Alkaline Water Ionizers Compared

We are very pleased to announce that Best Water Filters is now providing comparisons of Alkaline Water Ionizers. There is a great deal of misinformation about what these systems do and how they work - and even IF they are of any benefit at all.

Water for Life says it best:

"Simply put, mother nature never intended for us to drink water from the tap. Water in its natural state is alkaline (between 7.5 and 9.5 pH), full of oxygen, minerals from rocks, and energy from the sun that works like an antioxidant in our bodies. But when water is treated municipally, it loses it's energy because it sits around in holding tanks for long periods of time, the oxygen dissipates, and any alkalinity is lost making the water acidic. What's worse, the water is also contaminated with fluoride and chlorine and other substances toxic to our bodies.

The acidic tap water we drink (and acidic bottled water too...) along with acidic foods we consume like meats, bread, rice, oil, and potatoes end up making our body pH acidic. Our bodies must remain at least at a neutral pH of 7.0 to feel good, balanced, and energized. Acid breaks down our bones and tissues, it makes us feel stressed, it gives us headaches, it messes up our bowel movements and digestion, and leads to adult onset diseases like cancer, arthritis, and more."

So how do these water ionizers create "natural state" water?

Water Ionizers emulate the same conversion of glacial H20 into pure alkaline, ionized, oxygenated drinking water, by 'splitting' H20 (Two Hydrogen atoms, one oxygen atom) into two separate streams of water;

1. OH- One atom of Oxygen and one atom of hydrogen negatively charged - the Hydroxyl ion. This is the prized Alkaline water that we drink.

2. HO- One atom of Hydrogen and one of oxygen. This is the acid water we use externally and for germicidal cleaning.

This 'splitting' of the H20 Molecule happens in a sealed ionization chamber within your filter for ionized water, under exact control of a dedicated microcomputer, to ensure the exact result time after time. As filtered tap water passes across 5 specially designed Titanium electrodes, it separates into the two components noted above.

How can I find the best water ionization unit?

Now you can compare the best alkaline water ionizers on the market using our detailed comparison criteria. Determine which Alkaline Water Ionizer is right for your home BEFORE you spend a cent!

Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends Carbon Water Filter

We all know Dr. Mehmet Oz as America's Doctor and a frequent guest on the Oprah show. Recently Dr. Oz conducted an interview with Gary Ginsberg, co-author of What's Toxic, What's Not.

One of the things that were noted as toxic is our drinking water straight from the tap. And if you think bottled water is any less toxic, better read on. This quote from Dr. Oz's interview with Gary Ginsberg tells us that to reduce the toxicity in our lives we need to be concerned about both our water from the tap and water from bottles.

"Often bottled water is city tap water that may be run through an extra filter, which you can do at home for pennies a day and save yourself [money]," he says. "Then you have the plasticizer issue [with bottled water] because plastics do leech into water." Instead of risking the consumption of plasticizers and polluting the environment with empty bottles, Gary says you should use a carbon filter with your tap water and transfer it into portable containers."

A carbon water filter for your kitchen faucet costs less than $30 and can save you money as well as potentially saving you and your family from health problems related to consumption of chlorination by-products. A good quality faucet water filter should have more than a single carbon filter inside. Crystal Quest faucet mounted filters, for example, contain 5 layers of filtration and last from 6 - 12 months (2000 gallons of water).

You can learn more about faucet mounted water filters and compare them at The Best Water Filters - Faucet Mounted Filters.

Water for Sale - Who's Making Money on Your Water?

Did you know that in many parts of the world, every continent in fact, every drop of water puts money in the pockets of some of the world's largest multinational corporations? In fact, water if being referred to "blue gold" and predicted to be the "petroleum of the 21st century".

The world's private water industry is thriving and growing and it's dominated by three companies - Vivendi and Suez, both of France and Thames Water of England owned by German conglomerate RWE.

Just 10 years ago, these companies operated private water supplies in just 12 countries, now they operate in over 56 countries, including both the USA and Canada.

Peter Spillett, a senior executive with Thames Water, calls water the petroleum of the 21st century.

"There's huge growth potential," he says. "There will be world wars fought over water in the future. It's a limited, precious resource, so the growth market is always going to be there."

Here are some of the results of the privatization of water supply in various parts of the world:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

On January 1, 1999 The City of Atlanta turned over day-to-day operations of its water system to United Water, the American subsidiary of Suez. The 20-year contract was worth $420 million US to United Water.

In 2003 Atlanta's Mayor Shirley Franklin called a press conference to announce that the deal was dead.

"I stand here today with Mr. Michael Chesser, chairman and CEO of United Water Services, to announce that the City of Atlanta and United Water have jointly agreed to dissolve the contract under which United Water has run the city's water system since January 1, 1999."

The mayor said Atlanta will once again run the water system itself, safely.

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Repeated main water line breaks have occurred. In 1996, there was a spill, which was was mixed with sewage. It was sewage and a lot of it. In fact, the January 1996 spill was one of the biggest sewage spills ever in Ontario. Millions of litres of stinking raw sewage spewed into people's homes, Hamilton harbour and Lake Ontario.

The city blamed Philips for the mess. Philips Utilities was the original private operator of Hamilton's water works.

More spills in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Cochabamba, Bolivia

In November, 1999, a consortium, controlled by U.S. multinational Bechtel, signed a 40-year deal to increase water supplies and services to Cochabamba, Bolivia. By January, 2000 water bills were skyrocketing. Four months later, rioting Bolivians chased the company out of the country.

Water is becoming a more lucrative commodity than oil. The supply of water is not infinite and there are moves afoot to start selling water.

One such plan is to sell lake water from Newfoundland to European countries. Another is to export water from Canada to the US.

Can we depend on a water supply that is run by big business with profits being the name of the game? What do you think?


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Shower Water Filter for Handheld Shower Nozzles

I recently stayed with a friend for a few days and her shower is the standard mounted shower head. I was shocked at how used I had grown to my hand held shower head and how much I missed it while showering at my friend's home.

When I asked her if she'd ever considered a hand held shower nozzle, I was shocked again by her response. "I can't have a shower water filter and a hand held shower head so I opt for the filter".

Wow! She didn't know! She wasn't aware that there are great quality shower water filters available with hand held shower units. Wow! I was so excited to be able to tell her about the Crystal Quest hand held shower filter.

What do you think she did when she found out? Yep - you guessed it. She now has a brand new Crystal Quest hand held shower water filter on order and is waiting impatiently for it's arrival.

As for me, I'm just glad that I can stay over at the next "girls night" and not miss the luxury of a shower with a hand held shower unit WITH a water filter. Oh...and did I mention that it massages too!

Oh, and one more thing. The filter lasts about a year!

See our water filter comparisons at The Best Water Filters

Drugs found in Southern Ontario Drinking Water

The following article appeared in the Toronto Sun newspaper on March 25, 2008. Drugs have been found in the drinking water supplies of large cities in the US so it only makes sense that Canadian cities would have the same problem.

Here's the article:

Drugs found in Ont. drinking water

By SHARON LEM, SUN MEDIA

The Toronto Sun

Low concentrations of pharmaceutical drugs were found in drinking water across 15 southern Ontario cities, but the risk is "minimal," researchers say.

The study found that trace levels of eight drugs including Ibuprofen, cholesterol-lowering drugs and anti-inflammatories like Naproxen, along with cardiac drugs, and a common household antibacterial agent triclosan, were found in surface water exposed to sewage treatment.

"We cannot say there is no risk, but these are very low concentrations of compounds in common use. It represents a minimal amount of risk," said lead author Dr. Mark Servos, a University of Waterloo researcher.

"Science doesn't support that this is a big problem. We shouldn't panic about this and we shouldn't stop drinking water. This is an issue that has been known for five years," he said.

TRACE LEVELS

Most compounds were reduced to trace levels after passing through water treatment plants, but the researchers say the fact any chemicals were found is a sign of potential exposure to many more.

The presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment is a rapidly emerging international issue, and they have been found in sewage effluents and surface waters in Europe and the U.S.

The 15 southern Ontario cities where the traces of drugs were found in drinking water are not identified.

"This is a good example of researchers being proactive. We need to continue research to find effective innovative ways to further reduce exposure," Servos said, adding this study signals potential exposure to many more chemicals that haven't been studied yet.

Canada's drinking water is cheap, affordable, clean and safe and Canadians are fortunate to have access to clean water said the study published in the Water Quality Research Journal of Canada."

** End of Article **

If you live in one of these cities where trace amounts of drugs and pharmaceuticals have been identified in your drinking water - and it's a concern that your kids are consuming those trace amounts of drugs, what can you do about it?

There is a relatively inexpensive and simple solution and that is to install a reverse osmosis water filter system. Reverse osmosis water filters can remove the greatest amount of impurities from your drinking water including drugs. Under sink reverse osmosis water filters can be purchased for about $350. A whole home reverse osmosis water filter will cost about $2000.

Visit our website to compare water filtration systems.

How to Remove Drugs from your Drinking Water

A wealth of information is available on the internet these days about drugs and hormones being found in our drinking water. Much of the information relates to it's impact on fish that have developed both sex organs and other reproductive issues.

Our drinking water treatment facilities have never been equipped to handle such an situation. The treatment facilities that deliver water to our homes have been developed to kill organisms and parasites, plus sand and silt but not much more.

So where does that leave a home owner who is concerned about drugs and pharmaceuticals in the drinking water coming into his home? It leaves that home owner with no choice but to filter the water himself.

But here's the real question - what water filter will remove drugs from drinking water? Not a faucet mounted water filter!! Not any kind of carbon filter. Only a good quality reverse osmosis water filtration system will remove drugs from your drinking water.

Having said that let's be clear - even a reverse osmosis water filtration system MAY not COMPLETELY remove every impurity from your household water. BUT they do the best job of any water filter on the market. Reverse Osmosis is the system of water treatment that water treatment facilities will eventually be forced to use in order to remove drugs from your drinking water supply - but they are expensive on a large scale so it is going to be years before these systems are in place.

In the meantime, installing either an under-counter reverse osmosis water filter or a whole home reverse osmosis system is the best way to eliminate drugs from your family's drinking water.

Which to choose? An under-counter water filter or a whole home water filter? If you're concerned about the amount of water that gets wasted then filter the least amount of water possible.

One of the major downsides of reverse osmosis water filtration systems is that the filters must be "backwashed" frequently to remove the contaminants they have collected from the water. That means that reverse osmosis water filters can waste up to twice the amount of water they clean.

Make your water filter decision with the facts and filter the water you need to clean in your own situation - but if drugs in the water supply is a concern, then reverse osmosis water filters are the water filter option.

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Excellent Article - The Truth About Our Drinking Water

I recently had the pleasure of reading an article by Dr. Robert O. Young in his blog Articles for Health entitled The Truth About Our Drinking Water.

In the article, Dr. Young gives detailed information about the drugs contaminating our drinking water and how little the authorities are prepared to do about it.

The following quote "But the presence of so many prescription drugs -- and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health."

The article is extremely well written and provides tons of information. I really suggest reading it here.

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