Archive for the ‘Plumbing’ Category

How Does Reverse Osmosis Work

Friday, December 4th, 2009

It seems lately that a lot of questions are coming up like “how does reverse osmosis work, anyway”. There are lots of companies out there selling whole house reverse osmosis systems. Unless you really understand the answer to how does reverse osmosis work, you could be wasting your time, your money and your water, if you buy into their company claims.

The basic function of whole house reverse osmosis is to de-mineralize ground water, far different from purifying it.

How does reverse osmosis work to clean water? Water under high pressure is forced through a porous membrane. The size of the pores determines what particles are captured. The system may be used to filter out trash, dirt, mud, etc.

Whole house reverse osmosis is used in areas where water is “hard” and in areas where saline (salt) content is a problem. Industries, such as film processing, use water filtered by reverse osmosis to prevent spotting and other damage on negatives that would affect the quality of the print. If you have hard water, you should know that whole house reverse osmosis is not your only or your best option. If you have well water with a high salt or microbial content, you should compare the effectiveness of other filters, before you buy.

Whole house reverse osmosis systems are expensive. The lowest price that we found is $10,000. They take up a lot of space, larger than the average closet, bigger than a water heater, furnace or washer dryer. Whole house reverse osmosis systems also waste more water than they “clean”. Look at the product performance evaluations to see what things are filtered out and how much water the unit wastes. The average is around three gallons for every one gallon filtered through.
How does reverse osmosis work to remove chlorine and other chemicals? It doesn’t. One of the reasons that treatment facilities add chlorine is to protect the membrane in their reverse osmosis system from rot an algae growth. Logically, if chlorine will disinfect the pores of the membrane, it must be able to pass through the pores of the membrane.

How does chlorine “clean” water? Most of us need a home filtration system because our water has been chemically treated with chlorine. Chlorine “disinfects” the water, except in the case of certain microscopic organisms, chlorine kills living things found in the water that can cause illness. At first, we thought it was safe to consume water with certain amounts of chlorine, but we have learned that it is bad for our digestive systems, on the short term, and could cause cancer, on the long term. Not to be repetitive, but whole house reverse osmosis does not remove chlorine.
If your goal is “softer” water, ion exchange is a better system because it balances mineral content, rather than removing all of them. Activated carbon filters remove chemicals and chlorine from the water. Micron filters remove tiny microscopic organisms that can survive chlorine. The latest technology is to use all three stages in one unit, to provide the cleanest, healthiest water ever.

Hopefully, this answers most of your questions about how does reverse osmosis work. The simple answer is inefficient, ineffective and expensive.

Allan Cassell is a passionate spokesman about the health benefits of purified drinking and bathing water. Visit his site now: http://www.clean-water-pure-water.com To discover the purification system he endorses and why.

Tags:
Posted in Plumbing | No Comments »

The Untold Secrets About Shower Head Water Filters

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Stylists, beauticians and hair-dressers the world over advocate the use of shower head water filters. And why is that? It is because harmful bacteria, chlorine and lead enter the water in your tap and get into your body. The moment you switch on the ‘heat’ mode of your shower, remember that it is an open invitation to harmful synthetics and bacteria. The shower heat causes the skin pores to inflate thus enabling easy absorption of chlorine and other dangerous chemicals. A harmful, carcinogenic chemical like lead is leached through the water pipe entering your home. There is only one way around it: use a shower water filter.

A two-stage shower head water filter is probably the best shower filter and comes highly recommended. This will leave you feeling tingling clean. The first stage could comprise the granular activated carbon which employs the process of absorption for purifying liquids and gases. Through this process gas and liquid molecules get attracted to the powdered – actually porous – carbon surface. Bear in mind that the degree of micro porosity is so high that a surface area of about 500m2 is available in just one gram of carbon.

This is large enough to sop up thousands of toxic chemicals. The carbon granules are positively charged which render it attractive to chemicals and impurities riddled with negative ions. So you see what happens when chlorinated water containing all the impurities of the world passes through, don’t you? These ruinous elements get left behind so you only get purified water through your filter. The worst granulated activated carbon (GAC) will remove particles of the size 50 microns. The best one removes particles of the size 0.5 microns. A word of advice before proceeding to the next stage: Make sure that your shower head water filter retains all the minerals and the good qualities present in the water.

The next stage in your shower head water filter should comprise the more effective carbon block. This (need we tell you?) is the hallmark of the ‘best’ shower head filters available in the market. It has a power of absorption that strongly rivals that of its granulated cousin.

Now that you have installed the best shower filter – in its two-stage (also called multi-stage) avatar, let us analyze what it can do for you. Great skin, to start with. Hair that is naturally soft (sans conditioners), great lungs…. in short, great health. What more could you possibly ask for?

Allan Cassell is a passionate spokesman about the health benefits of purified drinking and bathing water. Visit his site now: http://www.clean-water-pure-water.com To discover the purification system he endorses and why.

Tags: ,
Posted in Plumbing | No Comments »

Shower Filters Reducing Risks

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

“One who maintains cleanliness keeps away diseases…”
(Sam Veda)

What is the first thing that comes to mind after a long, tiring day? A hot, luxurious bath? Without a doubt, you bet. As you lower your body into the warm water you find your eyes closing and your feet tapping slightly to the soft rhythmic music. The scent arising from the aromatic lamp makes the bathing experience shadowy and magical… the drizzle from the shower feels like summer rain… a real treat… But wait! Have you attached a shower filter to the shower? Now don’t look so quizzical. Of course, you do need a shower water filter. And don’t ask why. There are hundreds of microbes floating in the water and attaching themselves to your body. Get that shower water filter even as you are reading this, quick!

Reflect on just one fact: in the early 90s the chances of getting cancer one in fifty. Today, that statistic has shot up to one in three. Alarmed and shocked? You should well be. The common tendency is blame the large industries. For sure, they are more than partially responsible Remember Erin Brockovich (immortalized by Julia Roberts in an eponymous role) and her tireless tirade against the Pacific Gas & Electricity Company? But have you reflected on your own activities? On the extent to which you could be responsible for the present level of contamination? Just reflect on the cleaning agents you have been using in your kitchen and bathroom, the fertilizers in your lawn, gasoline in your four-wheeled drive… do we need to go on?

So, have your thoughts started turning towards water shower filters? Not yet? Or maybe? What is the need for water shower filters in the bathrooms if the water running in your tap is treated by the municipality in any case? Sure, the government adds oodles of chlorine to your water but are you aware that it can harm your eyes and hair? Most facilities for water treatment use sand-bed filtration that is wholly inadequate in terms of removing synthetic elements from your water.

While on the subject of chlorine, did you know that your kids could become prone to bronchitis and asthma? So… are you NOW thinking seriously in terms of water shower filters? You are? Good going. There are quite a few shower water filters available in the market. Most come fitted with carbon blocks which filter out dangerous microbes and also process chlorine in such a way that it becomes harmless. Sure, you have to keep changing the cartridge every nine to ten months. But that’s a small price to pay for the health of your family. Some shower filters come equipped with sensors that tell you when to change. Quite handy, what say?

Allan Cassell is a passionate spokesman about the health benefits of purified drinking and bathing water. Visit his site now: http://www.clean-water-pure-water.com To discover the purification system he endorses and why.

Tags:
Posted in Plumbing | No Comments »

Well Water With a Sulphur Smell Can Be Fixed

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

You anxiously check on your new well only to get that smell of rotten eggs coming from the water. Your heart sinks thinking that you may have to redrill another well. Actually the problem most times is not that hard to solve.

Maybe it is when you first drill the well when you notice the smell. Maybe weather conditions such as very dry or very wet years affect the under ground water supply to your well. At any rate the great water that you thought that you would get or the great water that you had contains the ugly smell of sulphur. The first thing that you need to do is find yourself a good plumbing contractor that is familiar with treating such problems.

The fix to your problem is in a water filter that looks much like many water softeners. The difference is in the media inside the tank. For the removal of the smell associated with sulpher you need to have activated charcoal inside that tank. The charcoal will soak up the stuff in the water that causes the bad smell.

Because the charcoal is slowly being used up you will need to replace the charcoal periodically. It is often impossible to predict how long the charcoal will last. There are too many factors that can affect the rate at which the charcoal is used up. The amount of sulpher in the water may change daily or weekly. Some charcoal seems to be better quality at one time than it is another. The amount of water used can change from season to season. Too many things can change to predict the life span of the charcoal in the filter.

The main thing to remember is to not despair when you find sulpher water. I have installed many charcoal filters with good results many times. Also do not let yourself be talked into expensive add-ons when buying a filter. Many times the filter is all you need to correct the problem. Water softeners and other miscellaneous add-ons are often not needed. They are just thrown in to boost the profit. Make sure that you are just buying what is needed to treat your water problem only.

Charcoal filters are a great way to give you great tasting water. Not only will they clean that nasty smell out of your water but they will absorb many other bad things also. If you are having problems with the taste or smell of your well water, then give a new charcoal filter a shot at fixing the problem for you. You will be very glad that you did.

Floyd Kolb has worked in the Mechanical/Hvac industry for over 20 years, gaining a wealth of knowledge to share. Just as with air conditioning systems you can have either good or bad companies to guide you with network or internet marketing. I have tried many things that don’t work. I also have found a few companies that have products that I feel I can recommend. You can see those by checking out my website. I am continuing to evaluate other companies and will add more when I am confident in their ability to perform for people. I am now part of a top internet marketing team of mentors that has a passion for helping others achieve their goals, dreams and aspirations. You can learn more about this company by going to http://bttwme.com

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Plumbing | No Comments »