Question: 

I have a steam humidifier and it is constantly plugging up, and I have to clean the chamber all the time in the winter.  Is there anything I can do to help this?  Would a water softener help?  – Signed C.C.

Answer:

C.C.,

Steam humidifiers are unquestionably the best way to humidify your household (or business) air if you live in a climate where that is needed.   However, in 98% of the country, the water requires treatment and I do not mean a water softener.  The problem with steam humidifiers is that most water has some degree of mineralization in it.

The minerals are calcium and magnesium, and when water is heated and evaporated by the stream humidifier it leaves the minerals behind.  After a few cycles, if the evaporation chamber contains 1/4 gallon of water, it has the minerals of 4 or 5 gallons (maybe more).  This creates big problems.  A water softener is not the answer because it works by exchanging the calcium and magnesium for sodium.  Instead of calcium and magnesium buildup, you will have sodium buildup.

Solutions – on a Scale of 1-10:

1. Polyphosphate – Some companies have filter cartridges that install on the inlet to the humidifier and “coat” the humidifier with a layer of sodiumhexametaphosphate which is supposed to help.   Bad Idea!  Rating: 1
2. Salt-Free Water Conditioners – They don’t take out the calcium and magnesium so the problem still persists.  Rating:  BIG ZERO!
3. Deionization – You can use a DI cartridge  to remove all of the minerals, but it is very expensive.  It works extremely well, but costs 35 to 60 cents a gallon (depending upon water hardness).    On a scale of how well it works, it’s a 10!  On cost, it’s a 2.  Overall Rating: 5
4. Reverse Osmosis – Unless you have more money than sense, reverse osmosis is the ONLY way to treat a humidifier economically.    Some people even put a DI cartridge after the Reverse Osmosis system to have absolutely pure water, but in most instances Reverse Osmosis removes 98% of the dissolved solids and allows the humidifier to work without the burden of all the hard minerals.

Conclusion:  If you don’t have a reverse osmosis system on a steam humidifier… or any humidifier for that fact, you are doing a very bad thing!

PUT A REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM ON ANY HUMIDIFIER – YOU WILL BREATHE EASIER AND THE SYSTEM WILL LAST A THOUSAND TIMES LONGER!

Here’s a tip: eat healthy, work out, and drink lots of water.

You may not know this, but water – something all of us have access too – is a great “cheat”, to give us an advantage to tackle that weight lose battle.

Research presented at the American Chemical Society, has pointed to weight lose being greatly helped if you drink two 8 ounce glasses of water before each meal. And it also helps you keep it off.

A study was done using 48 overweight men and women who were on a low-calorie diet (1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men). Half of the participants were instructed to drink 16 ounces of water before each meal.
After three months the results were compared. The ones who drank the water lost an average of 15.5 Pounds, the one’s who did not, lost an average of 11 pounds.

And the results were also long term. By a years time the ones staying on the water regiment lost an addition 1.5 Pounds, the others that did not drink water before meals gained an average of 2 pounds.

The full reason why drinking water before meals promotes weight lose is not yet understood, but the most logical reason seems to point towards the fact that water is filling, and will help stop the urge to over-eat.

And there is also more subtle habit drinking more water will break. Drinking more water is most likely going to discourage calorie heavy drinks at meals, like soda.

So, give the water diet a try this year. It’s a healthy and practically free tool, to go along with a healthy meal, and active lifestyle.

You might want to make sure that the water is chemical-free, clean and great tasting.  That’s where US Water comes in.

Have a happy and healthy New Years, from the Water Doctor.

I have been using Flow-Max Filters for many years to clean water in Haiti and Cuba. We typically use the 2 ¾” X 20” pleated filters in 50 micron, 5 micron, 1 micron and 0.35 or 0.20 micron. I have checked your website, but cannot find any performance data from the manufacturer on how well effective these filters are against cysts, e coli, cholera, and other water borne bacteria/pathogens. Can you help me with this kind of information?

The Water Doctor Answered:

You can’t find it because it doesn’t exist. There is no data. They are not NSF Certified, therefore there is no testing. It’s what they say it is… if you care to believe that.  That’s part of the reason we are no longer selling Flow-Max Filters.  There is little or no performance data on them, they are not NSF Certified, and frankly, our testing shows that they don’t do what is expected.

In fact, they say “Made in USA” on the label, but I have been told by people that work for the company that they are not made in USA.  I have my suspicions, but I don’t really know.

What I do know, is the following:

1. Pleated filters like Flow-Max are absolutely the best water to filter water that contains significant amounts of sticks, stones, fish turtles or actually: sand, silt and sediment.
2. Flow-Max filters are not NSF Certified, which should immediately raise a red flag.  I mean, we are talking about your home water filters or your businesses water filters, shouldn’t you REQUIRE that a filter you use for that be NSF Certified?
3. For a filter to be NSF Certified, it HAS to meet the testing protocol of NSF.  Then, when you publish your specifications, consumers can rest assure that what you say is the way it is.  AS an example, if a company says that they have a .35 micron absolute filter, you can rest assured that that it will remove over 99.98% of everything over .35 microns.  Without NSF Certification, you can say it, but is it true?
4. That’s why we sell Harmsco.  Their filters are NSF Certified.  You can take what they say to the bank.
5. Harmsco is bigger, badder and better.  Take a 2.5″ x 10″ pleated filter.  If you cut it apart and stretch the media out, you will find that the Flow-Max filter had 58 inches of media.  Does that sound good?  Harmsco has 91 inches of media that is more robust.
6. Harmsco filters better, last longer and can be cleaned and reused more often.

Guess which filter we now sell?

Can an Easy Water System (the one that wraps around your plumbing) work on PVC pipe? How does that work? isn’t it based on magnets? If it doesn’t soften the water how is soap use affected? How many other manufacturers subscribe to the technology? – P.A.

Dear P.A. ,

I think a better question is: Does Easy Water work well on ANY pipe?  Yes, it works, but how well it works is open to question.  Buying an Easy Water System is like buying a furnace that is 40% efficient when others have 96% efficient furnaces.  Think about that and read this report before you buy anything:

http://www.uswatersystems.com/pdf/ArizonaStateUniversityWaterSoftnerStudy.pdf

Sounds like a happy ending?  Well, Watts decided to “fix” the Kwik Change reverse osmosis system even though it wasn’t broke.  Long, long, long, long story short:  it never worked well after the first year.  They fixed it and they fixed it and they fixed it and we said “ENOUGH ALREADY.”   When you have a company as big as Watts, you would think they would have the engineers who could fix problems.  Yeah, right!

We have lots of customers who can testify to how bad the Kwik-Change Reverse Osmosis System worked.  It reached the point where our customer service people refused to sell the product.  Maybe Watts will get it right someday.  The thing is:  we aren’t holding our breath.

If you are purchasing a reverse osmosis system, forget the Kwik Change, the Quick Change, the Easy Change models and buy the ones that use “industry standard” 2.5″ x 9-7/8″ (10″) replacement filters.  They are inexpensive, and they work.  What a novel idea!

That’s all we sell now… and they just work!  Function overcomes form every time!

1. BOILING

Lets start with the most basic.

In an emergency, boiling can disinfect your water in a pinch that is unsafe because of parasites or bacteria.

If the water is cloudy, it should be filtered before boiling.  It can be filtered easily with coffee filters, paper or cotton towels, cheesecloth, or anything of the like to remove the cloudiness.

Pour the water in a clean container and bring it to a full boil  for at least 3 minutes.  Covering the container will help reduce evaporation.  If you are more than 5,000 feet above sea level, you must increase the boiling time to at least 5 minutes (plus about a minute for every additional 1,000 feet).  Keep the boiled water covered while cooling.

The benefits of boiling water are that pathogens and parasites that may be lurking in your water will be killed if the water is boiled long enough, making it safe to drink, but because of the
 inconvenience, boiling water is not widely used, unless an emergency rises.

The biggest disadvantage  with boiling water is of coarse you will need an energy source. Meaning if a stove-top is not available, a fire will need to be lit. And boiling is not effective against toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, asbestos,
 pesticides, solvents, etc, or if nitrates have contaminated the water.

As science and technology has advanced, many different treatments and water systems have emerged. Here are the best and most common.

2. DISTILLATION

Think of distillation as the opposite of boiling.  The water is usually boiled in a chamber causing it to vaporize into steam. With the contaminants behind, the steam moves to a different part of the unit and cools until it reverts back into liquid water and moves into a storage container.

A good distillation unit
 produces very pure  water and is one of
 the few practical ways to remove nitrates,
 chloride, and other salts. Distillation also removes pathogens in the 
water by killing and leaving them
 behind when the water vapor evaporates.
 As long as the distiller is kept clean and working properly the high quality of treated
 water will be very consistent with no drop in quality over
time; plus no filter cartridges to replace, unless a carbon filter is used to remove volatile
 organic compounds.

The disadvantages of Distillation is that it can take two to five hours to make a 
gallon of distilled water, and to produce water effectively, there is required periodic cleaning of the boiler, condensation compartment, and
 storage tank.

The cost of ownership is high
 because after the initial cost of the unit and you
 also must pay for the electrical energy for each gallon of water produced. If it costs you $0.25 to distill each gallon, and you purified 10 gallons per week, you would
pay $130 for your 520 gallons of distilled water each year.   Also, don’t forget this: because most distillation units require electricity, it will not function in an 
emergency situation when electrical power is not available.

3. Reverse Osmosis (RO):

RO’s have become one of the more popular drinking water treatments found in today’s homes.

Water pressure is used to force water through a membrane, leaving the larger contaminants behind. Purified water is collected, and water containing the contaminants is flushed down the drain. The average reverse osmosis system is a unit consisting of a sediment/chlorine pre filter, the reverse-osmosis membrane, a water storage tank, and an activated-carbon post filter.  They cost from about $150 to over $1,500 for point of use systems.

The Good: Reverse osmosis significantly reduces salt, inorganic material present
 in the water, and some organic compounds.  Microscopic parasites (including viruses) are usually removed by properly
 functioning reverse osmosis units. RO systems can typically 
purify more water per day than distillers and are less expensive to operate and 
maintain. Reverse Osmosis systems also do not use electricity, although because they require relatively high water pressure to operate, they may not work well in some 
emergency situations.

The Bad: Reverse osmosis systems waste some water. Two to four gallons of “waste” water are flushed down
the drain for each gallon of filtered water produced.   While reverse osmosis is highly effective, depending on your filters, some pesticides, solvents and other volatile organic chemicals are not
 completely removed by reverse osmosis.  A good activated carbon post filter is recommended 
to reduce these contaminants. Although RO’s do not use electricity, they depend on a relatively high water 
pressure to force the water molecules through the membrane.  In an emergency 
situation where water pressure has been lost, these systems will not function. And finally, RO systems require maintenance.  The pre and post filters and the reverse
 osmosis membranes must be changed according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, and the storage tank must be cleaned periodically

4. Water Filters:

The topic of water filters is complicated because there are so many models available (over 2,500 different models manufactured by more than 500 companies), and because there are so many types of filtration strategies and combinations of strategies used. The basic concept behind nearly all filters, however, is fairly simple. The contaminants are physically prevented from moving through the filter either by screening them out with very small pores and/or, in the case of carbon filters, by trapping them within the filter matrix through attracting them to the surface of carbon particles (the process of adsorption).

There are two main types of filter, sediment, which strains out unwanted particles, and activated carbon, which absorbs and traps them. Sometimes they are combined into a single unit.

The Good: A benefit of all home filtration systems is that they require no electricity to filter the water, as normal home water pressure is used 
to force the water though the filter. The only routine maintenance required is 
periodic replacement of the filtration element. As long as the cost of the
 replacement filter elements is reasonable (depending on the type), owning even a high-end water filter can be very inexpensive if you look at the long term costs and compare it
with other solutions.

The Bad: Viruses can not be effectively
 removed by any filtration method alone.  And it’s important to remember there are several different kinds of filters, all with there own limitations. Just a few examples: “GAC” Carbon filters can never have hot water run through them and are not effective at killing bacteria. And other filters can not remove containiments like Chlorine, lead, and mercury. It’s important to talk to a water specialists or do your own research to see which filters will best battle your specific needs.

5. Bottled Water:

Did the water in the bottle you just purchased really come from the beautiful spring shown on the label? Bottled water can have minimal (or no) processing – as in natural spring or mineral water, or it can be completely filtered and demineralized to nearly pure water and then have minerals added back in to make it taste better.  The bottled water industry would like you to believe that it is safer and better than tap water, but that really depends on the bottling company. High quality in-home water treatment systems can have the same if not better quality water as bottled water.

The Good:
 Bottled water can be an emergency source of water in the event your primary water source fails or
becomes contaminated.  It’s a convenient source of safe water for drinking outside of the home, and since it does not contain chlorine, it may taste better than untreated tap water.  Most bottled water will contain fewer contaminants than untreated tap water.

The Bad: Many of us are willing to pay extraordinary prices for the availability and 
convenience of certain products. That 16 ounce bottle of “designer water” you just purchased at the gas station for 99 cents, costs $8.00 per gallon, probably 
more than twice as much per gallon as your gas! Purchasing one 16 oz bottle 
 per day (at $0.69 per bottle) will cost you $365 per year – that’s for a total of 45 gallons.  If you were to take a minute to fill your own well-cleaned bottle with filtered
 or distilled water, however,  a 16 oz bottle of water would cost maybe a penny!

The Ugly: Producing bottles uses resources (for every 16 oz plastic bottle, it could be filled with 3 inches of gasoline, representing how much it took to produce it.) and unless they are 
reused or recycled, they cause a waste disposal problem. Transporting bottles of water from the bottler to 
stores or homes also uses resources.

6. Ultraviolet Light:

Water passes through a clear chamber where it is exposed to Ultraviolet (UV) Light.  UV light effectively destroys bacteria and viruses.  Ultraviolet is typically used as a final purification stage on some filtration systems.  If you are concerned about removing contaminants in addition to bacteria and viruses, you would still need to use a quality carbon filter or reverse osmosis system in addition to the UV system.

The Good:
 No chemicals are used in treating the water and ultraviolet leaves less of a carbon footprint .
It removes some organic contaminants 
while leaving no smell or taste in the treated water.
   Ultraviolet light requires very little contact time (seconds versus minutes for chemical disinfection),
 improves the taste of water, microorganisms and pathogens are destroyed, and it does not affect minerals in water.

The Bad:
UV radiation is not effective for water with high levels of suspended solids, turbidity, color, or soluble organic matter as these materials can react with UV radiation, and 
reduce disinfection performance. Ultraviolet light is not effective against any non-living contaminant like, lead, asbestos, many organic chemicals, chlorine, etc.   Ultraviolet light requires electricity to operate.  In an emergency situation when the power is out, the purification will not work.

7. Water Softeners:

Very popular systems used to remove the unwanted effects of hard water. In this process, water passes through a media bed, usually sulfonated polystyrene beads. The beads are supersaturated with sodium, a positive ion. The ion exchange process takes place as hard water passes through the softening material. The hardness minerals (positively charged Calcium and Magnesium ions) attach themselves to the resin beads while sodium on the resin beads is released simultaneously into the water.  When the resin becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium, it must be recharged by passing through a concentrated salt brine

The Good:
 The nuisance factor of hard water is reduced.  
It will make your plumbing last years longer  and your laundry become whiter and brighter.  In the long run you will also save money on detergent as less soap is used to clean your clothes.

The Bad: The process of regenerating a water softener dumps salt water into the
environment.The elevated sodium concentration of most softened water can affect the taste
 and may not be good for people on low sodium diets, although sodium
 concentrations are typically quite low relative to sodium levels in most food. The process does not reduce the level of biological
 contaminants (bacteria, viruses, cysts), nor does the process reduce the levels of
 most organic compounds. Typically, approximately 50 gallons of rinse water per cubic foot of resin is
required to totally remove hardness and excess salt from the resin after each
 regeneration. Softened water is not recommended for watering plants, lawns, and gardens due to its elevated sodium content.

8. Salt Free Water Conditioners: Newer to the market, Water Conditioners are the “Green” alternative to Water Softeners. The water is treated without the need for salt. Rather than attempting to prevent hard water by removing or adding chemicals, water conditioners redirect and suspend the scale in the water.

The Good: Because there is no need for salt, a Water Conditioner will save you money immediately versus a Water Softener. No salt also means much less of an impact on the environment.

The Bad: Despite what some companies may claim, salt free systems do not soften the water, as it is impossible without removing the minerals.  Like water softeners, salt-free water conditioners will not remove bacteria or harmful chemicals alone (they work rather as a pretreatment for a water purification system.)

9. Ozonation:Ozone systems have long been in use in Europe and over the past twenty years it is also becoming more commonplace in America.  Ozonation is a water treatment process that destroys bacteria and other microorganisms through an infusion of ozone, a gas produced by subjecting oxygen molecules to high electrical voltage.

The Good: Ozonation has a low operating cost and provides an additional barrier to protect public health and enhances water quality.  Ozonation is very effective for destroying or inactivating viruses and bacteria, as well as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.  Additionally, it reduces the formation of chlorinated disinfection byproducts such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), which result from the interaction of chlorine and naturally-occurring organic material in the source water and provides improved taste and odor control in water supplies.

The Bad:  Ozonation generally has a high initial cost, which some feel makes it cost prohibitive.

10.  Chlorination & Oxidation:  These are not mutually exclusive.  Chlorine a good disinfectant, but not a good oxidizer like Ozone, Hydrogen Peroxide or Oxygen.   Chlorination was responsible for eradicating cholera and typhoid in the US.  Chlorine is used for killing bacteria.  Hydrogen Peroxide is a better oxidizer, but not as good of a disinfectant.  Ozone is a stronger oxidizer than either one and also a good disinfectant.

That’s my Top 10 – Do you have one that I’ve left off the list?

A standard water softener has a tank that has ion-exchange resin which takes out the hardness from the water and a hybrid water softener also has that, but a regular water softener does not have a second chamber which has carbon to remove the tastes, odors, chlorine and chemicals.

Hybrid Water Softener Compared to Standard Water Softener

This second chamber is above the resin and keeps the resin and carbon separated.   This does two things:  (1) it keeps the carbon in one chamber so that it does not get mixed with the resin and therefore is denser and able to provide better filtration of chlorine and chemicals; and (2) by taking the chlorine out ahead of the resin, the life of the resin is dramatically increased, since resin is sensitive to chlorine and easily degraded in it’s presence.  So, removing the chlorine before it gets to the softening resin will make your water softener last up to twice as long.

In itself, that should be enough reason to have a hybrid water softener if for no other reason than to make your water softener last twice as long.  But, in reality there’s a lot better reason.  That reason is what chlorine does to YOU.  Your body.  Your health.  Your life and your family.   Don’t take my word – listen to what some of the experts say:

Chlorine is objectionable for bathing and drinking in concentrations as low as .5 PPM.  A swimming pool may be 2.0 to 3.0 PPM.  According to the EPA, chlorine combines with organics in the water to form THM’s (trihalomethanes) which are known carcinogens.

“Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of the chlorine in the water.”  - DR. LANCE WALLACE – U.S.E.P.A.

“A long hot shower can be dangerous.  The toxic chemicals are inhaled in high concentrations.”       - Dr. John Andelman – BOTTOM LINE

“Skin absorption of contaminant has been underestimated and ingestion may not constitute the sole or even primary route of exposure.” - Dr. Halina Brown – AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

“Showers – and to a lessor extent baths – lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals contained in drinking water supplies than does drinking the water.” - Ian Anderson – NEW SCIENTIST

“Drinking chlorinated water may double the risk of bladder cancer, which strikes 400,000 people a year.”  -  IS YOUR WATER SAFE? – U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Before the beginning of the Twentieth Century, two of leading causes of death in this country were cholera and typhoid, both waterborne diseases.  When municipalities started chlorination, these diseases were virtually wiped-out.  With chloera and tyyphoid, you were dead in a matter of days.   Now, we find out that exposure to chlorinated water and it’s disinfection by-products over a number of years can cause cancer.   Chlorine is an oxidizer which is commonly used to reduce organic matter or disinfect water by municipalities.  Once the water has been disinfected and arrives in your home, there is no further need for the chemical, and prolonged contact can be detrimental, according to many experts.

We believe that municipalities do a wonderful job of protecting you and your family by chlorinating the water, but now in the Twenty-first Century, we have the technology available to remove the clorine.  After all, drinking chlorinated water is not the primary way you are exposed to it.  Inhalation and skin-absorbtion are elimianted as well with a Hybrid water softener.

If you want a whole-house reverse osmosis system, it may be that you are concerned about certain contaminants in you water supply that you want to be sure are gone from your water supply.   Some of these contaminants may be arsenic, PCB, TCE, nitrate and any number of other contaminants.  On the other hand, some people “need” a whole-house reverse osmosis system which is generally caused by high levels of Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) or arsenic and nitrate.

With a whole-house reverse osmosis system, you will have bottled-quality water from every tap and you never have to worry about which faucet is safe to drink from.  That said, if you want or needs a whole-house reverse osmosis system, here are a few things that you need to remember:

Your reverse osmosis systems is only as good as the per-treatment ahead of it.  What we mean by that is that if you have problems like high hardness, iron, manganese, sulfur, tannin or chlorine in your water, you will need to address those issues with proper per-treatment BEFORE the reverse osmosis system.   This may involve a water softener or an anti-scalant system, a carbon filter, iron filter or other filtration.

Any reverse osmosis system is only as good as the per-treatment ahead of it.  Additionally, after the water has been treated by reverse osmosis, it may be slightly acidic and need pH correction with a calcite filter.

After the per-treatment and reverse osmosis system, the water is stored in and “atmospheric” tank and then is re-pressurized by a Grundfos pump which delivers all the water you need, when you need it.

There are lots of ways that you can make a whole-house reverse osmosis system “cheaper” but if you want a reliable system that will work flawlessly for 15-20 years, then US Water Systems is your perfect solution.  We don’t cut corners – we provide extremely high quality systems that are built to last.  Be careful – there are a lot of “inferior products” on the market which might look good but don’t work so good.