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Water Filtration Systems

Have you ever considered that the practice of making water safe to drink by adding large amounts of extremely poisonous chemicals to it, was odd, if not downright hazardous? It is only now that prominent scientists are providing the evidence that long-term ingestion of small amounts of chemicals like these could be the cause of some major health problems.

Here is a list of just a few of the chemicals routinely added to our water supply:


Liquified chlorine

Hydrofluorosilicic acid

Aluminium sulphate

Calcium hydroxide

Sodium silicofluoride
Even if the water leaves the source in a relatively clean state, don't forget that your water travels through pipes, which may have been underground since Victorian times! It is almost impossible for the water not to become contaminated by something undesirable.  
Tap
Here is a list of contaminants which may be found in our water:


Salts of:  arsenic, radium, aluminium, copper, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium

Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Hormones

Nitrates

Pesticides

Bacteria

Protozoa
Water Filter Jug
2) Water Distillers - available in a variety of sizes to fit your counter top.  They consist of a boiling chamber and a collection jug/bottle.  Contaminants are left behind in the boiling chamber to be rinsed away, leaving pure, crystal clear water in the collection jug/bottle.  Prices vary from £150 to £299.

Prolonged consumption of distilled water has raised some health concerns because the water is devoid of minerals and can be acidic, therefore a multivitamin and mineral supplement should be taken to address this issue.
Distiller Reverse Osmosis unit
3) Reverse Osmosis - is a complicated process that removes at least 90% of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) from water including artificial fluoride. Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration systems are widely acknowledged as one of the most effective filtration systems available.

They are used by the medical profession to produce ‘pure water’ for dialysis and other purposes but have only recently become more popular with householders as the prices have come down.

It is now possible to purchase a Reverse Osmosis system for under £300 and some companies can arrange leasing or hire purchase schemes.
The downsides to a Reverse Osmosis system are:


the high consumption of water required for the filtration process, which may be an issue for those on water meters

The water produced is acidic and devoid of alkalising minerals, although it is possible to purchase a secondary unit which alkalinises the water before consumption

A good quality Reverse Osmosis unit can be purchased from Credence for under £250.
Water Filter Options

To avoid drinking water straight from the tap, there are a number of filtration options available to us:

1) Carbon Filter

2) Water Distiller

3) Reverse Osmosis Filtration System

4) Water Ionizer

5) Atmospheric Water Generator

6) Mini Ionizer - Reverse Osmosis, Alkaliser & Ionizer in one   ** Highly Recommended **




1) Carbon filters - widely available from supermarkets and chemists in the UK improve the taste of tap water by removing the chlorine. They may also remove some pesticides. However they do not remove fluoride, hormones, toxic metal salts and other chemicals. Plumbed-in carbon filters can be used to eliminate chlorine from bath and tap water, given there is some evidence that repeated exposure to chlorine and other chemicals in tap water, particularly in showers, can lead to health problems, including cancer.

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Water ionizer
4) Water Ionizer - splits the water by electrolysis into acid and alkali. The acidic water is sent to a plastic pipe at the back of the unit for disposal down the sink.  The alkaline water is sent to a metal pipe at the top of the unit to be used for drinking, cooking etc.

The water ionizer can either sit beside the sink or under the sink and comes with attachments to allow the mains water to flow through the machine for splitting and filtering.   Alkaline water has been found to be beneficial to health and it retains the useful minerals such as calcium and magnesium from the water.

Theoretically, with artificial fluoride being an acid, this should be filtered out through the acidic water pipe, although this cannot be guaranteed.  
Water ionizers are relatively new in the UK but have been used for many years in Eastern countries like Japan and Korea.  Water ionizers made in Japan are the most reliable and currently cost just under £1000.  Some companies offer the opportunity to rent the machines.  One such company is Cellhealth who rent their water ionizer for £29 per month.

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5) Atmospheric Water Generator - is the most high-tech and innovative of all water filtration systems currently on the market.  It is the only water filtration system that can be guaranteed not to contain fluoride in the water because it does not filter tap water.

The water is literally generated from the air and a standard machine can produce between 18 and 24 litres of pure water every day, depending on the humidity of the location.  All that is required is an electricity supply.  Some machines produce hot water, too, which can be used for cooking or making tea and coffee, therefore eliminating the need to boil a kettle.

The machine has a sophisticated filtration system using reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light to prevent the water from containing contaminants from the air.  As the water is pure, it is recommended that a multivitamin and mineral be taken daily.

As atmospheric water generators are a relatively new technology, they are still expensive to purchase from £750.

Currently, we are only aware of one supplier in the UK, Atmos h2o.

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Water Filtration Atmospheric Water Generator
6) Mini Ionizer - Reverse Osmosis, Alkaliser & Ionizer in one - is an undersink unit which fits to the mains pipe and is dispensed via a separate tap by the sink.  It was developed with the help of health researcher, Chris Woollams of CancerActive and brings together the benefits of reverse osmosis to produce alkalised and ionized water.  After the water has been purified by reverse osmosis, it is quite acidic so it is remineralised with magnesium, calcium , sodium and potassium to give an average pH of 9.5.  The water is then ionized, which changes its structure into small clusters, producing healthy oxygenated, antioxidant water, free from fluoride, chlorine, hormones and other contaminants.

The unit can be purchased for £549. Filters only need changing once a year.  

The Mini Ionizer is available from Water Filter Man Ltd.  

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Mini Ioniser