Water Filter Methods and Treatments

Water Quality Reports - Water's relation to human health

The following reports contain information about water quality and potential risks related to tap water and bottled drinking water.

National Science Foundation Contaminant Guide

Who says tap water is unhealthy?

Internet Health: Cancer & Chlorine

Dirty tap water puts pregnant women at risk

Study: Bottled water no better than tap water

Natural Resources Defense Council
Our Children At Risk
Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?

Environmental Working Group
Weed Killers By The Glass
In The Drink

The Breast Cancer Fund
"Environmental Causes/Breast Cancer
Voice of Women‚ Chlorine Connection

American Chemical Society
Drinking Water Drug Removal

Science News Online
More Waters Test Positive For Drugs

What‘s In My City‘s Water‚ City-by-City Water Quality Reports

What‘s In Your Cities‘ Water - EPA‘s data base

See your city's water utility"Annual Water Quality Report." This is a relatively new requirement for water companies‚ and one that is still mostly un enforced.

On October 1‚ 1999‚ a new federal law went into effect that requires water utilities to send each customer a detailed report showing what is in their water‚ appropriately called "The Right To Know Amendment." The most important thing to remember is that no matter how insistent these reports are that "contaminants in your water do not necessarily pose a health risk‚" any level of contamination in our drinking water does in fact represent a danger to our health.

Of the over 75‚000 toxic chemicals used in our society‚ the EPA has only set standards (MCLs) for about 90‚ and those 90 Maximum Contaminant Levels are not necessarily set on "health effects." The EPA considers limited health studies based on consumption of one certain chemical by a 175 lb. adult when setting these standards. No consideration is given to the effects on small children or the combined effects of two or more contaminants‚ which some studies show are magnified by as much as 1000 times. Water utilities are only required to test for the 90 contaminants that the EPA has set standards for.

Nobody knows how many toxic chemicals may actually be in tap water. According to the Ralph Nader Research Group‚ after reviewing thousands of pages of EPA documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act‚ more than 2100 toxic chemicals have already been detected in U.S. water supplies. Virtually all public water systems have some level of contamination. The water utilities are usually quick to point out that the chemicals found in their water are "below EPA‘s Maximum Levels"‚ and in most cases they are. The fact is that even the smallest trace of a toxic chemical causes damage and science is just now starting to realize to what extent.

"Annual Water Quality Report."

Drinking Water Definitions

MCL: (Maximum Contaminant Level)‚ This is the level at which the EPA requires corrective action and can impose penalties.

MCLG: (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal)‚ This is the level at which the EPA has determined that unacceptable health risks may occur. Notice that the MCLG is always at or below the MCL‚ the law allows some unhealthy levels of contaminants. A "Superior" water system only means that it complies with EPA minimum water quality standards‚ not that it doesn't‘t contain unhealthy levels of contaminants.

ppb: (part per billion)‚ The unit of measure used for many water borne synthetic chemicals.

ppm: (part per million)‚ The unit of measure used for chlorine in tap water.

mg/L: (milligram per Liter)‚ A unit of measure used for contaminants in water.

Most Common Things To Look For: Lead‚ VOCs (volatile organic chemicals)‚ Organic Contaminants‚ and Disinfectants By-Products (THMs‚ Trihalomethanes)‚ are the most noticeable problems on these reports. Often these toxic chemicals exceed the MCLGs or healthful threshold. Also these thresholds are relevant only to the one contaminant; if more than one is present the thresholds for heath risks drops considerably.

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A Guide To Water Filters And Water Treatment

Compare Types of Water Filters

We receive our water from the sky. It falls to earth and percolates through the earth, into streams, whirling, tumbling, absorbing light photons, energy and the minerals essential for healthy life. When it is drunk, the minerals and energy it offers are absorbed and converted to energy, and it  passes back into the earth and the sea - where it evaporates to continue this perfect natural cycle. The intricate perfection of the snowflake is testament to water's structural integrity as it falls, pure and new, from the sky.

Natural water is a rarity today due to industrial contamination, woodland loss and the need for centralized water storage.

Water must be capable of absorption if it is to benefit us. Water in its natural form can be seen on a previous page. Compare this to the microscope picture of polluted, processed and piped municipal water. This is the meaning of live and dead water.

Filtration is just the first step

Restorative technology has taken giant steps in the last thirty years but it is only recently that it has reached USA shores. Here at HeartSpring.net, we love investigating, testing and learning about the new technologies.

There is not one answer for all water problems.

1. The simple yet effective carbon water filters

These systems are easy to install, relatively inexpensive, and cover the basic functions of filtration. Water filter charcoal medium carbon is derived from coconut husk . This absorbs impurities as the water passes through. This form of filter comprises possibly 95% of those in use domestically. They are simple to install, relatively economical, and depending on micron level, will filter out the most deadly of contaminants, Cryptosporidium and Guardia.

An average charcoal filter will last a family 6-9 months. Some charcoal filters are enhanced by the use of activated nano-silver, which provides extra antibacterial protection, killing around 650 known types of organisms. Minerals in solution can still permeate a charcoal filter. These minerals are essential to health.

In situations where sediment is a problem it is worthwhile to add a second separate in-line sediment prefilter. Otherwise the more expensive charcoal filter will become clogged up long before its normal lifespan.

Charcoal water filters come in various forms

a. Carbon Block is a solidified form of honeycombed carbon. It is the best form of filter but flow rate is significantly slower than with  loose charcoal.

b. Activated Silver Impregnated Charcoal. Sometimes called Chlorgon, this adds chloramine exclusion and bacteria killing ability to the basic carbon.

c. Micron Rating.

Anything 1 micron rating or below will inhibit Cryptosporidium and Guardia as the cysts are larger than this in size. Viruses cannot be inhibited by a filter with a micron rating of more than 0.01 microns.

Carbon filters cannot change the pH balance of the water. If you have acidic water, you will still have acidic water, as the minerals causing the acidity will be dissolved and therefore will pass through the carbon filter.

Carbon filters may be susceptible to mould attack if left unused over extended periods. It is important to realize that a filter gathers the 'garbage' in your tap water, and the organic component of this garbage is quite capable of rotting. Add a little summer humidity to the already damp internals of a carbon filter and you may have a mould attack. Taste will always be the deciding factor, and if the taste of the water suddenly changes after an extended period of non-use, such as your annual vacation, change the filter.

Note also that carbon filters reduce in efficiency the longer they are in use. For this reason regular filter replacement is essential

2. Water Distillers

People believed that the purest water had the least chance of allowing harmful organisms to enter the body, and distillation certainly rids water of all impurities. However in recent years there has been growing awareness of distilled water's effects on the balance of minerals in the body, plus the acidic result that a typical distiller creates.
People now realize that dissolved minerals in the water are more natural than pure water, and serve an important function in supporting the body's immune system and metabolism.

3. Ceramic Water Filters

Ceramic water filters come as a cartridge that fits a normal bench top filter. At the core of the ceramic filter element is Diatomaceous Earth, 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.

Some ceramic filters incorporate nano-silver impregnated into a porous ceramic outer shell that can trap bacteria down to as low as .22 of a micron in particle size [1/100,000 of an inch].

Laboratories consider a filtering medium with an effective pore size of .01 micron to .45 micron to be bacteriologically sterile and .45 micron to 1.0 micron to be bacteriologically safe. Re growth of bacteria that becomes trapped either on the outside of the element or in the ceramic's pores is controlled by the silver which, on contact with water, releases small quantities of positively charged metals ions.

These ions are taken into the enzyme system of the bacteria's cell and thereby neutralize it. The flow rate of the ceramic filter can be renewed by brushing its outer surface under running water. As the top layer of ceramic and contaminants are brushed off and flushed away, a new layer becomes available.

Flow rate of ceramic water filters are slow.

4. Reverse Osmosis Filters

Originally developed to process water in submarines, the reverse osmosis process basically draws water through an extremely fine membrane. The membrane act like an extremely fine filter to create drinkable water from salty (or otherwise contaminated) water. The contaminated water is put on one side of the membrane and pressure is applied to stop, and then reverse, the osmotic process. It generally takes a lot of pressure and is fairly slow, but it works. The result is extremely finely filtered water.

However, as already mentioned, water without minerals can be a health problem. Dr. Zoltan Rona has authored an excellent paper on 'Pure Water' recommending in no uncertain terms against its continued consumption. According to the U.S. EPA, "Distilled water (which is identical to RO water ~Ed), being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact. Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water  acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water." Dr Rona adds; "Longevity is associated with the regular consumption of hard water (high in minerals). Disease and early death is more likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water." As Reverse Osmosis produced water is identical in nature to distilled water we can make the same assumptions.

5. Ultra Violet Radiation Systems

UV systems use high frequency light to irradiate water through a glass element. Water passing the element is exposed to the light, which kills all living organisms.

UV systems are very common in Third world hotels etc where the possibility of serious disease occurring from local water consumption is high, especially from fecal matter in the water.

Although an excellent sterilizing system, it is impossible to know whether the system is always working without a laboratory analysis of the output water. For this reason the more sophisticated systems incorporate an hour counter so a new element can be replaced at a safe interval.

6. Atmospheric Water Generators

Atmospheric water generators intake air, processing moisture from the air to create water. Similar to a dehumidifier, refrigerant circulates through a chiller array, (coils or plates) lower in temperature than the humidity (dew point) of the intake air temperature. This causes condensation of water that collects on a chilled spinning disk, shedding and channeling the condensed water into a holding tank. Output performance is dependent on the humidty prresent in the air with operational humidity ranging from 35% to 95%. Once the water is condensed, UV light, ozone, and various filtration methods such as reverse osmosis create fresh, clean drinking water. The system doesn't require a water source since it performs like a "water factory" making water from the mosture in air.

7. THE NEW TECHNOLOGY: A Quantum Leap

In the last forty years there have been amazing advances in water filtration technology. This has come in part from the work of Russian scientists on ionized water, but also from the research of Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian inventor who recognizes that water was far more than something to wash garbage out of our body and quench thirst. His work found that water indeed has a memory, and that this memory can be restored. The systems you will now see all go at least some way to fulfilling the dreams of these inspired pioneers.

Magnetic Systems

Fundamentally, this involves passing the water over or through a magnetic field. This has the effect of re-arrangement of atoms, or ions in the water. However without the fundamental 'splitting' of water ions that occurs in a Water Ionizer (H2O into OH- and HO) lasting change is not possible, even though many claims are made by the various manufacturers.

Magnetic De-scalers

Magnetic units do not filter or change pH. Some magnetic systems are used as de-scalers for pipes in hard water areas, for which they may work well.

Single Flow Magnetic Plus filter:

When water flows through a magnetic field (whether it is electrically induced or induced using magnetic media such as Magnetite), it experiences a polarization of minerals and a change in the ionization of these minerals. The result can be softer water, 'smaller' water molecules that may give far greater hydration, and a limited form of negative ionization of the water, imparting some antioxidant effect.

Although single flow systems certainly work to some degree, the fact that they do not split the water into magnetically opposite streams (acid and alkaline) means that they will reform within a short period and therefore must be consumed immediately.

Energetic water treatment

These are systems that use no power, but rely on the technology pioneered by Austrian Viktor Schauberger. Basically, they reconfigure incoming water by passing it through a vortex system that softens and re-energizes the water. They do not, in most cases, filter the water. They are usually attached to the house water inlet pipe so they can service the whole house.

Far Infra Red Systems

A number of systems include the use of Far Infra Red Energy. This is a completely natural form of energy that emanates from certain minerals, the most effective being the semi-precious gem, Tourmaline. Other minerals are used, often under proprietary brand exotic names, to enhance their perceived ability. Far Infra Red energy (FIR) has the ability to soften water, to negatively charge it, and to restructure it into smaller molecular clusters which may assist in hydration of the body. Most systems use FIR by including it in the replaceable filter.

Catalytic Conversion Water Filters

These systems use technology not unlike that used to control emissions in our modern car. They convert heavy metals, chlorine, pollutants and viruses into harmless oxidized form, breaking them down to their basic elements.

The research and proven technology for this comes from Estonia (former USSR) and has been used to manufacture systems that can be rushed to drought or conflict areas, throw a hose into a stagnant pool, and supply fresh, safe water immediately - to World Health Organization standards. Because they do not filter the water, they need no filter and domestic models will last up to 1,000,000 liters. They also negatively charge the water and alkalize it. One such whole house water filter includes Filtersorb SP.

Water Ionizers - Electrolyzed Alkaline Water Filters

Forty years ago Russian scientists devised a simple method of separating water into two streams of alkaline mineral rich water and acid mineral rich water. They used a series of magnetically charged plates and a ceramic separator filament. As water passed between the plates, the magnetic field drew alkaline minerals to one side of the ceramic filament, and acid to the other.

Today alkaline and acid  water is used in a huge number of hospitals and clinics, both for consumption and wound healing in place of expensive drug regimens, and the technology soon spread to Japan and Korea. Large companies like Akai, Panasonic, Toyo and Jupiter Science manufacture the bulk of the world's systems, with a combined output of well over one million units per annum. Korean water alkalizers have taken the lead with the introduction of Far Infra Red technology to their systems.

A water alkalizer may be attached to the kitchen tap or installed under sink. It filters the water first, and then alkalizes and acidifies it via the ionizing chamber, creating the two streams of water.

Alkaline water is used for drinking, with many, many people reporting health improvement and reduction of acid symptoms.  Acid water is used for dermal application, with similarly, many users reporting improvement. It may also be used for household cleaning because it is a powerful antiseptic. Domestic models will provide water at the same rate as  a kitchen tap.

Some other systems make claims of alkalizing your water but do not guarantee it. The catalytic converter (See No. 5) will alkalize approximately one pH point (ten times the input pH) but a water alkalizer can alkalize up to 1,000 times more than tap water - depending, of course, on input water. Other systems depend on the addition of calcium to the filter to achieve alkalization.

Your water must have minerals in to facilitate the magnetic process. For this reason water supplies that hold very little minerals may not be as suitable.

8. Other Water Filters

We have not been able to include all systems here. There is a plethora of small household systems on the supermarket shelves. They are almost all carbon-based and have small capacity filters. Although they may do a good job, we have not bothered to include them. In general they do not represent good value.

There is also a range of systems that we call the "Spin Doctor Specials". These use massive advertising campaigns enlisting the assistance of celebrities and tied dealers to convince you through fear and hype that you imply must buy their system and that all others will probably harm you.

Distasteful as it may be, it works, and I get many people who are calling me in real fear of making the wrong decision.

So just to calm the waters (pun intended), here's a simple fact. You are not going to die prematurely from any water system and you are not going to die from drinking tap water. (Fingers firmly crossed) It's just the quality of life you need to think about. Health is indeed the only wealth.

8. Bottled Water

The bottled water craze is so big that Coca-Cola and Pepsi predict that within a short time, water will create more revenue for them than their less healthy products. By 2007 the market will be twice the size. Yet is it really worth almost double petrol?

The USA loves bottled water. We spend billions per annum on something supposed to be "pure", or drawn from "springs", and we fall for the epics of sparkling streams and idyllic waterfalls as we rush for the checkout.

How does bottled water compare with free tap water? 

The Weekend Australian commissioned a report  by the University of Technology, Sydney. The report stated that "the best-selling bottled water, Mount Franklin, was no cleaner than the cheapest brand".

Yet "premium" bottled water such as Mount Franklin sells in supermarkets for about 209,000% times more than tap water.

Dr. Grant Hose, research fellow in eco toxicology at UTS, who oversaw the analysis, said the results showed that the notion that bottled water was somehow more "pure" than tap water was incorrect. "Tap water is as healthy for you as bottled water - it's no different," Dr Hose said.

The analysis tested three tap water samples and three bottled waters for bacterial contamination, impurities that affect taste such as dissolved solids, and other factors It also screened the samples for the minerals calcium, magnesium, sodium (a measure of salt), fluoride and nitrate.

Neither tap nor bottled water samples had detectable bacterial contamination, and all were well within guideline limits for the other substances.

Tap Water - The Rational Choice - Understand the advantages of drinking tap water over bottled water.

Home-Made Water Filter Recipe

Common household items can be used to create a home-made, siphoning water filter that uses charcoal as a filtering agent. Filter applications include camping and emergencies.

Drinking Water Resources - Environmental Protection Agency

Common contaminates found in drinking water

Natural and man-made radium in drinking water

FAQ about drinking water safety

Local Drinking Water Info Online Each year by July 1st you should receive in the mail a short consumer confidence report, or drinking water quality report from your water supplier. - US Environmental Protection Agency

More Than Meets the Eye?

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Remove Chlorine From Your Shower

The Natural Way to Skin and Hair Care. Get this Chlorine Free Shower Filter. Continue

The Effects of Aging? - Science Has A Simple Answer

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Drinking Water News

Treated Sewage Water Delivered To California Tap water

Toxic Chlorine By-Products Found In The District of Columbia's and Northern Virginia's Tap Water

Researchers have identified over 600 chemical by-products from chlorine, used for the disinfection of public water supplies. Recent test show these toxins in excess of legal limits, due to agriculture run-off into the historic Potomac River.

Drowning in Disinfection By-Products? Assessing Swimming Pool Water.

Children swimmers have an increased risk of developing asthma and infections of the respiratory tract and ear. Also a 1.6 - 2.0 fold increased risk for bladder cancer has been associated with swimming or showering/bathing with chlorinated water. Continue

Unfiltered Drinking Water Contamination

PCBS and illicit drugs are finding there way into the public drinking water. www.epa.gov

American Chemical Society
Drug Removal From Drinking Water?

Read more about the wide spread problem of drugs found in drinking water.

"No level of exposure to a chemical carcinogen should be considered toxicologically insignificant to humans."
- Surgeon General, National Cancer Institute.

Water Conservation Tips Around Your Home

Water efficiency and conservation tips from the Amercing Water Works Association.

Water Conservation Tips

Water Saver Home a virtual encyclopedia of water saving tips.

Drugs Found In Drinking Water

By Kathleen Fackelman, USA Today 11/08/00

As if we didn't‘t have enough worries about the quality of our drinking water‚ we now find that caffeine‚ nicotine‚ antibiotics and many prescription drugs are being detected in our public and private water systems.

It‘s not a very pleasant thought‚ but on the average about 10% of the water we drink has been used before.

The same amount of water that exists on this planet today existed millions of years ago to the drop! There is no such thing as new water. Our planet continuously recycles and re-uses this finite supply of water. Only recently have we learned how fragile and finite our water resources really are. We are finding traces of compounds in our water that no one ever thought to look for before.

In 1999‚ a 17-year-old West Virginia high school student‚ Ashley Mulroy‚ read a report in a science magazine describing how European scientists had recently discovered that drugs of all kinds‚ including antibiotics‚ were flowing in rivers‚ streams‚ ground water and even in tap water and decided to embark on a science project of her own. Over a ten week period‚ Ashley and her mother drove for miles along the Ohio River taking samples of the water from different sites. She then returned to her hometown and had the samples tested for three common antibiotics: penicillin‚ tetracycline and vancomycin... to her surprise she found traces of all three in the samples she had taken. Ashley then sampled tap water in three near by towns. All three‚ including water from the drinking fountain at her school‚ were contaminated with the antibiotics in question. Ashley was awarded several science project awards and more importantly opened the eyes of many U.S. scientists.

Researchers from the U.S. E.P.A. and the National Geological Survey have now found traces of antibiotics‚ birth control drugs‚ anti-depressants and even caffeine in many water samples taken across the country.

Large animal farming operations and waste water treatment plants release billions of gallons of contaminated waste water into our environment every day. A large percentage of the drugs that are given to humans and animals pass through the body and wind up in this recycled waste water.

USA Today‚ in a 11/8/00 news release‚ stated that "experts fear that even low levels of antibiotics fouling the nations water supply may help create super-bugs: micro organisms that have evolved to survive an antibiotic‘s lethal assault." And that these super-bugs may be causing 'tens of thousands' of deaths each year in the U.S.A‚ according to Abigail Salyers‚ an expert on antibiotic resistance at the University of Illinois.

Water pollution by drugs is a newly emerging issue.

Christian Daughton‚ a Chief of Environmental Chemistry for the E.P.A.‚ warns that 'Water pollution by drugs is a newly emerging issue.'

Our public water treatment plants are not designed to remove drugs and other synthetic chemicals from our water. Without waiting for the final verdict on the actual effects of drinking a mixture of drugs and other chemicals.. we can assume that they will be negative. The only question is.. how negative and why wait?

Test Your Immune System

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