The History of the
Refrigerator Water Filters
The earliest recorded method of water filtration dates back to 2000 B.C.E where hieroglyphics
depict methods of boiling water, placing hot metal instruments in water and
filtering water through charcoal and sand. These early methods are thought to
have been instituted to make water taste better, thus, cleaning it. Water
filtration was further developed with the advent of the microscope, which made
it possible to see foreign particles and contaminants in water that would have
otherwise been considered to be pure and clean. Most notably, the microscope was
responsible to identify cholera bacteria in drinking water during a disease
outbreak in 19th century London. The outbreak was rampart in all
areas except those areas where drinking water was filtered through sand.
Chlorine was also discovered to be an effective, chemical disinfectant capable
to rid the infectious water of cholera. It was further discovered that the
chemical, chlorine, when used in combination with sand filtering, was effective
in combating cholera as well the water borne diseases, typhoid and
dysentery.
In an effort to achieve drinking water purity, chlorine disinfection and sand filtering became
prominent methods of municipal water treatment throughout Europe, and then, the
US. These primitive methods of disinfecting and filtering water to achieve
purity have been studied and evaluated with the use of technology. Chlorine,
despite its history of ridding water of contaminants, is a poison. It has since
been found to exhibit side effects that aggravate and induce respiratory
complications, such as asthma. The poisonous chemical vaporizes at a faster rate
than water, making it dangerously harmful when inhaled, especially during
showering. Fluoride has since been added as an additional chemical disinfecting
agent, but also has side effects of dental damage and other health complications
in young children. Lead and other
chemical contaminants and by-products further compromise drinking water during
the piping and delivery of treated water.
Business and industry have been instrumental in the disposal of waste materials into our
fresh water supply sources. This inhabitation has directly contaminated the
water supply and also upset the balance of water flow and creation established
by nature. The US Clean Water Act, legislated in 1972, was intended to restore
the physical, chemical and biological balance of water that had been disturbed
by contamination. The Act specified that all natural water supplies would, at
least, be safe for fishing and swimming by 1985. This specification led to the
development of some form of water filtration and disinfection in every US city
as well as advanced technological innovations in the filtering of water used in
industry. Even so, the severity of past and continued damage has left more than
1/3 of all water supplies still polluted with contaminants.
In an effort to reduce the contaminants in drinking water and also to comply with national efforts to
make drinking water safe, water-filtering systems have been developed to filter
water within individual homes. Systems exist to filter incoming water for the
entire house and also systems are designed to filter water, inline, at various
points of water distribution within the house, such as at facets and
refrigerators or in water pitchers. The US based company, Omnipure Filter
Company, credits its self with developing the first small, disposable, inline
water filter in the world. The Omnipure CL Series of water filters, developed in
1970, were carbon-based, inline filtering systems designed for water coolers and
ice machines. This benchmark water filtering system used granular activated
carbon (GAC) to create cost effective methods of filtering water inline.
Advances in the functionality, using the same basic design, have since led to
the development of whole-house filters, faucet filters, countertop filters,
pitcher filters, refrigerator filters and portable filters for
camping.
In 1996, KX Industries developed and supplied the first refrigerator water filter for ice cube and cold
water dispensing. KXI is credited with developing the initial “end of tap”
filter for the Proctor and Gamble/PUR and the Clorox/Brita water filters. The
new technology has been adopted and revised to suit a number of refrigerator
models, creating a $200 million refrigerator water filter market. |
