Water & Air – Filter Systems News

Sniffle, sniffle. If you couldn’t tell from my virtual stuffy nose, Friday is the first day of fall, meaning the beginning of a tough allergy season. As we’ve mentioned before, this season promises to be one of the worst allergy seasons yet . If you happen to live in a city with a high pollen count, or are very susceptible to allergens, be sure to have the correct protection you need for this upcoming fall season.

Humidifier systems will help significantly as they moisturize the dry air in your home. Dry air can cause sinus infections, colds, scratchy throats and even nose bleeds.  Humidified air will prevent cold viruses from thriving, as they prefer dry conditions. However, a humidifiers humid, wet air can also add bacteria and mold to your home if not maintained properly. Here are some of the most common humidifier filters, pads and wicks that will keep your humidifier running smoothly, and keep you out of the doctor and out playing in the cool fall air!

Humidifier Filters: Humidifier filters will keep your humidifier running at its best, and keep it free from mold and bacterial residue. Each humidifier, regardless of size, uses a filter to keep particles and contaminants inside of the humidifier and out of the air that you breathe. For example, the Universal Bemis West Bend 6” Humidifier Filter works with a 6” drum type humidifier.

The Holmes HWF75 is a humidifier filter that features the use of Arm and Hammer baking soda to naturally deodorize the air. This filter works with your Holmes and White Westinghouse model humidifier.

Humidifier Wick Filters:  Two pack humidifier wick filters will help you keep your humidifier running correctly. Many of these filters, such as the Vornado MD1-0002 come treated with an antimicrobial treatment that will prevent the growth of mold, fungus and bacteria.

Humidifier Cleaner:  Humidifier cleaner will help prevent the build-up of calcium and lime scale in your humidifiers tank. Humidiclean Humidifier Cleaner and Descaler will increase the life of your humidifier and can be used on both humidifiers and vaporizers.  The Holmes Bacteriostat Cleaner is made for your Cool Mist Humidifier and uses chlorides to clean your humidifier.

Carbon Pre-Filters:  Carbon pre-filters work with those air purifiers that use a three step filtration system within the cleaner. These filters will protect your HEPA filter from exposure to large air particles that will clog up the filter and humidifier.

These products will help your humidifier run at its best, keeping you and your house healthy. If you want to find the correct humidifier accessory for you, simply go to www.filtersfast.com and type in the filter or humidifier you use into the search bar!

Cool, crisp, clean, clear water. In the hot summer days of August, there is nothing better. We run to the faucet or Brita Pitcher when temperatures reach over 100 degrees. Imagine a truly sizzling hot day, running for the tap, turning on the cold faucet and the water that comes out is not the regular water you are used to, but cleaned wastewater. As the name implies, cleaned wastewater is water that “has been used in your toilet or sink or shower is purified through a variety of technological processes that make it clean enough to drink” (Alix Spiegel, NPR Article)  Would you feel the same relief from the heat? Or would your mind stop you from enjoying the cool glass of water?

Some scholars say yes.  Dr. Carol Nemeroff, of the University of Southern Maine speculates that many people are not able to get over the “ick” factor of drinking water that could have previously been found in their toilet. The scientific term, contagion, refers to the phenomenon of people thinking that once something has contact with another thing, those two things are always joined. In this case, water and your toilet.  Significant research of over 2,000 people suggests that it is difficult for people to dispel this kind of thinking; regardless of if it is scientifically proven that the cleaned wastewater is safe for consumption.

Therefore, getting Americans on board for the use of wastewater as drinking water may involve less science, and more psychology. The key it seems is to change the identity of the filtered water by connecting it closer to nature. As water reuse expert Dr. Haddad says, people feel more comfortable if the treated water sits in an underground aquifer for a significant period of time. However, this brings up additional problems, as exposing already treated water back to nature can have negative effects on the quality of the water.

It is clear that our water thinking has a significant impact on the way water is used and distributed in this country. Now that we have the science to turn wastewater into drinkable water, we need to find a way to change its identity so that people no longer have visions of drinking water formally found in the bottom of a bath tub or toilet bowl.

Coconut water has exploded in popularity as claims of its being as good as or better than sports drinks at hydrating and replenishing electrolyte levels have been tossed around.  But now those claims are being called into question.  A 2011 report by CNN states that of the three most popular U.S. coconut water drinks—O.N.E., Vito Coco, and Zico— only Zico lived up to its claims of boosting electrolytes.  The others were found to have 82% lower sodium and 35% lower magnesium levels than those stated on the products’ labels.

As of this writing, coconut water represents a $200 million dollar industry.  As we reported last December, many celebrities have been shown drinking the various brands of coconut water, and many people have been trying it as an alternative to calorie-laden sports drinks.  But according to the CNN report, coconut water may not be the appropriate choice for refueling after exercise. In fact, it turns out that ordinary water is usually the best choice as an after workout drink. Unless you workout over 90 minutes, or under strenuous conditions, electrolyte levels don’t fall very much.

So another trend may be losing the wind in its sails. Although coconut water by itself may not be as good at replenishing electrolytes as sports drinks, if it is enriched with sodium, coconut water may be an appropriate choice for after workout refreshment.

When most people think about icebergs, visions of the Titanic teetering precariously in the Atlantic Ocean often pop into their heads.  These gigantic sources of frozen, fresh water dot the oceans around the world. More than just a site to see from the bow of a cruise ship, French eco-entrepreneur Georges Mougin, sees icebergs as a solution to the world’s water crisis.

Over 40 years ago, Mougin first began exploring the possibility that the world’s icebergs could be used as source of fresh water for those in need. Today, it may become a reality.  Mougin has invented a way to transport these gigantic icebergs with an insulated harness that will reduce melting.  With the assistance of a tow, the iceberg will ride on ocean currents to those countries that need it most. To assist with this invention, 3D computer simulations have been created to demonstrate that one tugboat from Newfoundland can transport as much as 7 million tons of iceberg to the Canary Islands in as little as five months.

Watch a simulation of towing the iceberg here:

The drawbacks of this amazing technology are as you might have guessed, cost. To tow the iceberg from Newfoundland to the Canary Islands would cost approximately $9.8 million dollars. However, Mougin is hoping to raise enough funds to sponsor a smaller trip from the Antarctic to Australia. If successful, the iceberg, weighing in at 30-million tons will provide enough water for 500,000 people for an entire year.

Bill Gates is reinventing the toilet. That’s right; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is donating a staggering $41.5 million dollars in grants to various organizations involved in developing new sanitation technology.  Here is a breakdown of where some of the funds will be going:

• $12 million dollars is going to the African Development Bank in their effort to bring sanitation management services to 1.5 urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa

• $10 million is going to a German-Kenyan collaboration to improve sanitation services for people living in Kenya

• $8 million to UNESCO Institute for Water Education, increasing education focus on water solutions that work for the poor

• $8.5 million going to USAID’s “WASH for Life”, this program will try and determine the best ways to deliver sanitation, water and hygiene services to the poor. Take a look at their website: www.usaid.gov/div/washforlife

Perhaps the most interesting use of the $41.5 million dollar donation is the $3 million that is going towards the “Reinventing the Toilet Challenge.” This grant will support eight universities across the world, including CalTech, Delft University, and Stanford to participate in the challenge of reinventing the modern toilet. The challenge outlines include remodeling the toilet as a stand-alone unit that does not use piped in water, electricity or a sewer connection. In addition, the unit has to work on less than 5 CENTS A DAY.

Although one of the smaller financial commitments, the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge presents a unique opportunity to change the world. The invention of the toilet nearly 200 years ago significantly changed the world.  As Sylvia Matthew Burwell, president of the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation stated:

“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save the lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by the  invention of the toilet,” Burwell continued, “But it did not go far enough. It only reached one-third of the world. What we need are new approaches. New ideas. In short, we need to reinvent the toilet.”

There have already been some rather interesting ideas generated in regards to this challenge. For example, turning waste into useful fertilizer or the creation of “dry toilets”. Whether a new toilet is invented or not, the nearly $42 million dollar donation will, no doubt, allow for significant advances and aid to those countries that need it most. While many people in Western countries take their toilets for granted, most people around the world do not have access to fresh running water or toilets. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seek to change all that, and along the way, hope to reinvent the toilet

Artist's rendering of a quasar

Discussions of black holes in space tend to veer toward science-fiction. Couple that with stories of water on distant planets or moons and you have a tale that many would find hard to believe. However, as National Geographic recently reported, traces of water outside the realm of Earth is now science-fact and evidence suggests that a large mass of water vapor resides in a black hole light years from Earth.

A study co-authored by Eric Murphy, an astronomer based in Pasadena, California who works at Carnegie Observatories, has indicated that “in a galaxy 12 billion light-years away resides the most distant and most massive cloud of water yet seen in the universe…Weighing in at 40 billion times the mass of Earth, the giant cloud of mist swaddles a type of actively feeding supermassive black hole known as a quasar.”

Terms like black holes and quasars may sound a bit daunting, but the concepts are easy to understand. NASA states that a black hole “is a great amount of matter packed into a very small area – think of a star ten times more massive than the Sun squeezed into a sphere approximately the diameter of New York City. The result is a gravitational field so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.”

And quasars “are black holes at the centers of galaxies that are gravitationally consuming surrounding disks of material while burping back out powerful energy jets. As this disk of material is consumed by the central black hole, it releases energy in the form of x-ray and infrared radiation, which in turn can heat the surrounding material, resulting in the observed water vapor.”

Murphy’s study indicates that water resides within this quasar, but just how much water are we talking about? According to the study, the vapor surrounding the quasar could have “enough water to fill all the oceans on the Earth over 140 trillion times.”

While we won’t have access to intergalactic water anytime soon there is still plenty of scientific worth to this major finding: “Astronomers are hoping to use the find to study how large quantities of water in the young universe may have acted as efficient coolants of the interstellar medium—the thin gas and dust that exists between stars—possibly affecting star formation and the evolution of galaxies such as our Milky Way.”

As for now, take the time to enjoy terrestrial water.

Instead of focusing on a Water Charity this Tuesday, we chose nonprofit organization Project WET. This organization focuses on water education through reaching out to teachers, community members, children, and parents in the United States and around the world. Project WET achieves this goal through publishing informative water materials in different languages, creating school curriculum for different age groups, and sponsoring trainings around the world. Project WET also organizes community water events such as the Global Water Education Village. This event is held every three years at the World Water Forum, the last one was held in Istanbul, Turkey. The goal of the Global Water Education Village is to discuss local actions in water education that are successful at reaching children.

Project WET is committed to reaching out to audiences around the world and in ushering water education into the twenty-first century.  Most recently, Project WET has teamed up with the National Park Service.  In a press release issued on June 22, 2011, Project WET and the National Park Service announced that they would be collaborating on an educational series titled, “Discover the Waters of Our National Parks.”  This science based program will include hands-on activities, videos, special workshops, online courses, guides and an internet portal. Project WET President, Dennis Nelson stated, “Water connects our national parks to each other and to the people of the United States through the water cycle, making national parks a perfect springboard for educating people about water.” This project is going be launched at select national parks within the next year, so keep a look out at your local park!

Project WET’s website offers lots of links for parents, educators, corporations and museums.  If you want to get involved, there are plenty of avenues for that, too. Of course, you can donate on their secure website in any amount you choose, but you can also choose some more innovative ways as well. For example, you can sponsor a classroom and provide a Water and Sustainability Kit which includes copies of various activity and educational booklets for every child.  If you want to be more hands on, you can train to become a Project WET facilitator. After completing the course, you can deliver workshops to teachers and educators in your area. A great way to get involved in your community for a worthy cause!

So this week, Project WET is our pick for a great water focused organization. If you’re a teacher, parent or just someone interested in making a difference through water education, be sure to check out Project WET!

At some point in our lives we’ve heard that we should drink around six to eight glasses of water a day. It’s a recommendation that’s rarely challenged and championed by many health advocates. But where exactly do the numbers come from and why? Dr. Margaret McCartney, a general practitioner from Scotland, is challenging the 8-glasses-a-day rule and recently published her thoughts in an article entitled “Waterlogged?” in the British Medical Journal.

Dr. McCartney describes the notion that “we don’t drink enough water” as “thoroughly debunked nonsense,” and that having too much water could be unhealthy. She notes that the recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day is supported by many health officials and organizations, including the NHS (National Health Service). The NHS Choices website even states on its website that we should “try to drink about six to eight glasses of water (or other fluids) a day to prevent dehydration. When the weather is warm or when we get active, we may need more.”

McCartney’s claim is bold, no doubt, but she cites two major sources as evidence. First, Heinz Valtin wrote in the American Journal of Physiology in 2002 that that there is “no scientific evidence that we need to drink that much [water]” and that the “recommendation could be harmful.” Also, a 2008 editiorial in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology stated that “there is no clear evidence of benefit from drinking increased amounts of water…there is simply a lack of evidence in general.”

Others are rushing to support Dr. McCartney’s assertions and are relieved that she’s contributing to this ongoing conversation. The Guardian notes that “we humans are pretty good at regulating our own water intake. When we need to replace fluid there’s this highly accurate mechanism called thirst that prompts us to have a drink.”

A unique idea…drink only when you’re thirsty.

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NBC’s Thursday night block of comedy is home to one of the most magnificent mustaches ever seen on television. That mustache, of course, belongs to the character of Ron Swanson, head of the Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana, on the sitcom Parks and Recreation. Swanson, played in real life by actor Nick Offerman, is a burly stereotype of masculinity and creator of the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness. When describing the perfect office atmosphere he states, “The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not interested in caring about people. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes.”

But epic mustachery aside, actor Nick Offerman has pledged to utilize his most prominent feature for the good of mankind: to encourage water preservation. Offerman is teaming up with Budweiser, the famed beer company, for its “Grow One. Save a Million” campaign, which began on May 17. On average men use between 3-10 gallons of water every time they shave. So, in preparation for World Environment Day (this Sunday, June 5), Offerman is encouraging all men to drop the razor and save water. Budweiser’s goal is to conserve at least a total of 1 million gallons (or roughly 5 gallons per person) of water by June 5 through this program.

In a press release Offerman stated: “The only thing manlier than growing a big, burly beard is ripping a big, burly beard off of a charging grizzly with your bare hands. That, and saving the planet. Since no grizzly has had the balls to charge me since I went through puberty, I’ve decided to focus on saving the planet by joining with Budweiser to promote the ‘Grow One. Save a Million’ campaign.

Men, if you want to look manly and feel good about conserving water, join me and take the pledge on Budweiser’s Facebook page. And grizzlies, charge me. Just do it. I’m waiting, you babies.”

Every strand of hair left on your face is one drop of water not wasted. So, this weekend start growing the beard you knew you were always capable of…for a good cause. And while you’re at it read about several water conservation breweries.