What is Reverse Osmosis (RO)?
RO is short for Reverse Osmosis. RO is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to remove contaminants by forcing water through this membrane utilising existing water pressure. The membrane, which is about as thick as cellophane, allows only the water to pass through, not the impurities or contaminants. These impurities and contaminants are them flushed from the RO cartridge and depart as dirty water down the drain. When combined with other types of filters such as are included with the MineralPro RO System, a well-designed RO Filter system removes a significant amount of the chemicals and particles that are common in many drinking water supplies. This includes dissolved chemicals such as chlorine, arsenic and lead, bacteria, parasite’s, most viruses and even things like pharmaceutical drugs and hormones that get into drinking water supplies and are not filtered out by standard municipal treatments. MineralPro’s reverse osmosis membranes will remove impurities and particles larger than 1/10,000th (0.0001) microns.
What is Alkaline Water?
Alkaline water is simply water that has a higher pH than typical tap water and is rich in alkalizing minerals including Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Bicarbonate and other trace elements. The definition of pH is the measure of Acidity or Alkalinity of water-soluble substances. The range of measurements is from 0 to 14 pH with 0 being the lowest and considered the most acidic and 14 being the highest and considered the most alkaline. A measure of pH 7.0 is considered neutral. Alkaline water typically ranges from pH 7.5 up to pH 9.0, higher than pH 9.0 is not recommended for drinking.
How can I get Healthy Mineral Alkaline Water at Home?
Mineral Pro has developed a Reverse Osmosis System that first purifies the water by removing the chlorine and unwanted contaminants, then re-mineralises the water with natural minerals, resulting in very pure, healthy, great tasting mineral alkaline water as close to mother nature as possible. It is the re-adding of natural minerals that gives MineralPro water the great taste we are famous for. If you are used to drinking filtered water from a common, plastic jug, you will be amazed how the MineralPro Water tastes so much better. You will also be amazed that it costs you less over the long run too!
How do I remove Lead from Drinking Water?
First, you may want to take a sample of your water to a local lab and have it tested for lead. If you live in a house built prior to 1930, you may want to call your water supplier and ask if you have a lead service pipe, or you can look in your basement where the water line comes into your house and see what material your pipe is made of. If it is lead, it will be a dull grey in colour much like the look of a fishing weight. If you determine that you have a lead service pipe, you should arrange to have it replaced as soon as possible. If your house was built before 1986 and you determine you have copper pipes, we would not suggest you should change these pipes. However, lead was commonly used in the solder and fittings which can be absorbed into your water supply. You can open your cold water tap first thing in the morning and let it run for 3 minutes to flush the lead out. Lead gets absorbed into the water as the water sits overnight in your pipes, so if you let it run for 3 minutes, you will get a lot of the lead out. The best option is a high-quality carbon filter which will remove the lead and chlorine, plus organic material.
Do I need a Water Filter?
People often say – “it comes out of my tap clear and it tastes OK so why do I need a filter?”
Most contaminants found in our drinking water have no taste, odour and do not add any colour to the water so how do you know it is safe for your family to drink?
The reality is we are using so many chemicals in our manufacturing, processing, farming and everyday lives today, way more than in any other period. Where do all these chemicals go after their use? Do they mysteriously disappear somewhere? Whatever chemicals we use in today’s world end up as a waste product and typically end up in the ground and then get washed into our rivers, lakes, groundwater, and oceans. When we burn fossil fuels these acidic solutions across the atmosphere and for many hundreds of miles, result in acid rain entering our streams, lakes and oceans. The choice is yours, you can either install a filter system, or your body becomes the filter.
Why add Minerals to the Water After the RO Process?
During the process of Reverse Osmosis, or RO for short, larger particles (like viruses and other impurities) are filtered out from the water, leaving pure water molecules to pass through your faucet. While there are many benefits to this process, the filter is so efficient that it also removes beneficial minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium. You shouldn’t be relying on your water to give you all the minerals you need, but you shouldn’t be stripping your water of minerals either. Allowing minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium to re-enter your purified water improves its taste and can have the added benefit of also improving your health. When water tastes good, we all tend to drink more, an obvious significant advantage for our bodies. It is the minerals that give MineralPro the great tasting water!
What is the Difference between a Faucet Filter and an Under counter System?
Faucet filters typically have a small component of Carbon as their filtering media, the key word being ”small”. Carbon needs to have a reasonable “contact time” to do its job. So the smaller the volume of carbon the fewer contaminants get removed from the water. Most faucet filters can remove “some” Chlorine but not a large percentage. A MineralPro RO System starts with a sediment filter to remove debris from the water, followed by a carbon block pre-filter which has about ten times more carbon than faucet filters. Next is the RO Membrane which reduces contaminants up to 99%, and last is our Mineral Stage which has natural Minerals in it, combined with a final stage of Granular Carbon made from coconut husks, the purest form of carbon. This Carbon puts a final polish on the water and guarantees our water always has a fresh, clean taste!
Is Bottled Water as Good as a Home Filtering System?
Bottled Water can vary between regions and producers. Some filter using an RO process, leaving water pure but very acidic, anywhere from 5.3 pH to 6 pH. Others just use a carbon filter, while even some that have been tested are found to just be using “good ol’ tap water”. Is there any way of knowing how good bottled water is? Not really unless you know the process they are using.
Either way when you put bottled water in a plastic container the chemicals that are in the plastic can leach into your drinking water. With a home system you control the quality of your water and maintain that control knowing you are replacing filters as specified by the manufacturer. Plus, your water is produced fresh as needed, never sits for weeks or months in a plastic jug.
How do I know what contaminants are in my Water ?
People often say – “it comes out of my tap clear and it tastes ok so why do I need a filter?”
Most contaminants found in our drinking water have no taste or odor and do not add any color to the water so how do you really know it is safe for your family to drink?
The reality is we are using so many chemicals in our manufacturing, processing, farming and everyday lives today, way more than in any other period. Where do all these chemicals go after their use? Do they mysteriously disappear somewhere? You could take your water to a lab for testing. Problem is we are using so many new chemicals now and tests have not been developed for testing for these new contaminants. Currently there are over 100,000 different chemicals being used in Manufacturing today and we have only about 100 tests for water contaminants. The best insurance for having safe water is to install a good quality Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System. RO Systems reduce contaminants up to 99%, is the best insurance you can get for providing safe water for your family.