Whether it’s kharma, research, or just blind luck, you have found your way here.  I will do my best to make it worth your time.  Hopefully this article will shed some light on your decision process and help clear up some of the confusion that you may be experiencing when it comes to choosing a water ionizer.

My Buying Experience
When my wife first introduced me to ionized water, I was skeptical to say the least.  She insisted that I speak to the Kangen dealer that she visited because he was “so well informed”.  When I spoke to the gentleman, he insisted that Kangen offered the only “good” machine on the market as all the other machines were cheap knockoffs.  I wasn’t convinced.  How could one machine be so much better than all the other machines on the market?  After all, the various brands all have similar parts and they all operate by the simple process of electrolysis.  

To prove my point, and to provide justifications for avoiding spending $4,000 on a water ionizer, I launched into research mode.  After about a week and a ridiculous number of hours of research, I was well armed to face my wife with the reasons why I wanted to purchase a different brand.  Despite my “compelling” argument, she said I was just being “cheap”.  She couldn’t understand how I could take a “risk” on something so important to our health.   Thank goodness the machine we ended up buying was every bit as good as the Kangen, or I would be still hearing about it to this day.

My passion for the water has fueled my ongoing research over the past two years.  While I could write a book about my findings, the  important news is that all the machines work.  The bad news is that the consumer has virtually no chance of finding out the truth about the machines.  Every website claims their brand is the best and that other brands have all kinds of faults.  No wonder people get confused.

Find the Right Person
If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone looking to purchase a water ionizer, it would be to spend your time finding the right person to deal with.  The brand you choose is far less important that the person you choose to deal with.  This advice may come as a shock to you, because the entire industry focuses on machines instead of people.  As usual, the industry has it wrong again, but it is just a matter of time before the industry matures and the good people will rise to the top.

Why do I think that the choice of the right person is more important than the choice of a brand?   Most of players in the industry focus on selling units instead of trying to help their customers.  What people don’t realize is that the machine itself is just part of the equation when it comes to maximizing the performance of your drinking water.  Factors such as source water, filters, and how to operate and adjust your machine are critical to the success of your water experience.  Unfortunately, very few dealers know much or anything about these important factors.

Quality dealers will spend the time required to help you through the entire education and buying process.   They will inform you about your source water and what you need to do about it, if anything.   They will provide you with honest information about the various machines available on the market.  They will help you choose the best machine for your needs.  And then, and believe me when I tell you this, the most important factor takes over, which is the after sales service.  

Service is Important
If you purchase online, don’t expect after sales service.  If you purchase from a company that doesn’t provide a live tech support person and a warranty department, don’t expect  an easy solution to any future problems or well informed answers to your questions.   If you are purchasing a unit from a company that is a dealer, make sure that you can access the the tech support and warranty teams that supply units to the dealer. 

You would think that the services described above would be standard in the industry.  Unfortunately, the industry in North America is in its infancy.  That means the sophistication level of most of the players has not been developed.  Don’t get discouraged.  Spend your time searching for the good people.  Listen to their advice and avoid the brand name game.  You will get the right machine if you find the right person.

Related posts:

1. Ten Things You Should Know About Water Ionizers
2. Are Water Ionizers a Gimmick?

I receive a lot of inquiries about source water.  People are concerned about contaminants in their water.  Some of the fears that I hear are unfounded, but many are real. This article is about the contaminants found in your water, and which filters can effectively deal with them. 

I believe everyone should learn what is in their drinking water as soon as they move into a home. Have your water tested if your source water comes from a well, river, lake, or anything other than a municipal water supply.   If you do have a municipal water supply, look up the results of their tests on the internet, or call your local municipality.  Remember, they are working for you.  It is very important to understand your source water conditions so that you can be confident in the safety of the water that you drink. 

As a starting point, it should be noted that Americans and Canadians generally have very good water compared to many other countries in the world.  In municipalities, the water is regulated by the EPA in the States and Health Canada north of the border.  The municipalities are obligated to meet minimum federal standards for water safety.   Unfortunately, while the standards are met on average, that doesn’t mean that are met at all times.  Even when standards are met, do you really want your family drinking water that is “not too bad”?

The biggest problem with municipal water supplies is that while they are safe against things that will cause you to be sick in the short term, they are not particularly safe in the long term.   Like so many issues in our society, the safety of our water comes down to money.  Every homeowner wants lower taxes and water rates.  Absolute purification is possible, but is obviously more costly.  So, municipalities are faced with a trade off between cost and effectiveness.  

Everyone should have safer and better tap water, but until people understand the importance of water to our health, sacrifices will be made.  Those that can afford to add filtration systems will enjoy better.  It isn’t fair, but that is the way things work in our world.  The question that I have to ask people who can’t afford basic filtration is:  Is there anything in your life that you could do without in order to be able to have the best possible water in your life?  Another question would be:  What is more important than water?  Our family is fortunate that it doesn’t have to give up anything to be able to afford the $100 per year it takes to drink good water.  

The proliferation of bottled water has been a huge business success, but don’t think for one minute that the water is any better for your health than the water that you get out of your tap at home. Most bottled water is acidic and carries a positive ORP (oxidation reduction potential), and both are bad for your health.

In order to learn more about water, I have spoken with the presidents or owners of water ionizer companies, water softener and reverse osmosis suppliers, filter companies, and public works technicians responsible for municipal water quality. They all have different perspectives, and they all have something to add.  There will never be agreement between all the different interest groups, especially when their livelihood is the source of the discussion.  However, there are some basic and reasonably inexpensive steps anyone can take to insure that their water is safe.  The bonus is that filtered water is also much more pleasant to drink because the filters remove tastes and odours.

The following is a discussion about various factors and contaminants that can alter the quality of water.

SEDIMENT

Water that comes from a municipal source doesn’t have to have a pre-sediment filter, but it is always a good idea to have one.  You would be surprised at how much “stuff” accumulates on a pre-sediment filter that you install under your kitchen tap.  The good news is that the filters only cost a few dollars at the most, so it makes sense to have one.  When it comes to wells, or any water that is not supplied by a municipality, a pre-sediment filter is essential.  Pre-sediment filters come in various sizes and filtering capabilities.  Generally, I recommend a five micron filter, as it takes out the “big stuff”, but won’t clog up too quickly.

CHLORINE

Chlorine is used by municipalities as a low cost means of sanitizing water. Chlorine is a necessary evil as it is required to remove bacteria from the water.  Chlorine can effectively be removed from water with carbon filters.

Carbon filters will typically last 12 months and are available at building supply stores for about $25.  You can choose from a GAC (granulated active carbon) filter or a carbon block filter.  Both are effective. 

CHLORAMINE

More and more municipalities are opting to use chloramine instead of chlorine for disinfecting the water.  Chloramine is formed when ammonia gas is mixed with chlorine. 

There are arguements for and against chloramines, but Susan Pickford (see the comments below) provides a strong  arguement against the use of chloramines.  There are incident reports available in regards to respiratory issues caused by chloramines.  However, to be fair, there are also carcinogen incident reports associated with the use of chlorine due to the formation of Trihalomethanes (THMs). 

 THMs are known to be carcinogenic (cancer causing) and are formed when chlorine interacts with organic compounds (carbon chains) that are found in water.   Municipalities that don’t use chloramines typically use ozone to treat for THMs.  If your municipality uses chlorine for disinfecting the water, contact them and ask them what they are doing about THMS. 

Chloramines are definitely more difficult to remove from your source water.  Reverse osmosis systems will remove chloramines, but we have already covered my dislike of them.  You can purchase catalytic carbon filters that will remove about 99% of the chloramine from your water.  The filters are not easily found, so you will have to go find a water specialty store. 

An under counter 2.5 inch by 10 inch catalytic carbon filter typically costs about $45 to $60.  Many companies will attempt  to sell you a carbon filters for use with chloramine, because they are less expensive, or the company simply hasn’t done their homework.  Either way, don’t settle for a basic carbon filter or a KDF filter if you source water contains chloramine. 

FLUORIDE

I used to think that there was a legitimate argument both for and against fluoride.  After a great deal of research, I can say with 100% confidence that Fluoride should not be in our water.  Fluoride is a by-product of the waste from the creation of agri-chemicals or aluminum.  Fluoride is a poison and should not be in our water supply.  If you don’t believe me, read the label on a tube of Crest or Colgate toothpaste.  You will be surprised.  Fluoride is banned in Europe and Asia and it should be banned in North America. 

I won’t even go into the arguments for using fluoride, as the inclusion of the substance in our water supply is just plain stupid.  While the EPA and Health Canada set the maximum allowable amount at 1.5 parts per million (ppm), most municipalities won’t include more than 0.8 ppm.  Why do you think that is?

Approximately 2/3 of households in Canada and the USA drink water containing fluoride.  If your municipality adds fluoride, ask them to stop.  If you are unable to get the town or city to stop using fluoride, get a filter system to take out the fluoride if you can afford it.   If you can’t afford it, think of ways to cut other expenses in your life, because removing fluoride from your family’s drinking water is important.

You can remove fluoride with a distillation system or a reverse osmosis machine.  I don’t recommend either as they remove important minerals that your body needs.  Reverse osmosis systems typically make your water very acidic, which often makes your drinking water unsafe for drinking water by the standards set by Health Canada.  Therefore, you need to add a re-mineralization filter which creates more potential health problems.  This gets complicated….just don’t use this system unless you have no alternative.  

You can remove 75% of the fluoride in your water with an Activated Alumina filter, or 94% with two filters.  While these reduction levels are not 100%, they are very effective and reduce the amount of fluoride to trace amounts.  Activated alumina filters are not readily available from normal sources, so you will need to contact a water specialty company.  The cost of the filters is typically about $45.

When the odour becomes unacceptable, some municipalities may add ammonia to reduce the odour. The problem with combining chlorine and ammonia is that chloramines are created. Water ionizers do not eliminate chloramines.

Once again a heated debate exists about the advantages and disadvantages of the use of chloramines in the water. You can read more at:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/chloramine/index.html

Medical grade chloramine filters are available that will eliminate over 90% of the chloramines, and they last approximately six months.

LEAD

Older homes that have lead plumbing pipes may have lead contamination.  The best solution for lead is to use a carbon block filter, as it also removes chlorine, bacteria, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds).  In fact, the carbon block filters are a great multi-purpose filter.  The filters are typically found in a water specialty store and cost about $45 to $50 for an under sink drinking filter system.  

MERCURY

Mercury is found in both organic and inorganic forms. You can learn more about mercury at: http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/Hg/mercury_water/drinkingwater.htm. Heavy metal filters are available that will remove virtually 100% of the mercury found in water, and they last approximately six months.

SODIUM

Sodium is not typically a problem in source water as it is acceptable up to 40 ppm (parts per million). Sodium concerns generally only occur when sodium is added to the water supply by means of a water softening systems. Drinking water produced by salt based water softening systems often contains sodium in concentrations in excess of 200 ppm. People should not drink water that has been softened with salt. They should also be aware that more sodium may be absorbed through the skin from taking a bath or shower in water that has been softened by salt, than from drinking water for an entire day. You might want to investigate salt-free water softeners if your source water is hard.

As always, this article expresses the opinions of the author.  Always consult your health care provider with health issues.

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