Archive for August, 2011
Are Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems Really The Best Choice?
I’ve written a number of articles about the disadvantages of reverse osmosis water filter systems but recently I had a reallife experience that has further convinced me that reverse osmosis treatment could not be the best option for anyone.
We vacationed in a home on an island with a brackish well. The homeowners had installed reverse osmosis water filter systems to address the problem. For many years that was the only option but today thankfully there are choices.
The water in the kitchen was undrinkable unsuitable for making coffee and the “visible” sediment content was too high for even the dogs to drink. We spent about a hundred dollars that week on cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking.
The reverse osmosis treatment process went on in the basement of the house but obviously it wasn’t functioning properly. It was close enough to the bedrooms to be “heard”. It made the loudest noises that you could imagine and from the “outside” it looked like a relatively new system.
Those are some of the common complaints with reverse osmosis treatment. They are noisy and they break down easily. They rely on a porous membrane which is delicate and easily torn. A system that effectively removes “salt” must contain numerous membranes and a prefiltration step in order to protect the membrane and prevent it from tearing.
Obviously this homeowner had chosen one of the less expensive reverse osmosis water filter systems with inadequate pretreatment sediment filtration. In cases where RO is necessary other steps are always necessary.
The membranes do not remove chemical contaminants or anything “dissolved” in the water. They do not kill bacteria; in fact they can be a source of bacterial contamination because they grow in the pores of the membrane. You need to “design” a complete system based on the contaminants you have to deal with. But if you are serviced by a public treatment facility reverse osmosis treatment is unnecessary.
The new products by GE and Everpure were designed for homeowners serviced by a public facility. I find that very annoying because everyone knows that publicly supplied water does not require reverse osmosis water filter systems in the home. The step has already been performed at the facility.
What you do need is submicron filtration to remove parasites cysts resistant to chemical disinfectants. What you do need is granular carbon to remove those chemicals and a multimedia adsorptive block to remove by products of chemicals disinfection.
Reverse osmosis treatment is often recommended for lead reduction but the system will only reduce the heavy metal to the “Federal Action Level”. That’s not enough. An ion exchange removes more than 99 of all traces of lead and protects you from the chronic health problems that consumption causes.
Affordable devices that include all of these steps are available. You just need to review product performance data for cost and contaminant removal before you buy. You do not need reverse osmosis water filter systems and I would recommend that you choose another option.
About the writer: Derek Reeve runs an informational website that provides details of the best water purifiers. If you’re serious about improving the quality of water you use visit water purification systems for home to find the most effective efficient and affordable products available.
Andy Warhols Paperweight Pyramid
Andy Warhol was known for breaking the rules harnessing the latest technology to express his ideas and creating a new movement in Twentieth century art to be studied and imitated for years to come. The Andy Warhol Home Collection is divided into four design categories: Factory Pop Abstracts Signature and Simply Andy. The Factory designs were influenced by the early textures and shading of Warhol’s “Factory” period.
In the 1960s Serendipity became a hangout for Andy Warhol who sketched and drank coffee there daily. Owner Stephen Bruce explains “Andy wanted to be in a very comfortable surrounding. Serendipity happened to be very very comfortable very charming and Andy felt free enough to do anything he wanted. He would stay for hours and invite friends to come by.” On sale now at the Serendipity General Store is a 500piece puzzle based on Warhol’s original 1964 painting “Marilyn” giftpacked in a collectible tin.
Andy Warhol 19281987 was a key figure in Pop Art an art movement that emerged in America and elsewhere in the 1950s to become prominent over the next two decades. The Fauves used nonrepresentational color and representational form to convey different sensations. Apply the same idea to the portrait of Marilyn Monroe below using the controls to adjust the colors.
One of the most celebrated artists of the twentieth century Andy Warhol’s influence can be felt throughout all creative industries including graphic design communication and fashion. In this exquisite book Gianni Mercurio and Daniela Morera catalogue his dynamic and revolutionary career. With Andy Warhol’s fixation for glitter glamour style famous personalities and fashion Elvis Presley was a more than fitting motif for his work. Warhol used a picture of Elvis from the film “Flaming Star” as the starting point for the iconic painting. Years of partnership between Rosenthal and the Andy Warhol Foundation as well as the avantgarde inheritance of the Rosenthal studioline live on in this impressive series. Please purchase on online www.etabletop.com
About the writer: Representing Andy Warhol’s Products in the website www.etabletop.com
A Guide To Drinking Water Filters And Why You Need One
Why do you need drinking water filters? After all the water you get from public water supply system is safe enough to drink right? Well not exactly. The tap water you get or even well water for that matter can be highly contaminated with substances you cannot even imagine.
How about prescription drugs to begin with? Unfortunately they are one of the most commonly found contaminants in tap water today. Water filters are fast becoming one of the most basic needs for your home today.
The importance of drinking water filters can be explained better with some facts. According to the studies done by various research institutes across the country the water you get contains fungi algae bacteria viruses toxic chemicals prescription drugs organic and inorganic compounds heavy metals and excess chlorine or bromine among others. Doesn’t sound very healthy does it? These substances are extremely dangerous even in small quantities and over a period of time will cause you health problems.
The risks of drinking contaminated water are considerable. To begin with you can get waterborne diseases like cholera typhoid botulism and amoebiasis. But that is not even the worst part.
The worst part is that there are a number of cancercausing agents present in water today. Chemicals like benzene come under the category of carcinogens and by drinking water contaminated with these types of chemicals could lead to cancer. Could there be a better reason to get a drinking water filter?
One of the important things you should know about these contaminants present in water is that they are capable of causing all these problems in an adult body. Just imagine what it could do to a child. Drinking contaminated water can affect your children in two ways.
One it can cause a lot of very serious diseases. Two it can hinder your children’s normal growth and could lead to long term health problems as well. If you have children it is absolutely essential that you get a good drinking water filter right now.
As you know there are a lot of drinking water filters available today. Each of them is different and based on a different purification technology. In order to be able to make the right decision you need to know which one is mediocre and which one is the most effective.
According to studies drinking water filters based on active carbon block filtration are considered the best at purifying water. While water purification technologies like reverse osmosis and point of use distillation are popular they are not considered the best by experts due to two important reasons.
First they are not capable of removing different types of contaminants present in water. Second they tend to destroy the essential minerals present in water which are extremely important to your health. Active carbon filtration scores in both these areas as it is capable of removing different types of contaminants and it retains the essential minerals present in water as well.
One of the biggest advantages of buying an active carbon block drinking water filter is that it removes the chlorine from water and gives you tasty water. As you know chlorine present in tap water makes it taste awfully bad. An active carbon block can easily remove it and give you pure and tasty water.
Most importantly it is not as expensive as a reverse osmosis unit or other types of water filter units for that matter. So you can easily afford to buy one without burning a hole in your pocket.
In my opinion it cannot get any easier than this. You know what the problem with your drinking water is and you know how to fix it. So do it today. Get a good drinking water filter today and enjoy drinking pure tasty water every day for years to come.
About the writer: Derek Reeve runs an informational website that provides details of the best water purifiers. If you’re serious about improving the quality of water you use visit water purification systems for home to find the most effective efficient and affordable products available.