Water & Air – Filter Systems News

The health benefits of water are numerous. From heart benefits to muscle and brain benefits, water is absolutely a must have for anybody. That is why for the month of April 2012 only, Filtrete and FiltersFast.com are making it easier for you to get just what you need. We are giving free shipping on great Filtrete products that not only look nice but will work to keep your health intact and your water tasting great.  Get free shipping on:

The 8 -Cup Filtrete Clear Water Filtration Pitcher provides clean, great-tasting water by utilizing fast flow filtration technology. This 3M Filtrete water pitcher fills up to 3 times faster than traditional filtering pitchers.

The 4-Bottle Filtrete Water Bottle Station allows you to filter and bottle your own water. Fill the Filtrete Water Station with water from your sink and the Fast Flow Filter reduces sediment, unpleasant taste and odor of chlorine from your water. In just seconds, this four bottle water filter system will fill your reusable water bottles with clean, filtered water. Also, for April 2012 only, you can receive a $5 mail-in rebate with the purchase of this fantastic product!

The 3M Filtrete Water Station Replacement Bottles will allow you to fill the four bottles that came with your Filtrete Water Station while keeping a couple in the fridge. Having extra water bottles on hand is helpful for families using the water station or for anyone who drinks a lot of water throughout the day and wants to always have a cold bottle ready. These bottles feature a leak-proof cap, which is designed to allow the cap to be strapped so you can take your bottles wherever you go.

The 3M Filtrete Fast Flow Replacement Water Filter is used in both the 3M Filtrete Water Station and the 3M Filtrete Water Pitcher.  The Fast Flow filter has a unique design that allows it to filter five times faster than traditional water pitcher filters. This filter reduces sediment and the taste and odor of chlorine.

Many of us sometimes forget that water gives us the most benefits when it is clean and clear from any impurities. Dirty water will do you no good, so it is important to drink filtered water that reduces the harmful contaminants that many of us consume every day without even knowing it. So do not wait and take advantage of this exciting offer today!

Every day around the world, there is a cycle that is continuously going. It happens all the time, yet most of us aren’t aware of it. It’s the water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle and it is very vital to life here on Earth. The water cycle describes the movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. At various stages in the cycle, water can change states from a solid to a liquid and even to a gas. But what exactly are the stages of the water cycle? What do these stages do? 

Generally, there are 10 stages to the water cycle that range from evaporation to precipitation. They are as follows:

1. Evaporation: This is the change of water from a liquid to a gas. On average, around 47 inches is evaporated into the atmosphere from the ocean each year.

2. Transpiration: This is the evaporation of liquid water from plants and trees into the Earth’s atmosphere. Nearly all water that enters the roots transpires into the atmosphere.
3. Sublimation: This is the process where ice and snow (a solid) changes into a gas without moving through the liquid phase.
4. Condensation: This is the process where water changes back into a liquid. This is when we begin to first see clouds.
5. Transportation: This is the movement of solid, liquid and gaseous water throughout the atmosphere. Without this movement, all of the water evaporated over the ocean would not precipitate over land.
6. Precipitation: This is water that falls to the earth. Most precipitation falls as rain but includes snow, sleet, drizzle and hail. On average, about 39 inches of rain, snow and sleet fall each year around the world.
7. Deposition: This is the reverse of stage 3. Water vapor (a gas) changes into ice (a solid) without going through the liquid phase. This is most often seen on clear and cold nights when frost forms on the ground.
8. Infiltration: This is the movement of water into the ground from the surface. Percolation is movement of water past the soil going deep into the groundwater.
9. Surface flow : This is the river, lake, and stream transport of water to the oceans. The water may return to the surface in springs or eventually seep into the oceans.
10. Plant uptake: This is water taken from the groundwater flow and soil moisture. Only 1% of water that a plant draws up is used by the plant. The remaining 99% is passed back into the atmosphere.

Water is a vital part here on Earth, and on World Water Day this Thursday, let’s not forget the importance of clean drinking water for you and your loved ones. At Filters Fast, we offer a variety of water products to help ensure you of clean drinking water. From the Zero Water Cooler Bottle Filtration System to the Everpure Water Filtration System, Filters Fast knows the importance of clean, drinking water for you and your family.

(IMAGE CREDIT: http://www.srh.weather.gov)

Image Credit: walker.la.us

Every year in New Orleans, Louisiana the traditional Mardi Gras celebration draws thousands of tourists to the city from around the world. This festival includes wearing throw beads, decorative masks, festive costumes, dancing, street parties and a spectacular pageantry of floats, bands and other parade goers. The term “Mardi Gras” is French for Fat Tuesday. On this day, observers eat richer, fatty foods before the Lent season. The three colors selected for Mardi Gras are each symbolic in influence and purpose. Mardi Gras purple symbolizes justice. Mardi Gras green is symbolic of faith. Mardi Gras gold stands for power! Remember to wear the Mardi Gras colors if you are not in a costume.

To celebrate Mardi Gras, Filters Fast selected a few featured products in the traditional festive colors for the occasion.

The Mavea Elemaris XL Water Filter Pitcher Purple 1005727 is a superior water filter pitcher manufactured out of BPA-free plastic boasting a distinct and elegant eggplant purple European style finish. It also features a Smart Meter filter change indicator, which will measure your drinking water’s hardness, volume and length of time in use for your added convenience.

The Mavea Elemaris XL Water Filtration Pitcher Green 1005770 reduces bacteria, dirt and dust, and chlorine taste and odor. It also includes an easy-to-pour lid and a soft handle for a user-friendly design. It has a large 9 glass holding capacity and has a Smart Meter filter change indicator that measures water hardness, volume and length of time in use for your convenience. In addition, the filters of all of your Mavea Pitchers can be recycled through the Mavea recycling program.

The Sprite Gold PureMist Filtered Shower Handle features a 72 inch tangle free hose that gives you easy motion for full body coverage.  The handle features a patented KDF and Chlorgon filtration media that helps to remove chlorine, heavy metals, VOC’s, pesticides, herbicides, hydrogen sulfide, iron oxide and scale.

Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the last day of feasting before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Whether or not you are in The Big Easy for the Mardi Gras festival, celebrate the spirit of the Fat Tuesday flavor wherever you are!

Thinking of going camping this fall season? Across the country the leaves have changed and there are a multitude of beautiful colors to be seen.  The cool, crisp air means less bugs and clear night skies full of stars. If you, like me, are not THRILLED at the prospect of sleeping outside and not having clean fresh water to drink, the following products will save the day.

Katadyn MyBottle Water Purifier- Blue Splash

This sleek and stylish Katadyn water bottle does more than simply hold water. This water bottle features a personal filtration system directly inside the bottle. The built in virustat and cyst filter will remove bacteria, viruses, cysts and other impurities from virtually all fresh water sources. In addition, the carbon cartridge removes chemicals, making your water taste better. The MyBottle is even registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency for its efficiency at removing impurities.

Use the Katadyn MyBottle to filter the following water sources:

1)      Lakes

2)      Ponds

3)      Rivers

4)      Streams

Katadyn Mini Ultralight Series Microfilter- Black

                The Katadyn Mini Ultralight Microfilter is ideal for camping and hiking. This filter removes protozoa, cysts, sediment, dirt, viruses, spores dirt and bacteria down to 0.2 microns in size. This microfilter has a 2,000 gallon capacity before needing a filter replacement. Weighing less than a pound, this easy to carry filtration system is great when you do not have a readily available fresh water source.

Klean Kanteen 18 oz Bottle & Loop Cap- Red

    The Kleen Kanteen 18 oz Bottle is BPA free and is manufactured out of the highest quality stainless steel. This is an eco friendly alternative to bringing a 24 pack of bottled water to your next camping trip. The convenient loop cap makes it easy to attach to backpacks and camping equipment.  This water bottle comes in a variety of colors.

 Nite Ize Carbiner, Klean Kanteen S-Biner # 3

         The Kleen Kanteen Carbiner will make it easy for you and your family to attach your Kleen Kanteen water bottle to belts, backpacks and camping equipment. Manufactured out of the same stainless steel as your Kleen Kanteen water bottle, two snaps is all it takes to bring your bottle everywhere you need it to go.

Vapur Anti Bottle Water Bottle- Pink 16 oz.

Perfect for the little campers in your party,  this reusable water bottle  features a space saving design. They are extremely flexible and almost completely collapsible, making this water bottle ideal when you are tight on space. The matching clip on the water bottle makes it easy to clip onto hiking bags and camping equipment. This water bottle is made out of BPA free plastic and holds 16 ounces.

With these easy to use products, you can be sure that your next camping and hiking trip will be a great success!

One of the most common physical occurrences in marine science is the accumulation of   microorganisms, algae, mussels, seaweed, plants and other water-related growth that is attached to the hull of ships or on the posts of a pier. Such undesirable growth decreases the performance of a ship and increases fuel consumption. This accumulation is called biofouling or microbiological fouling. Biofouling consists of biofilms, which under normal circumstances are harmless, but can be problematic when they produce build-up on pipes and wells, or completely clog water filtration systems.

Waterborne bacteria and other contaminants can trigger allergic reactions, but you can do something to thwart these harmful pollutants from infiltrating your drinking water supply. Water test kits are available to easily check for waterborne contaminants in your drinking water. If you are in an area where you experience more comprehensive problems with your drinking water, then you will probably need an expert to test your water and advise accordingly. Often water-related allergies associated with biofouling result from improperly maintained water filtration systems, cartridges, filters or membranes that are long overdue for replacement.

Cooling towers, water distribution networks and membranes are not immune to biofouling. If membrane filtration or reverse osmosis systems contain the presence of a huge amount of phosphate, this could reduce production of your system, decrease the life of the membrane for your water filter system and increase maintenance costs. In a cooling tower, the presence of biofouling can lead to an excessive amount of harmful bacteria growth and migration. Biocides are used to prevent biofouling in cooling towers, but could create an environmental concern.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established enforceable standards to apply to public water systems called National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR). According to the EPA, primary standards protect public health by limiting the levels of contaminants in drinking water. The typical agents for microbiological fouling include iron, sulfur-reducing and slime producing organisms, although many others exist. Your drinking water will contain some type of sediment, rust, scale or other waterborne pollutants that could create an environment for biofouling in the walls and membrane of your filtration system. This could lead to water-related allergies or diseases if precautions and proper maintenance are not taken ahead of time.

The sari is a traditional form of dress worn by women in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and several other countries. While you may not be familiar with the name, the style is quite recognizable. Saris are usually long and flowing, multi-colored, and draped around a woman’s waist and over her shoulder. While often the marker of ethnicity, tradition, or style, women of Bangladesh rely on their saris for even more: water filtration.

The New York Times, has recently begun a new series of special reports: “Small Fixes, a special section on low-cost innovations that can save thousands of lives.” In a recent report, the Times notes that women in rural Bangladesh often use their saris to filter sweetened drinks, often to get rid of leaves, bugs, and various other debris.

While filtering a beverage of leisure offers many advantages, ten years ago researchers from Maryland realized that this simple technique could form the base of a much larger operation to relieve a very serious health risk. They discovered that “four thicknesses of laundered sari fabric, with its loosened, roughened cotton fibers, will strain out most of the microscopic plankton in water. In water contaminated by cholera, enough bacilli are attached to plankton for the quantity of cholera in filtered water to drop by more than 99 percent.”

Bangladeshi women from more than 27 local villages implemented the plan while retrieving drinking water from local rivers and canals. They “were taught to cover the urns they used for fetching water with an old sari folded in four. Over the next 18 months the rate of cholera in these villages dropped by about 50 percent, compared with other villages — about the same effect as that achieved by a much more expensive nylon water filter.”

Several years later researchers returned to the village to see if the plan had been enforced. Areas that utilized some form of water filtration noticed a drop in cholera outbreaks; however, women from several villages admitted to using only one strip of sari for filtrating water rather than the recommended four. The researchers learned that while there are simple solutions for complex problems, the solutions must be met with some form of continual reinforcement to have any lasting effect.

An ancient technique for purifying water may offer new hope for the over 1 billion people who have no access to clean drinking water.  The Moringa oleifera tree has been used for hundreds of years by people in Sudan to purify water, as well as for food.  The method has never been widely disseminated, but in 2010 a publication by Michael Lea revealed the Moringa tree’s properties.  According to Lea, when the seeds of this tree are crushed into powder and mixed with surface water, a reduction of bacteria by 90-99 percent can be achieved.

This news provides great hope for those living in areas where the tree is widely grown, including Africa, Central and South America, India, and Southeast Asia. In Ghana, the Moringa tree is grown on plantations, and its leaves are used for food and the seeds used as a spice. According to the UN site IRIN, the tree grows quickly and resists drought, and can be grown in many areas.  The seeds are soft and can be easily crushed, the IRIN site further states.  The fact that the tree is already widely grown, and the ease with which the seeds can be crushed, make this method ideal for those without other sources of water purification.

Kebreab Ghebremichael, a water purification expert with UNESCO, states that using the seeds of Moringa tree is probably best employed at a household level.  According to him, the seeds would pose problems with odor and taste if forced to sit for extended periods of time when used on a large scale basis.  He further states that this method would work better for surface water than with underground water, and that it is best used for emergencies and where other methods of water purification are not available.

Imagine creating a plastic box that would serve a multifunctional purpose for disaster victims. Aquabox, a charitable company registered in England, provides boxes for water purification to dispatch to areas where severe disasters strike. The aftermath of a disaster can leave victims in desperate need of core necessities like food, water and shelter. One of the most urgent challenges for disaster relief agencies is getting fresh, clean drinking water to those victims. Sometimes polluted water is the only source of water. Waterborne contaminants can rapidly cause epidemics such as typhoid and cholera. Many of the outbreaks of disease and infection that result from drinking polluted water could often lead to dehydration and diarrhea, particularly striking the very young.

Aquabox is a robust plastic tank packed with water purification tablets and essential welfare items for a disaster situation. Once the welfare contents have been removed, each Aquabox can be used to purify up to 1100 liters of polluted water, making it safe and pleasant to drink. For example, 1100 liters is equal to 5,000 cups. This is enough safe drinking water for a family of four to consume 10 cups of water per day, for about four months.

This survival box is filled with welfare items such as warm clothing, kitchen utensils, hygiene items and other general hardware. The actual contents depend on the individual or organization that donated and filled the box. By the millennium, Aquabox provided more than 20,000 boxes covering over 30 countries. During the past several years, many aid agencies received and monitored boxes such as Children’s Aid Direct, Feed the Children, Christian African Relief Trust, Containers of Hope and Nottingham Police Aid Convoys.

Clean drinking water can mean the difference between life and death. In the wake of mammoth disasters, natural and manmade, Aquabox is dispatched to areas in dire need of safe drinking water. Under the provisions of their charitable status, Aquabox seeks a donation in return for the box rather than making an outright sale. Aquabox can play a vital part in minimizing the after effects of a disaster.

Hazards of Fluoride in Water

The painstaking debate continues about whether or not fluoride in your drinking water is beneficial for your teeth and health. For years, we were not concerned about what was in the water we drank, unless we noticed something floating around in it. However, the particles you don’t see is the thing that sends a cross bone and skull warning sign flying in front of our water sources and receptacles.

We are inundated with reports about the effects of fluoride and its impact on tooth decay. Some dental researchers indicate that the benefits of fluoride are primarily topical and not systemic. While we are not attacking the dental industry, there are many reviews and studies that discuss the dangers of a high intake of fluoride which extends beyond cosmetic concern. When examining the possible health effects associated with fluoride in drinking water, the EPA noted that exposure to excessive consumption of fluoride over a lifetime may lead to the likelihood of increased bone fractures in adults, along with pain and tenderness. They go on to say that children 8 years old and younger who are exposed to excessive amounts of fluoride increase their chances of developing pits in the tooth enamel, as well as a range of other cosmetic effects to their teeth.

Many contaminants found in our drinking water warrants significant concern for purification and safety. If your water comes from a household or private well, be sure to check with your health department or local water systems that use ground water, for information on harmful contaminants in your area. There is a variety of filtration systems designed to help remove or reduce numerous waterborne contaminants. When asked about how to remove fluoride from your drinking water, the EPA gave the following statement: “The following treatment method(s) have proven to be effective for removing fluoride to below 4.0 mg/L or 4.0 ppm: distillation or reverse osmosis.”

Reverse Osmosis Systems (RO) will typically use carbon filters, sediment filters and an RO membrane to reduce and remove waterborne contaminants. Reverse Osmosis (RO) removes more contaminants at a higher rate of efficiency than other forms of water filtration. We recommend that you use a reverse osmosis system like the Aqua-Pure APRO5500 Reverse Osmosis Water Filter, the Pentek RO-3500 Monitored Reverse Osmosis System or the Aqua Flo E75TFC-3SFBP RO System with Booster Pump for removing fluoride. The reverse osmosis system is normally located or installed under the sink.

So what do you think about fluoride in your drinking water? “To fluoride or not to fluoride? That is the question!” We would love to hear your comments about this ongoing discussion regarding the trials and tribulations of fluoride in our drinking water. We also invite you to vote in our poll that you will find in the upper right-hand corner on this blog. Do you own a reverse osmosis system? If so, we invite you to share your experience with us.



EcoloBlue 30s Atmospheric Water Generator

As farfetched as it may sound, the possibility of turning humidity from the air into sparkling water is a reality. EcoloBlue Life & Energy, the global leader in home and office Atmospheric Water Generators, was recently awarded a United States patent for their invention of The EcoloBlue 30s. The EcoloBlue 30s is a sleek, state-of-the-art atmospheric water generator that allows sparkling water to be generated from humidity in the air and customized to consumers’ tastes.

Air is the only water source required for the EcoloBlue 30s. It eliminates reliance on municipal water systems, well water or any other standard water source. Once it pulls humidity out of the air, it filters and purifies the water. The EcoloBlue 30s delivers a continuous supply of delicious, 99.9% pure water quietly, energy efficiently and without plastic bottles. Now how cool is that? Talk about eco-friendly.

The EcoloBlue 30s appeals to a wide range of demographics due to its simplicity of design, easy installation and operation. This appliance can connect directly to any water source to provide an endless supply of water. Some of the benefits of the EcoloBlue 30s include:

• Hot, cold and sparkling water creation
• 12 Stage air filtration process
• Off-the-grid sustainability
• Solar and biodegradable plastics
• Energy efficient and economical
• Eliminate bottled water purchasing
• Offers 99.9% peace of mind regarding water safety and sustainability

Design features of the EcoloBlue 30s water generator offers wood, stone and marble styles to match your décor. This system comes complete with one CO₂ Canister. Additional canisters are available. One canister will provide up to 60L/16gallons of pure sparkling water. To make your own mineralized sparkling water, simply add a mineral filter to this atmospheric water generator. This system is easy to set up and maintain.

To learn more about the EcoloBlue 30s water generator by EcoloBlue Life & Energy, visit their website EcoloBlue.com.