Benefits of going beyond municipal drinking water.
AquaGuard Water Systems
Water Filtration Solutions
There is no doubt that municipal drinking water systems are one of the most beneficial improvements a society can make.
For the discriminating consumer, there are ways municipal drinking water can be improved beyond the convenience of tap delivery. One of the most common ways to improve municipal drinking water is to add a filter to reduce chlorine taste and odour, which may be in the supply as a result of municipal treatment processes.
People with a refined sense of taste and smell are often the first to notice the odour of a disinfectant; others who come into contact with the water may notice a difference in how a municipally supplied water source may feel on their skin or may interact with their hair colouring.
Several taste- and odour-reducing filters and filtration systems are available for easy installation, such as faucet-mounted units, as well as undersink and showerhead filtration systems.
Consistent Quality
Consumers receiving municipal drinking water may notice changes over time in the water’s appearance and taste unrelated to disinfectants.
Sources for municipal drinking water systems may go through seasonal changes —Wet season runoff, summer-season algae blooms or autumn’s annual foliage drop may affect taste and appearance. A Point of Use (POU) or Whole of House (WOH) filtration system can reduce such seasonal effects on municipal supplies.
Besides taste and odour related to the disinfection process or seasonal effects on supplies, there are other reasons a consumer on a municipal drinking water system may want a POU or WOH filtration system.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates disinfection by-products through the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products Rule.
Disinfectants such as chlorine can react with plant materials in drinking water to form by-products such as Trihalomethanes, halo acetic acids, chlorite and bromate. The rule is in place to limit exposure to these by-products. The EPA estimates that more than 260 million individuals are exposed to disinfection by-products, which can cause cancer or other reproductive and developmental health risks.
It should be of considerable concern to all residents in Australia that no such legislative safeguards specifically related to water disinfection by –products exist.
After the tragic bushfires in Victoria recently huge amounts of organic contaminants, ash, leaves, and organic resins were flushed into the state’s water storages.
The authorities reaction was to “safeguard the public” by infusing the municipal supply with larger doses of Chlorine to compensate for the additional organic matter. Australia already has allowances for THM’s and Chloramines that are 250% higher than the US recommended levels – nobody has been told what those THM and Chloramine levels soared to after the bushfire/ water supply super disinfection program – but you can be sure that it didn’t fall below the already plus 250% level we already drink in Australia – perhaps it was as much as 500% higher than the recommended levels in the US, which by the way would have made them 120 times higher than the levels allowed in some European countries. Not Tasty and Not Healthy
Consumers interested in reducing their possible exposure to these by-products can use a POU or WOH filtration system that is specifically designed and certified to reduce these contaminants.
A consumer’s own home may also impact the taste or otherwise affect their drinking water. Older houses may still have lead pipes or fixtures that have lead parts, or be serviced by lead sealed service lines, and lead can leach into the drinking water. Recent renovations done by home renovators unaware of the Australian WaterMark Program which safeguards home owners against non potable plumbing fixtures, may have installed leaded taps or leaded PVC piping meant for commercial or rural applications, but freely available at large Hardware Warehouses.
Ignorance may be bliss but it can also be bad for your health.
Alternatively, build-up of scale, corrosion, and iron bacteria within a house’s plumbing can add a taste to water, corroded pipes or water with a high mineral or sediment content can lead to significant build-up of flavour-imparting substances. A POU or WOH filtration system certified to reduce lead would be beneficial for consumers with scale, corrosion or lead pipe/fixture issues, while a taste and odour filtration system may enhance water travelling through corroded and sludge-filled pipes. There are several reasons why consumers with municipally supplied water should have POU WOH filtration systems.
The message of improving taste appears to be getting through to the mainstream population, generally accepted by the consuming public with masses choosing to buy bottled water rather than drink their tap water. The fact that POU or WOH filtration systems can produce water of equal or better quality to bottled water at a fraction of the cost is also gaining recognition
.
Even beyond taste issues, there still appears to be a large untapped uninformed market for POU WOH filters for use on municipally supplied drinking water.
New downsized commercial designs for WOH have reduced the annual cost of maintenance to very low affordable levels as opposed to the previously favoured Up Scaled Undersink systems which had quite high maintenance costs and these new downsized commercial WOH systems are being received quite favourably across the world.
AquaGuard Whole of House Water Filter
Now there is a proven and inexpensive way to have clean, safe, high quality water from every tap and shower in your house with just one AquaGuard Whole of House Water Filter System.
For your information technical details of how the AquaGuard achieves its amazing results are set out below.
Filtration Stages
1. Particulate and Bacterium Removal.
The AquaGuard water filter is fitted with a One micron Needle Felt HEBA Pre Filter
Many situations arise where a source water requiring filtration is loaded with a fine particulate that needs to be removed from the water prior to filtration with activated Carbon. This fine particulate which if removed by the carbon filter element will reduce the carbon filter elements life expectancy and effectiveness as a molecular filter. The AquaGuard system is supplied with a spare HEBA filter, when pressure starts to drop in your home; it’s a sure sign that it’s time to change the HEBA filter. Simply replace the filter with the spare element, gently wash the used filter, sterilise, dry and store in a clip seal bag for re-use.
There is also a group of contaminants, which includes microscopic worms, parasites and protozoa which can be present in water. The biggest offenders are Giardia Lambda and Cryptosporidium, which cause major diarrhoea, dehydration, intestinal disorders and even death. Water experts estimate that over 63% of water problems are directly caused by Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
Giardia is seven to fourteen microns in size and Cryptosporidium is from three to five microns in size. When the environment becomes inhospitable (like in the presence of chlorine), both parasites can go into the cystic form (like a hard, round, impermeable microscopic egg). The cyst form is resistant to chlorine and very hard to kill. Municipal water authorities are unable to remove the cysts economically. Healthy individuals infected by these parasites experience cholera like illness: watery diarrhoea, headache, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and low-grade fever.
The only sure way of removing these cysts and other protozoa and fine particulate material is to run the water through a membrane with a mesh size of less than 1 micron, in this system – the HEBA pre filter – a reusable element that will save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the filter.
2. Water Softener Element.
For households whose water supply may include town or bore water supply a softener element is available to remove or reduce the hardness from the water supply. The element is Zeolite based, a natural volcanic mineral based material, and like the HEBA filter, a spare element supplied with the system. When the water begins to increase in hardness simply remove the used softener element and replace it with the spare.
Like the HEBA filter, the used softener element is able to be re-used, simply immerse the used filter in a 10% salt solution and soak overnight, remove, dry in direct sunlight and store in a sealed container until required for re-use.
3. Carbon Filtration.
The AquaGuard Filter System is fitted with a large high quality activated carbon, or silver impregnated activated carbon filter element. This carbon is the highest quality commercial carbon available, the same carbon used by food and beverage companies like Coca Cola and McDonalds all over the world.
How does it work?
Activated Carbon has an ability to bind up and remove organic and inorganic materials, described as the “Cation and Anion Exchange Capacity”.
The process is commonly described as Adsorption – as distinct from absorption.
Carbon filtration is used successfully in industry for filtering water, the removal of fine insolubles from water, to remove metal and chlorine compounds from domestic water. Carbon filtration is also used to control biological contamination in water; some carbons are manufactured with a very fine internal pore space, in some cases as small as 0.1 microns, capable of not only removing bacteria but viruses as well.
We choose different carbons for different customer needs in order to provide the best suited activated carbon elements to our customers.
A single kilogram of activated carbon has a surface area equal to 125 hectares.
How long does it take to fully wet the carbon?
In short – 24 hours. This is the time required to displace all of the air in the pores of the carbon, the water will taste best when all the air is displaced and all the water which has absorbed that air is flushed from the system.
Flushing is best achieved by firstly allowing water to gently and completely fill the filter then surging the system by fully opening and closing the water supply in short second long bursts to displace any carbon fines and air bubbles trapped in the element.
The AquaGuard Whole of House Water Filter System is fitted with a large highly activated carbon filter element to perform the essential process of contaminant removal. For tank water the carbon used is impregnated with colloidal silver to ensure that no bacteria can survive in the carbon if they manage to pass the HEBA filter during filter changes, an improbable but plausible scenario.
The one component that does not get re-used is the carbon element, regardless of whether the filter is still producing great tasting water – when the carbon element is 12 months old – it should be replaced so you can be 100% sure that your system remains bacteria free.
Now you know that the AquaGuard Whole of House Filter System has all the important and essential filtration and water treatment components built in to provide the high quality, high volume water filter system you require for your home, protecting you and everyone who drinks your water.
There is no comparable system on the market anywhere else in the world, environmentally friendly recyclable filter elements (carbon filter excluded) means that your maintenance costs will probably be no more than $80 a year.
AQUAGUARD UNDER SINK WATER FILTER SYSTEMS
AQUAGUARD EZYFIT FULL FLOW, – POINT OF USE UNDERSINK WATER FILTER SYSTEMS were developed to take advantage of the latest Carbon Block Filter technology now available. The old style Undersink Filter Systems were designed around the filter technology available at the time – 20 years ago. These filters as good as they were at removing impurities from the water had a maximum flow rate of 2-3 l/min and a maximum filtration volume of 3000 litres. To maintain water pressure at that flow rate required the use of plastic tubing and additional tiny taps – today’s best filters have a maximum flow rate of 7 litres per minute and a maximum filtration capacity of 75 000 litres – all tested and certified by the NSF. Persevering with extra taps, tangled plastic tubing under your sink, and waiting minutes to fill your kettle makes about as much sense as listening to music on a cassette player instead of a CD player. The new radial flow carbon block filters are marvellous, they can make life at your sink easy, quick and convenient – they work more efficiently, effectively and cost no more than the old style filters – so why not swap over to the 21st century next time you need to change your filters.
EzyFit Full Flow Filter Systems can be configured for Tank, Normal Town or Heavy Duty Town Water filtration.
For normal households on Town Water you can filter 75 000 litres or 20 000 gals of water through your existing cold water tap before you need to replace the filter in your system – that’s a lot of water – more than 200 litres a day per person – in most cases more than you use every day doing your washing, bathing and drinking not just your kitchen tap.
For Tank Water you will need to use a twin filter system, with a 1 micron sediment filter – either spun or pleated polyester and a high quality sub micron carbon filter that to remove all the chlorine, sediment, bacteria, odours and other chemical compounds from the water.
For large households on town supply with heavy water consumption we configure the water filter system with 2 sub micron solid block carbon filters.
The result – fresh, clean, safe, great tasting water straight from the tap, free from bacteria, tastes, odours or contaminants.
Our filter systems come complete with fitting sets for either single Flick Mixer or Twin Tap sinks and include everything you need to install the system.
OUR HOUSINGS ARE POLYPROPYLENE – NOT PVC
WITH BRASS THREADED CONNECTIONS
THE STRONGEST SYNTHETIC HOUSINGS AVAILABLE
Installation
NSF Approved Sub micron Solid Block Carbon Filters guarantee the quality of your drinking water.
In around 10 minutes you can install an Undersink AquaGuard system to a Mixer Tap sink.
Simply turn off the mains supply, disconnect the Cold Water supply hose (blue stripe) to the Mixer Tap from its supply connection and connect it to the outlet fitting on the Filter housing.
Be careful not to over tighten the flexible hose fittings – tighten them by hand as hard as you can, then use a spanner to tighten them another half to one full turn – no more.
Now simply connect the supplied flexible stainless steel hose to the inlet side of the Filter housing and to the cold water supply connection that was previously connected to the Mixer Tap flexiline.
Turn the mains supply back on and gently open the Mixer Tap and allow the water to flow gently through the system for 1 minute until all the carbon fines are flushed from the new filter, surge the system by fully opening and closing the tap a couple of times – job done.
Now ENJOY – FRESH, CLEAN, SAFE, GREAT TASTING, ODOUR FREE, FREE FILTERED WATER.
Why use a Water Softener Element?
Calcium and magnesium are hard scale forming minerals that build up on piping, heat exchangers, water heaters, boilers and any steam related equipment. This buildup results in costly repairs, increased energy consumption by up to 30%, plugged heat exchangers and boiler tubes. The service life of linens, clothing, appliances and fixtures is greatly reduced due to these “hard” minerals.
For laundry and dishwashing, the use of a water softener element will significantly reduce the amount of soaps and detergents, resulting in reduced operating expenses.
Effects of Hard Water Problems
In other household and commercial applications, hardness also increases soap consumption wasting from 50% to 90% of the soap used, depending on the amount of hardness. It also causes the formation of soap curd, which adhere to cloth fibers, hair, glassware and dishes. Soap curd causes poor results in laundering and may hold pathogenic bacteria.
Critical Selection parameter for Water Softeners
• Water Quality Report (Especially Hardness and TDS) Water Requirements (Hourly, daily)
• Water Requirements ( Normal , peak) Water Storage capacity
PLEASE NOTE THAT AN EFFECTIVE WATER TREATMENT PROGRAM CAN CONVERT ENERGY LOSES TO ENERGY SAVINGS
What is Water Hardness?
The hardness of any supply water is determined by the contents of calcium and magnesium compounds, which exists to some degree in all natural waters. The hardness in well water is usually higher than that of surface water. Calcium and magnesium can combine with bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates to precipitate as solids mineral salts make water more basic and corrosion aggressive on many materials.
Hard water is responsible for the formation of lime scaling in pipes, utensils, water heaters, boilers, HVAC systems, etc., causing inefficiency and sometimes permanent damage. Scale acts as an insulation material, thus lowering heat transmission and often causing premature heater failure due to overheating of the metal.
The presence of salts in lime scale deposits is one of the most common cause of corrosion, which cause damages in water pipelines and boilers. Any descriptive or numerical classification of hardness of water is rather arbitrary. A water that is termed hard in some areas may be considered soft in other areas.
As a general guide the following parameters may be used.
Soft : less than 60 ppm (as calcium carbonate)
Moderately hard : 60-120 ppm
Hard: 120-180 ppm
Very hard : above 180 ppm
Measurement of water hardness and either conductivity or total dissolved solids (by TDS/conductivity meters) is also performed before any softening treatments. During the water softening processes, carbonates are substituted by sodium, which does not alter the total concentration of dissolved solids.
Softener Element Regeneration — Process Theory
Initially, strong acid cation media in the sodium (Na+) form is placed into service. During the sodium cation exchange water softening process, sodium ions are exchanged for undesirable quantities of calcium (Ca +2), magnesium (Mg +2), and iron (Fe +2). Sodium ions already present in the water being softened pass through the process unchanged. Upon exhaustion of the madia (as indicated by unacceptable hardness leakage),
The regeneration sequence reverses the above process and converts the softener media back to the sodium form for the subsequent water softening cycle.
Capabilities range from 20,000 to 30,000 grains per cubic foot depending upon the total dissolved solids content of the water, the effluent water quality desired and the amount of sodium chloride regenerant used. It should be noted that although the water is softened, the total dissolved solids content remains unchanged.
The installation of a water Water Softener Element will quickly begin paying for itself. Water heaters and boiler will last longer. Costly special chemicals for boilers and steam handling equipment can be greatly reduced. All of the above will experience reduced energy consumption and costly plumbing repairs.
The service life of linens, clothing, fixtures and appliances is noticeably extended.
LOW PRESSURE OR GRAVITY FEED RAINWATER FILTER SYSTEM
The Gravity Feed Rainwater Filter System is ideal for people who don’t have pump pressure on their rainwater supply, the housings are made from UV stabilised material as opposed to the white coloured housings which are not UV stable and not designed to be exposed to sunlight. These housings and filter systems are also ideal for caravaners who encounter low pressure situations, have to have their filter systems exposed to sunlight or need a system that will withstand the rigours of being knocked around while in use.
The system holds a 1 micron pleated polyester element which has the capacity to filter bacteria like Giardia, Cryptosporidium and E Coli from the water without greatly reducing the pressure from the tank.
The filter will filter all the sediment from the water at the same time.
If the pleated filter becomes clogged with sediment it can be removed, rinsed out, placed back in the housing and reused.
These systems are extremely easy to fit and come with 19mm ports which will accept a variety of fittings to suit most applications.
For caravaners these units are available as Twin Filter Housing Systems designed to be fitted with an additional carbon element and resin core to remove the taste and dissolved minerals from water encountered along the road.
Filters should be replaced every 12 months regardless of how often or how much water has flowed through the system.