.

Many people think these inorganic minerals are useful, but experts now say the body uses the organic minerals found in fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products much more readily and completely. The build-up of inorganics and cholesterol in the arteries, coupled with heart disease constitute the number-one killer of adults in America today.

Pure water is one of the most necessary ingredients to good health.

Equipment

There are many ways to treat water, and we will discuss the most popular and practical ways. But which ever method you choose, you will want to keep some criteria in mind.

The unit you own should perform all or most of the following tasks:

(These items listed above were given by William D. G. Murry, Important Characteristics to Look for in a Water Purifier.)

We like Reverse Osmosis because when all factors are combined: Initial price. Water quality produced. Cost of maintenance. Ease of operation, you have to agree that for drinking water you can't beat it.

There are instances when one or more of the other methods could be used, but by and large Reverse Osmosis is rapidly becoming the standard in water purification.

Terms Used in Water Filtration & Purification

CERAMIC FILTER ELEMENT

At the core of the ceramic filter element is the most basic of elements.

This is the same substance which artisans, first in Asia and then in Europe, refined into the exquisite porcelain and pottery of the Shoguns and Kings. This material is Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.), a fossil substance, made up of tiny silicon shells left by trillions of microscopic, one celled algae called diatoms that have inhabited the waters of the earth for the last 150 million years.

Diatoms have one property that sets them apart from other algae. They weave for themselves microscopic shells, or frustules, are covered with a pattern of tiny holes so regular that even the slightest change in their design usually signifies a different species.

As the diatoms died, their shells survived, slowly piling up in deposits at the bottom of geological lakes and lagoons. When these dried up, what remained were huge deposits of "diatomaceous earth". The Egyptians as well as earlier cultures used D.E. to protect stored grains.

It has been speculated that the reason birds take dust baths and other animals roll in the dust is to rid themselves of ticks and fleas.

Today there are over 1500 uses for Diatomaceous Earth, from abrasives for toothpastes, filtering agents in alcoholic brewing processes, heat insulators for kilns, polishing agents for water and milk, fireproofing material, process material in making pigments, fillers for blotting papers, substitute for talc in printing processes, absorbents and dilatants for compositions to prevent growth of fungi, fumigants, insecticides, fillers in welding rods, to inert packaging materials for dangerous goods and many, many more.

The latest ceramic filter elements incorporate silver components into a porous ceramic outer shell that can trap bacteria down to as low as .22 of a micron in particle size - (a micron is 1/1OOth the width of a human hair or about 1/25,000th of an inch). Porous ceramics act as "depth filters" as they can retain particles finer than their maximum pore sizes.

For example the ceramic filter element used by Diamond Spring Water Technologies has over 80,000 pores, many of which are below 1 micron in diameter. Bacteriological laboratories consider 0.01 micron to 0.45 micron to be 'bacteriologically sterile' and 0.45 micron to 1.00 micron to be 'bacteriologically safe'.

The silver prevents any regrowth of bacteria that becomes trapped either outside or in the ceramic material. As the water comes into contact with the silver impregnated ceramic material, the bacteria is neutralized and destroyed as the Oligodynamic silver releases small quantities of positively charged metal ions which are taken into the enzyme system of the bacteria's cells. The flow rate of the ceramic filter can be easily renewed simply by brushing its surface. As the old layer of contaminants is brushed off and flushed away, a new layer becomes available. This process can be repeated a number of times before the ceramic material is exhausted.

The ceramic filter element is certified/approved by the World Health Organisation, Department of Health, Toronto, Ontario; Counties Public Health Laboratories, London, England; Japan Food Research Laboratories and is currently sold and used in over 100 countries throughout the World.