Water & Air – Filter Systems News

Perhaps you hadn’t thought about Filters Fast as the place to buy your mom that special gift that says “I love you.” But, we do carry a few items that are practical and will manage to make mom feel extra-special too. Even if you don’t buy one of these in time for Mother’s Day this year, there’s always her birthday, Christmas, next Mother’s Day, or even “just because.”

1. PUR 3-Stage Horizontal Silver Faucet Water Filter

This faucet filter removes or reduces lead, mercury, sediment, dirt, microbial cysts, and the bad taste and odor of chlorine. A stainless steel finish makes it the perfect addition to mom’s kitchen, and best of all, installation is easy. Simply snap the PUR 3-Stage faucet-mount filter onto your faucet with just one click. No messy, under sink installation for dad this Mother’s Day.

2. Mavea Elemaris Filtered Water Pitcher

Recently dubbed “the sexiest water filtration pitcher in town,” the Mavea Elemaris filtered water pitcher has a soft, rubber grip handle and a sleek look that is perfect for entertaining guests, while providing fresh filtered water, free from contaminants like chlorine, mercury, copper, benzine, atrazine, limescale, rust and more. This is one gift that mom will use over and over again.

3. Reusable Water Bottle

As we stated in a recent post, reusable water bottles are the perfect active wear fashion accessory. Besides that, they will help mom save money that she’d otherwise spend on single-use, plastic bottled water. A Klean Kanteen filled with already-filtered tap water, or a Brita bottle that comes with a built-in filter are the perfect gifts for moms who are constantly on-the-go.

4. Sprite Shower Falls Multi-Position Filtered Shower Head

Sprite is known for manufacturing some of the highest-quality water filters, and this particular filtered shower head not only reduces harmful chlorine; it features a beautiful chrome finish along with a 5-way massaging spray. Here is a gift that encourages relaxation and good health, all in one system.

5. Rainshow’r Gard’n Gro Garden Filter System

Help mom out with her garden this summer with a Rainshow’r Gard’n Gro Water Filter System. This non-toxic dechlorinator promotes healthy plant growth and nutrition by removing harsh, toxic chlorine from your water, before it reaches your plants. Those garden-fresh tomatoes, squash and zucchini will be better than ever, this year.

6. A Year’s Supply of Filters Fast Air Filters

Has mom been suffering from allergies this spring? A 6-pack of Filters Fast 1″ MERV 13 air filters will efficiently improve indoor air quality for at least an entire year. Give mom a gift that will last through next Mother’s Day.

7. A New Microwave Filter

This is one set of products that many people don’t know we carry. In fact, it’s one of the most neglected items in the home, as most people do not even turn on their microwave & hood range vents while cooking. Even if they do, the filter likely hasn’t been cleaned or replaced in quite some time. To learn more about the necessity for range hood filters, check out this post we did last year. In the meantime, mom’s microwave filter probably needs replacing, so buy her a new one from Filters Fast.

All the moms out there: which one of these items says I love you, best?

As you may recall, in April of last year, the town of Concord, Massachusetts banned the sale of bottled water, making international headlines as the first town in the United States, and maybe even the world, to do so. The ban was set to go into effect in January of this year. However, voters at the annual town meeting, this week, rejected the ban, passing instead a proposal that would educate citizens about bottled water’s environmental impacts. It’s interesting that the vote took place at the beginning of this year’s National Drinking Water Week.

The most probable reason for the ban’s rejection was the citizens’ right to choose bottled water over tap, which is not surprising, considering that Concord is known for being the host of the first battle of the American Revolution. Ironically, however, the voter turnout was very small. Out of the town’s 17,000 citizens, only 537 residents showed up to vote on the issue, which is evidence of the town’s apathy toward both environmentalism and liberty.

Either way, 83-year-old Jean Hill is not giving up. She filed the petition to ban last year, and claims that she’ll be back next year, as well.

By now, it’s clear that we at Filters Fast prefer filtered tap water over bottled water. However, we are also not convinced that an all-out ban is the ultimate solution. In general, most people want to protect their freedom to choose. We have written about the issue of banning bottled water in universities, and this is one of the major reasons why many schools have voted against a ban. What do you think? Should towns and cities ban the sale of bottled water?

The concept is simple, yet potentially massive: One person, called a droplet donates $5 to the 3 for 5 Foundation. He or she then approaches three friends, educates them about the cause, and asks them to donate $5. Those three droplets go out and each find three more friends and the cycle repeats, until 20 million droplets have banded together in an effort to bring clean water to people in developing nations.

The 3 for 5 Foundation partners with several “nonprofit organizations who have a proven track record of implementing sustainable, on-the-ground, clean water solutions in places of need.” Currently they are partnered with CARE, Lifewater International, Millennium Water Alliance and Water for People.

This #charitytuesday, we bring recognition to the 3 for 5 Foundation. Sign in to donate here; and don’t forget to tell 3 friends by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter! If we each contribute  just a little, we can make a huge difference.

The Hydropack is a small pouch that may be used to filter water in disaster situations, such as the Haiti earthquake, or the recent earthquake in Japan. Using a technology called forward osmosis, this small pouch is basically a membrane that lets in only water, rejecting even the harshest of contaminants. Filled with a syrup that contains calories and electrolytes, it also provides energy to malnourished disaster victims. Similar to a Capri Sun pouch, a straw is poked into the top when ready to drink.

Pros? It is less taxing on the environment than bottled water, since the pouches are small. Still, it is unclear (at least, to me) how the membranes are disposed of, once used, or if and how they may be recycled.

Cons? According to this video, the Hydropack takes twelve hours to work its magic. To supply clean water to an entire community, hundreds of pouches would have to be left overnight in a large body of water.

It may not be the most sustainable solution to the third world clean water crisis, but for disaster situations, it does provide a slightly better alternative to bottled water. What do you think? Is this the best emergency water filter you’ve seen?

Waves 4 Water was founded in 2009 by pro surfer, Jon Rose. On his way to Bali to deliver 10 water filters for what would have been the charity’s first mission, he felt a shake. When he came to shore, he realized that a 7.6 magnitude earthquake had hit the city of Sumatra, and he made his way through the crumbled buildings to get water filters into the hands of rescue workers to help the country’s wounded victims. It was this experience that solidified the need for Waves 4 Water, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean water to impoverished people around the world.

Waves 4 Water teamed up with Hurley International to develop a program called Clean Water Couriers. The concept is both simple and innovative: surfers, in search of waves in third-world countries carry filters with them in their luggage and either connect with local nonprofits in the area or travel to villages to personally set them up. There are two types of filtration systems – a $50 community filter, which will filter up to 200 gallons of water a day for an entire village, and a $25 family use filter system that filters 14 gallons per day. Materials include a plastic bucket (which may be found locally), a ceramic filter, a spigot, and a knife to cut a hole in the bucket.  The ceramic filters will remove a variety of contaminants including bacteria, viruses, cysts and microorganisms that cause waterborne illness.

Anyone can get involved, either by making a direct donation through the Waves 4 Water website, or by buying water filters and traveling with them through the Clean Water Couriers program. Though the program was conceived in the surf community, the opportunity to get involved, by donating or by traveling, is open to all.

Help us spread the word, this #charitytuesday, about Waves 4 Water, by retweeting and/or sharing this post!

Fans of Vitamin Water may be disappointed to learn that vitamins may lose potency if stored in water for extended periods of time.

Enter Activate – the only brand of bottled water on the market that has vitamins, antioxidants and other supplements in powder form hidden in the cap, which are released with just one twist, just before drinking. How did this concept come to be?

“Friends Anders Eisner and Burke Eiteljorg were sitting in the Denver airport four years ago. Anders was trying to pour Airborne, a supposed cold-fighting dietary supplement, into a bottle of water. Burke was doing the same with Emergen-C, another vitamin drink mix. Both were making a mess. There had to be a tidier way, they decided.”

Activate comes in eight flavors. Some emphasize health and immunity boosters, while others are workout drinks with electrolytes. The drinks contain Stevia, a much healthier alternative to the sugar used in Vitamin Water and other similar beverages. While we applaud the company’s innovation and drive to be healthier than most, we still have the problem of plastic bottle waste on our hands. Perhaps Eisner and Eiteljorg wouldn’t have made such a mess if they had a wide-mouthed reusable bottle like this Klean Kanteen instead. Moreover, the beverage sells for $1.79 to $2.29 per bottle:

“Some balk at the price, but Holland [the company's president] says, ‘If you bought a bottle of water and Emergen-C it would cost you $2.’”

Precisely why we shouldn’t be buying bottles of water in the first place! We’ve said it many times and we’ll say it again. Save money with your own supplement packets and/or pills, and fill up your reusable water bottle with filtered tap water instead.

The Australian Standard for organic products says that natural products like water cannot be labeled “organic.” But what if that label is part of the brand or company name?

Australian brands, Organic Springs, Active Organic, and Organic Falls sell purified tap water under the Active Organic Spring name, though the water is not organic and is not sourced from a spring. Legitimate organic producers are annoyed at companies that use the term in their brand names, as it can mislead consumers. “Organic” is a term that is typically used to describe agricultural produce, and not natural substances like water or air.

The company, in its defense, states that it is not actually claiming that the water is organic, though the term is used in the brand name. Still – the word can be misleading to consumers, no matter the context. The bottled water industry caught on to the power of this kind of advertising long ago when they began marketing their product with pictures of glaciers, mountains and freshwater springs on the bottles. These days, many consumers will blindly purchase a product labeled “organic”, simply because the word has such a powerful, positive connotation, even if they don’t know what the term itself really means. And some products labeled “organic” are not any healthier or better-tasting than their non-organic versions.

What do you think? If given the choice between a bottle simply labeled “purified tap water” and a bottle labeled “purified tap water” with “organic” in the brand name, which would you be more likely to choose?

This #charitytuesday, we are calling attention to the work of Water for People, a nonprofit organization dedicated to innovative, sustainable clean water solutions in 11 different countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Water for People is not just another water charity. The core value that makes this organization unique is sustainability – a drive to create solutions that last.

One of their most innovative solutions lies in a partnership with PlayPumps International and the Case Foundation. PlayPumps are small merry-go-rounds that pump water from underground into a water tank as children spin around on them. The water can then be drawn from a tap directly on the tank.

Water for People also works through local partnerships with government and private organizations, calling on communities to finance their own clean water efforts, and training them to build their own clean water and sanitation systems, so that the projects last beyond those that are normally funded by a one-time monetary grant. This is part of what makes their solutions  sustainable. What’s more, they recently launched an online platform called FLOW (Field Level Operations Watch) that uses mobile phones and GPS to monitor how well water systems in the developing world are functioning. This monitoring system ensures that broken pumps and wells in need of repair are not left untouched – once again ensuring that the projects last well beyond the first drop of clean water that’s produced.

Individuals and organizations can get involved with Water for People by spreading the word through online media, sponsoring fundraising events, shopping the online store or making a donation online.

The New Jersey American Water and Scholastic is hosting a Tap for Tap Song and Dance contest for students in grades K-8. The purpose of the contest is to encourage students to help the environment by opting for tap water. To enter, teachers should have their students write a toe-tapping original song describing what makes tap water so special, and then choreograph a tap dance routine to go along with it. Teachers may submit entries by mailing in the song lyrics and a video of the dance, or by submitting the material online through the Scholastic Tap for Tap entry form. This contest is open to New Jersey public schools, private schools, home schools or dance schools.

Judging will be based solely on the song lyrics and how well it communicates the benefits of tap water. Three winning classrooms will receive a field day from New Jersey American Water, along with a brand new library of Scholastic books and a pizza party.

We thought this was a creative and fun way for students to learn about the benefits of opting for tap water over bottled water. Though the contest is currently open to students in the New Jersey area, perhaps teachers in other states can be inspired to host or participate in a similar event. Teach your kids about tap water now, so that they will develop good, environmentally-friendly habits from now into adulthood. Filters Fast offers several other ways for your students to learn about water and sustainability, including a WaterSafe Science Project Water Test Kit that can compare the water quality of up to 10 different tap water samples. For other ideas on taking your classroom to the next level, take a look at our “Educator’s Guide to Green Lessons and Activities,” as well as this collection of Energy and Science Projects for Students.

AVEDA is a manufacturer and retailer of high-end hair care and skin care products. The company has set aside this month, in honor of Earth Day, to raise money to protect the planet. Aveda has been dedicated to sustainable environmental causes since day one, using natural, plant-based, organic ingredients in all of its products, and raising over $18 million since 1999, $12 million of which has been used to support clean water projects around the world.

There are several ways Aveda patrons can help contribute to the cause. You can purchase the Aveda Limited Edition Light the Way Candle, which is scented with 100 percent lavender, lavandin and clary sage essential oils, (much better for your indoor air quality than chemical air fresheners) and is packaged with recycled materials. Aveda will give 100 percent of the proceeds from the sales of this product to Global Greengrants clean water projects. In addition, if you receive a service at a participating Aveda-concept salon during Earth Month, the stylist or service provider will donate a portion of the appointment to one of their clean water partners.

If you don’t use Aveda products, you can still get involved by simply making a donation online, or by participating in an Aveda 3.7-Mile Walk for Water, which takes place in cities all over the world to raise awareness and funds for various grassroots organizations. The company also suggests other simple ways you can protect water sources every day – by supporting organic farming, conserving electricity, and eating less meat.

Though Aveda is not a non-profit organization, we wanted to recognize their efforts to protect clean water through partnership with other charitable organizations, this #charitytuesday. Join us in raising awareness by re-tweeting this post!