What to look for in a Water Purifier

General overview

Firstly, in case you need clarification; in summary, a water filter appliance (any brand) must incorporate one (at least) of the 6 types of filtration available in the world, being:

There is nothing else available, for removing chemicals from water. Whether it is a portable unit, a plumbed in unit, or one stage, or 3 stage filter unit, it's the type of process, or the filter media INSIDE the stages which determines the performance and quality of the water.

If the purifier removes TDS (total dissolved solids), which is the dissolved substances, salts, not removed by common filters like Carbon, then it is a very good purifier system. Crystalline has supplied all types for 16 years.

HOW MANY STAGES?

The type of filtration is more important than how many 'stages' a purifier may have. What is inside each stage/filter is the key, not how many.

The RO membrane is the real performer in a reverse osmosis system, so usually there's no need to have a large number of 'stages' as with some brands. These are sometimes intended to impress a buyer (and possibly to justify a high purchase price, as well as high running costs). "The more stages, the better the water" is the desired conclusion.

The only purpose of a carbon cartridge in a reverse osmosis system (or a distiller) is to remove chlorine and other organics that pass through the membrane, being gaseous. You can only remove these substances once; if they're gone, they're gone. Nothing else can be added after the membrane that can further improve the purity of the water, except a single carbon 'polishing' post-filter. Using a 2nd carbon filter, placed prior to the membrane, is only useful when it's a membrane which is not tolerant to chlorine. (Thus the membrane could be damaged if the chlorine passes through it).

Why pay more for on-going replacements that you don't need? This is one factor to weigh up when choosing a Purifier.

COMPARING MODELS

Apart from water quality, another factor is user-friendliness. Some filters have 'push-fit' filter cartridges, making replacement very quick, clean and easy, no tools. These are usually 'proprietary design' by the particular manufacturer, which means other brands are not compatible. This is not a negative aspect, as long as the manufacturer and/or the retailer are well established. These are usually in the 'high-end' price range, being specially designed and manufactured. Tubing and connections are usually 'quick-fit' too.

Electric Distillers are un-questionably superior water purifiers. Having no bias, we put both R/Osmosis and Distillers as being equal in water quality, as it is 'splitting hairs' to say which is better. So you may leave water quality aside, and evaluate other factors in a distiller. You should be aware that distillers are quite expensive to run, comparatively, as they use a lot of electricity. Distillers are very slow, with most models producing about one litre per hour (during a 4-5 hour 'batch' of about 4 litres). You must periodically clean a Distiller, to avoid mal-function. One benefit is that it is portable - just plug into a power point. Plumbed-in distillers are appealing in that always plenty of water is 'on tap', as long as you wish to pay the price. We suggest you do consider R/O too, seeing that you can buy about 5-6 plumbed-in reverse osmosis units for the price of one plumbed-in distiller! Or buy a portable RO unit for similar price to a portable distiller, but cheaper to run, no cleaning, and 2-3 times faster water production.

On the whole, you will get the same purity from any brand/model of reverse osmosis. As long as it's including a good quality R/Osmosis membrane, as most do, the differences are more about design, user-friendliness, number of stages that you prefer/need, extra features eg push-in connections or screw-in, air-gap faucet or standard faucet, automatic production 'on tap' or not, portable or plumbed-in model, standard generic cartridges or non-standard cartridge size. And of course good service with sound advice is not to be overlooked.

Other factors associated with owning a water purifier are:

Will I be charged high 'handling' fees in delivering filter cartridges later? Crystalline only charge the cost of the stamps/courier.

Am I expected to have a service-man come and change my filters? If so, how much of the cost I pay is for the man to drive around doing this simple task, and is the cost including good quality filter cartridges?

Is the supplier an expert, with staff to serve me all day, every day, during business hours? And if I was to have a problem later, will I just get 'answering machine' or un-kept promises?

WATER FOR NUTRITION?

Others wonder, when fully purifying water, if the lost 'trace minerals' mean a dietary deficiency. These minute amounts are not essential to health - and they are not in a digestible organic form. For example, the traces of calcium that may be present in some water, is not the same calcium you find in milk; it's the type of calcium used to make concrete (inorganic minerals contribute to kidney stones, which 1 in 3 people eventually have). We obtain our 'essential minerals' and other nutrients from food, not water. We are yet to see empirical evidence that inorganic traces of minerals (or high alkalinity) in water are essential minerals for human health. The minerals in water are for plants to take up, and there we find our organic minerals, in food, not water. Science knows that water is needed for hydration and cleansing, with the average body being about 70% water.

Note: It is known however, that fluoride in water results in calcium resorbtion, meaning that despite consuming enough calcium, it is lost, due to the effects of fluoride. Fluoride is heavily linked with osteoporosis and bone cancer, and its effects are often mis-diagnosed as osteo-arthritis in scans. See www.fluoridealert.org for more info.

RAIN TANKS

Rainwater* doesn't contain trace minerals - they are bits of dissolved dirt and rock collected when water flows on the ground, being a natural solvent which generally picks up a little bit of everything it touches.

In any case, you would have to drink thousands of litres of water to get the same level of 'minerals' you'd find in one apple. If you choose a Purifier that leaves trace minerals in the water, then you also leave most metals and in-organic chemicals in your daily water (and fluoride). *Rain tank water typically contains bacteria, from tiny particles of bird droppings and other rotting organics. A drinking water filter is recommended for rain tanks, to remove bacteria at least. Airborne contaminants pollute rain water - even penguins at South Pole are seen to have pesticides in their system, and the TDS test of rain-tank water reveals it's not pure.