0 7 ways purify water naturally drinking cooking hygiene
7 ways to purify water naturally for drinking, cooking, and hygiene Are you looking at ways to purify water naturally? Purifying water means different things to different people. That makes it a more complex subject than it may otherwise appear, so let’s break it down by specifying what “water purification” and “natural filtration” are. Water purification is simply the act of removing unwanted substances from water. Natural water purification can mean that it’s a physical process where no chemicals are used. Alternatively, natural water purification may also mean that you want to use natural materials to purify water. To complicate matters further, purifying water can be defined as making it safe from microorganisms, removing sediment particles, or removing chemicals and metals, or any combination of those. So if you want drinking water filters for home here are seven methods in two groups to consider. How to purify tap water naturally As tap water is already purified of most things, it’s chlorine what most people want to remove. Chlorine is added to prevent bacteria, mould, and other microorganisms from contaminating the water. Method 1 - The simplest natural way to purify water at home is to fill a jug with water and put it in the fridge for 24 hours, or at least overnight. Chlorine breaks down and dissipates naturally over time, so when you pour yourself a glass of water the following day it will have no chlorine taste or odour. Method 2 - Or if it’s disinfecting water that may contain microbial infection. If that’s the case then to purify water naturally you can boil the water for between three and six minutes. The boiling time depends on altitude – at sea level three minutes is fine, above 1000 metres (3000 ft) it’s six minutes. You can’t get more natural than those two methods of water purification! The main natural materials to purify water are carbon, fabric, paper, and ceramic. We talk about each one of these natural water purifying methods in the next section of this article. Method 3 - Removing particles from water can easily be done using clean fabric such as muslin or a paper coffee filter and pouring water through it into a jug or bottle. That will get rid of visible particles but not microscopic, chemical, or biological contaminants. Method 4 - Another natural method of disinfection is to fill a clear bottle with water and then leave it in direct sunlight for at least six hours, preferably longer. The ultraviolet radiation in the sun’s rays will kill any microorganisms contaminating the water. As you’ve seen filtering water naturally at home without a dedicated water filter is not very effective when you want to have properly purified water that’s safe and hygienic. Especially if you want that purified water on demand. How to purify water with natural materials We’re now into the realms of natural ways to purify water at home using manufactured filtration systems that use natural materials to purify the water. Filter housings are generally made from food grade plastic or stainless steel, and the purified water is delivered from water filter taps installed on a kitchen sink or bench. For an in-depth understanding of water filtration see the ultimate water purification guide. UV Water Filters As mentioned previously, the natural ways of purifying water employ carbon, ceramic, and sunlight. If we look at the sunlight as a water purification method; clearly, you can’t bring the sun into your house, but it’s the ultraviolet part of sunlight that does the disinfection. Method 5 - To recreate that in the home requires a UV water filter system: a stainless-steel vessel that contains a UV lamp that shines through the water as it flows through the unit. All it requires is electricity to power the lamp. Carbon Based Water Filters Carbon based filters are another method of water purification and are often described as charcoal, this is a natural material made by heating coconut husks in low oxygen ovens. What you get is black, brittle, and easily ground up into granules that can be placed into canisters, or shaped into cylindrical blocks, known as carbon block. You may also see that carbon filters are called “activated carbon”. This may sound unnatural, but it’s really a simple process of heating the carbon to make it have a very large surface area to volume ratio – it’s the same process as making popcorn. Activated carbon is made by heating up coconut shells and then breaking them down into granules that are used to either fill a canister or press into a filter cartridge shape. Of course, these different styles of carbon filter material need to be contained within a manufactured vessel, either stainless steel or plastic. That high surface area attracts chemical contaminants to “stick” to the carbon within the cartridge therefore removing them from the water. This is called adsorption and is highly effective at removing many substances such as chlorine, PAHs, THMs, pharmaceutical residues, agricultural substances, endocrine disruptors. The list goes on and on… Method 6 – obtain a filter containing either carbon block or GAC (granular activated carbon) cartridges. Ensure the size is sufficient for the flow rate you need for counter-top, cold water tap, or whole house filtration purposes. Some activated carbon block filters are made from bituminous material, so if you don’t want something that’s been extracted from a mine then it’s best to avoid these (although they are highly efficient filter cartridges). Ceramic Water Filters Ceramic filters have been around for a good couple of hundred years. This was pioneered in Staffordshire, UK, by John Doulton in the early 1800s, and developed by his son Henry. Doulton filters are still made today. Ceramic filter cartridges are made from naturally occurring clay, and some also contain carbon so that they naturally purify water of bacteria, moulds, cysts, sediment, and chemicals such as chlorine. The way they work is that the ceramic material has microscopic pores that allows water to pass through it, while trapping particles. The pores are so minute that in addition to fine sediment, ceramic filters can also remove bacteria and cysts. This makes ceramic filters a very good natural method of purifying water. Some ceramic cartridges also contain activated carbon block elements within the ceramic shell so purify water naturally of chemicals AND microorganisms at the same time. Method 7 – this method of purifying water naturally consists of installing a filter system that has ceramic candles or cartridges – Doulton still makes these in the UK! The only drawback with these ceramic filters is that they aren’t always suitable for whole house applications due to flow rate restrictions – but you will get good, clean water for drinking and cooking with. One of the practical benefits of installing a manufactured filter is that you can match it with something from our modern and stylish 3 way taps selection. Best natural water purifier If you’ve read this far you now know that there isn’t necessarily a simple answer to the question of how you purify water naturally. However, describing those seven methods gives a good indication of what you can do simply and easily using things you already have in the kitchen to filter your water. Plus, you now have the knowledge of what natural materials are used in the manufacture of water filters that do a lot more than the basic methods described in methods 1 to 4. We haven’t covered reverse osmosis water filter systems in this item even though RO could be considered a natural method of purifying water. It works by having a number of filters plus a semi-permeable membrane through which water molecules pass to be stored in a reservoir ready for use. The main reason for omitting RO is that some of the filter cartridges used, including the membrane, are made of non-natural materials. You can make an informed choice of what you want to improve about your water, and which method will work for you while also using natural materials. Got more questions? If you still need more information or want help choosing the right filter for you feel free to give us a call on 01352 838281 or send a message on our helpdesk. Image by Jarkko Mänty FAQ How to clean water naturally? Cleaning water naturally to ensure its drinkable can be done using a variety of methods ranging from standing water in the open air to remove chlorine to carbon based water filter systems to remove chlorine and other contaminants. Can water filters remove chlorine? Yes, water filters can remove chlorine. Water filters containing a carbon block water filter cartridge will remove chlorine. Which water purification system is best? The water purification system that is best for you is the system that removes the contaminants that you don't want in your water. Knowing what you want to improve about your water is the first question you need to ask yourself. Seeking help from a water filtration expert like Fountain Filters may help.
0 How to Remove Chlorine from tap water
How to remove chlorine from tap water and drink safe water Ah, the heady aroma of chlorine in water. You’ve probably all smelled it and may not have known what it was. It sometimes makes you feel as though you’re sitting in the swimming pool and not your bathtub! Keeping the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of water pipes free of harmful bacteria which could make you very ill is no mean feat and the use of chlorine or chloramine is a tried and tested way of ensuring the water is safe as it flows from the water treatment works to your household taps. In this article we’re going to focus on the use of chlorine as a preventative measure in water treatment, the pros, and cons of chlorine in tap water, answering the question of ‘is it safe to drink chlorinated water?’, and how to remove chlorine from tap water if you don’t want it in there. What is chlorine? Many people know that their water is chlorinated, so the answer to the common question ‘does tap water have chlorine?’, is a resounding YES. But what is chlorine? We’re going to skip a lot of the science here but feel free to read all about chlorine on the internet or here. Chlorine is manufactured from table salt by electrolysis. The gas produced is liquified at high pressure and then transported for use in the water treatment industry. Chlorine penetrates the surface of the pathogens (‘the bugs!’), rendering them useless and no longer able to spread. They basically just die out. The use of chlorine keeps your water germ-free and hygienic, preventing the spread of cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, all of which are incredibly nasty waterborne diseases. Did you know that in 1897 Maidstone, England was the first to have its entire water supply treated with chlorine? More widespread use of chlorine as a highly efficient water disinfectant in the UK started in 1905. If chlorine wasn’t used, bacteria, viruses and protozoans would quite happily grow and multiply at an alarming rate in water supply reservoirs, on the walls of water mains, and in water storage tanks. The people of the UK would be in a dire situation. Chlorine is cheap and effective. If they didn’t’ add chlorine in tap water, you could become very ill. If you’re on mains water in the UK, there will be chlorine present. If you’re on a private water supply, there is no need to worry as you won’t have chlorine in your water. How much chlorine is there in UK tap water? England, Wales, and Scotland have very low levels of chlorine in tap water, typically 0.5 mg/l or less. The World Health Organisation guidelines on maximum chlorine also state 5 mg/l. This level can fluctuate for short periods if there is planned maintenance in the vast network of pipes. If the level rises, you’re more likely to smell or taste chlorine in your tap water. You may also notice it more if you live closer to the water treatment works. Your local water company can provide a free water quality report which will give you information about the levels of chlorine in your drinking water. What are the signs of chlorine in water? The simplest way to describe the smell of chlorine is to liken it to bleach or other strong cleaning products. Or, if you’ve heard of TCP, it’s a bit like that. It shouldn’t be so strong as to knock you off your feet and should normally not linger for long periods of time. If you ever notice the smell of chlorine being particularly strong and your tap water becomes undrinkable then we recommend you contact your water company. You’ll find their contact details on one of your recent water bills. Is chlorine safe to drink? Because of the very low levels of chlorine present in tap water, it’s not unsafe to drink. As we’ve already mentioned, we’d be a lot worse off in the UK if they didn’t treat the water to make it potable. So, in terms of public health, the use of chlorine has been a resounding win. However, just because the levels are low enough for it not to be unsafe to drink, chlorinated water can still have an impact on the human body. Depending on your level of sensitivity to it you might just be put off by the taste and smell of chlorine in your drinking water. For others, it may have more problematic effects. If you’re at all unsure, the most pro-active thing to do is remove chlorine from water. Your health and well-being are your top priority. Side effects of chlorine in drinking water We’ve already answered the question of ‘does tap water have chlorine?’. The most logical next question is ‘what are the side effects of chlorine in drinking water?’ It’s important to remember that there are very low levels of chlorine in your water and therefore when you’re questioning is chlorine safe to drink, the answer is ‘it’s not unsafe’. However, there are some things we’d like to highlight as some people will be more sensitive to chlorine than others. Unpleasant taste and smell – even though there are very low levels of chlorine in tap water and therefore not unsafe people are very put off by the unpleasant taste and smell of chlorinated water. Some people are much more sensitive than others and will notice the differences when travelling to different parts of the UK. This is one of the main chlorine drinking water side effects and is a major push towards finding out how to remove chlorine from tap water. Breathing problems – it’s highly unlikely that you’ll experience breathing difficulties because of chlorine in your water unless you have existing lung and airway problems, and suffer from asthma, hay fever, or chronic bronchitis. Heavy smokers would also be included in this vulnerable group as they may be more susceptible to the effects of chlorine. It’s worth highlighting here that chorine in water isn’t the only household place it can be lurking. Many household cleaning products contain chlorine in much higher levels than water and contact with it may cause breathing difficulties. This of course depends on the way you are exposed and how long for. Minor symptoms would include a burning sensation of the eyes and throat with more serious symptoms being excessive coughing and/or breathing difficulties. Skin problems – this is another factor that prompts tap water chlorine removal. If you are extremely sensitive to chlorine, chlorinated water can have a drying and irritable effect on skin, and this can make it itchy and sore. For people who already suffer from skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, bathing or showering in water that contains residual levels of chlorine can exacerbate those problems. So instead of rushing to the pharmacy to buy bucket loads of hydrocortisone cream, remove chlorine from water first and see how you get on. Hair problems – dry, weak hair with an annoying itchy scalp is probably more of a problem if you are swimming multiple times a week and stripping your hair of its natural oils. The concentration of chlorine in water is much higher than washing your hair in the bath or shower at home. But again, this is an important factor when making the decision to remove chlorine from water as no one likes dull, lifeless hair. Chlorine and cancer – we suggest that you are very careful with what you read on the internet about chlorine and its links to cancer. Chlorine as a chemical disinfectant in water forms chemical by-products known as trihalomethanes (THM’s). It is THM’s that have caused the jungle drums to start beating and there is very little good quality data on the health effects of THMs. The risks associated with inadequate disinfection of water would be much greater. And you can eradicate that risk by filtering chlorine out of water. Prevention is always better than cure. Chlorine and pregnancy – again be very wary of what you read on the internet as there is very limited data available on the risk of chlorine by-products in pregnancy. If you are at all concerned find a water filter that removes chlorine. How to remove chlorine from drinking tap water We get asked ‘how to remove chlorine from tap water’ frequently and always share the very easy ways this can be achieved. If your water company is using chlorine as the primary disinfectant, then here are some ways to remove it. If your water company is using chloramine to disinfect the water, then we’ll look at how to remove chloramine in another article. Chlorine in water can be removed by standing, boiling, or filtering. Let’s look at each one of the methods to remove Chlorine from water in turn. Standing This is very simple because all you need to do is let your tap water breathe in the open air for up to 24 hours. Chlorine is a gas, so it just evaporates. We think you’d agree that this is a little time consuming and if you’re anything like us you’d forget to fill up your jug with water and leave it to stand for that length of time. This also doesn’t remove chlorine from water that’s streaming out your shower or filling up your bath. Boiling water to remove chlorine Does boiling water remove chlorine? This is a perfectly reasonable question, and the answer is yes. Chlorine is very volatile in water and will eventually evaporate, hence why you can let it stand for up to 24 hours. But if you raise the temperature of the water, you can speed the process of evaporation up and instead of 24 hours it should only take 15-20 minutes. But if you’re boiling it to drink then you’ve got the problem of having to wait for it to cool down! It takes roughly four minutes to remove 1mg of chlorine from 45 litres of water. Therefore, you’d need to know how much chlorine was in your water to determine how long to boil it. This all seems rather complicated to us. Can you imagine relentlessly boiling pans of water for ever more. No, we can’t either! It may also cause an unwelcome spike in your gas or electricity bill. You’d also have no idea how much chlorine you’re removing without getting your water analysed, either by doing it yourself with an at-home chlorine test kit or asking someone to carry out a water analysis test which would cost you money. Filtering chlorine from water We’ve mentioned letting your water stand and boiling your water to remove chlorine, but do water filters remove chlorine? You’ll be pleased to hear that filtering chlorine out of water is easy and there are a few quick and practical ways to do it. Read the next section to find out how to filter chlorine from water. Fountain Filters can help you remove chlorine from tap water As water filtration experts in how to remove chlorine from water we can help guide you towards a solution that’s right for your home. It’s important for you to consider whether you just want to treat your kitchen tap or whether you want a whole house system, which will remove chlorine in tap water from kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms. Drinking water filter If you’re just looking for a drinking water filter system for home then our entry level chlorine and taste filter is the perfect tap water chlorine removal system for your kitchen tap. This is a high-performance drinking water filter that uses a carbon block filter cartridge that improves the taste and smell of your tap water and removes up to 95% of chlorine. Whole house filter Why stop at your kitchen tap when you can remove chlorine from water throughout your home using a mains water filter system. Our best selling cold water tap filter Moby or the Doby whole house water filter system are the perfect starting point to chlorine free water for you and your family. It’s important to choose the correct water filter for the size of your home. If you are unsure, we are here to help you. Reverse Osmosis A reverse osmosis water system will remove chlorine from water as well as everything else. We highly recommend speaking to us first before considering an RO system as a means of removing chlorine in tap water. Contacting us is easy. Call 01352 838 281 or use our very popular helpdesk to ask a question. FAQ Is chlorine in UK tap water? Yes, chlorine is added to UK mains water to ensure that your tap water is free of harmful bacteria that could make you ill if your drank it. Does chlorine in water evaporate? Yes, chlorine is a gas and will evaporate. If you leave a glass of water to stand in the open air for up to 24 hours, it will be chlorine free. How to remove chlorine from tap water? There are three main ways to remove chlorine from tap water. Leave it to stand in the open air for up to 24 hours, boil the water, or install a drinking water filter or whole house water filter that contains a carbon block water filter cartridge.
How hard is my water? Water hardness in my area by postcode and UK map! Just to make it a little easier we've created this UK water hardness map If you’ve got hard water where you live, you’ll probably know about it! It can be the bane of many property owners’ lives trying to deal with the effects of hard water. Hard water isn’t a problem but the limescale caused by hard water can cause some problems. These can be cosmetic but can also be very expensive in appliance efficiency, breakdowns and replacements. Let’s get right into the hard facts. What is Hard Water? Hard water is caused by high concentrations of dissolved minerals; calcium carbonate (CaCO3), magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), and occasionally small amounts of silicates of various kinds. But there’s so much information on the internet about water quality and hard water problems that you can become overwhelmed. Let’s make it easy and ask ourselves a few questions so we can then come up with some answers. How do I know if I have hard water? It’s usually easy to tell if you have hard water. You’ll have scale buildup in your kettle, deposits on the taps and on your shower screens. You’ll also find you need to use greater amounts of soap, shower gel, and detergents than you would like. Most of all you may be spending more on energy to heat your water than you would expect because your boiler is clogged up. That may indicate you have hard water, but that leads to another question about the area you live in. How hard is the water in my area? Water hardness varies from place to place, region to region. Some areas have predominantly soft water but there are also pockets of hard water. With such variation how do you know if you have hard water? To be accurate and get a result that’s local to you, the answer is to either test it yourself, or get the water tested. How to test water hardness There are two main methods of carrying out a home water hardness test. Both involve buying something to do it. The readings you get will give you something that indicates your water is within one of the following ranges: Soft water: 0 – 100 PPM (0 – 99.89 mg/L) Moderately hard water: 101 – 200 PPM (100 – 199.64 mg/L) Hard water: 201 – 275 PPM (200 – 274.50 mg/L) Very hard water: 276 and above (275.00 mg/L up) Let’s explain how to measure water hardness using the following two methods: TDS meter to test hard water The first method is to get a TDS meter. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids, and the meter is an electronic device that measures the conductivity of the water. Totally pure, deionised water does not conduct electricity at all. So, by measuring the level of conductivity the meter can estimate the concentration of minerals and other solids dissolved in the water. There are two electrodes on the TDS meter and when they are immersed in liquid the meter measures the electrical resistance. You’ll see a reading on either a digital or analogue scale on the meter that shows the results of the test. Digital devices are simpler to interpret because they give a number in parts per million, milligrams per litre (mg/l) or something similar. Analogue TDS meters may have a scale that just shows soft/medium/hard/very hard that a needle points to. Whichever you choose it will give you a good idea of the hardness of water in your area, and therefore, what solution may be best for you. Test strip to test hard water in your home Another type of test to check for hard water involves you dipping a test strip, a bit like litmus paper, into a sample of water. The colour of the strip changes according to the water hardness and you visually compare the colour with that on a lookup scale. The colour match will give you a score on a chart for the hardness range of your water. The second type of colour match testing kits provide you with a liquid or tablet that you drop into the water sample and get a hard/soft, or colour matching scale like the strip method described previously. Can you find out water hardness by postcode? In broad terms yes you can find the water hardness in your area by postcode. The best method to get a reasonably accurate idea is to go to your water supplier’s website and search for it. They will use various phrases relating to water quality, but the simplest thing to do is use the site search and enter “hard water” or “water hardness”. It’s not always obvious how to find the information so you may need to dig around a bit. Northumbrian Water, for instance, asks people to enter an address in the “What’s going on in my area?” page. Once the address is entered water disruption, reported leaks, and roadworks are listed for the area. Continuing down the page leads to the water hardness information, plus a full report to download. Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard model for these websites, so you’ll have to search, but if all else fails contact your water supplier and they’ll be able to provide the information. Just to make it a little easier we’ve created the UK water hardness map above. That map will give you general idea about which parts of the country have hard water. We have classified the type of hard water by hard, moderate or soft. Hard Water by Postcode For a more accurate idea enter your postcode into this hard water checker: This table allows you to determine what the descriptive levels are in parts per million and milligrams or micrograms per litre. Water Hardness Parts Per Million (PPM) Milligrams Per Litre (mg/L) Soft 0 - 100 0 – 99.89 mg/L Moderately Hard 101 - 200 100 – 199.64 mg/L Hard 201 - 275 200 – 274.50 mg/L Very Hard 276 and above 275.00 mg/L up Now you have those results you’ll have a better idea about the water hardness in your area. But remember that there are many places that may have harder or softer water than indicated. That’s particularly true if you have a private water supply. In addition, we’re getting reports that areas that previously had soft water are now finding it’s getting harder. This is because climate change is altering the amount of water in reservoirs. Lower autumn and winter rainfall recently has meant reservoirs have not been refilling in the colder months. Many water companies have been supplementing water supplies to their customers by drawing water from boreholes leading to higher mineral content in the water that comes through your pipes. And that means harder water, even if you’re in a soft water area. Having found that you live in a hard water area, or if not that you have a localised problem that’s affecting your home, you’ll be wondering what the solution is. What can be done about hard water problems? There is only one sure-fire way to get proper soft water and that is to move to a region that doesn’t have hard water. Realistically, this isn’t very practical for most people. Facing facts, hard water is quite difficult to deal with, and every solution is a compromise. There are some very efficient methods of preventing the limescale build up caused by hard water. Fortunately, we have extensive experience in helping people resolve their issues with hard water. By fitting the right hard water filter or softener in your home you can significantly improve your water quality. That might be a traditional salt-based water softener along with a separate drinking water supply. Or it could be a salt-free system that also filters out chemicals as well as treating the limescale. Read more information about whether a water filter can help with hard water here. There are so many solutions, and individual situations available that the first step is to get in touch with the experts to help guide you through to a successful outcome. At Fountain Filters we know everything about hard water and how it can affect you. Get in touch, and we will help you find the solution to your hard water needs! FAQs What's hard water? Hard water contains higher levels of calcium and magnesium carbonate which shows up in your water as limescale. It's easy to tell if you have hard water as you'll get scale buildup in your kettle, limescale deposits on taps and shower screens. You'll also need to use more soap, shower gel, and detergents. Is hard water bad for you? No, hard water is not bad for you. Calcium and magnesium are essential minerals and should be incorporated into a healthy diet. What is the water hardness in my area? It's easy to check the water hardness in your area of the UK. Just visit your water suppliers website and it should tell you about the parts per million (PPM) or milligrams per litre (mg/L) of calcium and magnesium. If you see a number that's 200 or above you have hard water.
0 What's so SMART about Smart Water?
What is Smart Water and is it good for you? The bottled water market in the United Kingdom is HUGE, and approximately 95% of that water is sold in plastic bottles. In 2021 consumption of bottled water in the UK stood at 49.7 litres per person and this is expected to rise to 57 litres by 2027. If you’re interested in looking at some brief statistics then head on over to Statista. Bottled water generates millions of pounds for the various brands and drives massive profits. Here at Fountain Filters, we don’t understand why the consumption of bottled water needs to continue rising, when there are superior drinking water filters and other water filter systems for home available that are: more convenient cheaper per litre of water more planet friendly One of those big-name brands that’s hitting your pocket hard is Smart Water by Coca Cola. In this article we’re going to examine Smart Water in more depth and then compare it against some alternatives and more practical solutions that will address any concerns you have about the water you drink. What is Smart Water? The brand Smart Water first hit the scene in the United States in 1998. This premium branded and highly priced bottled water from Coca-Cola then penetrated the UK market around 2014. But what is Smart Water? In a nutshell, Smart Water is vapour-distilled British spring water with added electrolytes of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonate. Coca Cola markets the distillation process as ‘a process inspired by the clouds’! Smart Water is now sold in 100% recycled plastic bottles, apart from the label and cap which are recyclable, but are not made from recycled plastic. Depending on where you buy Smart Water from, the lowest price we’ve been able to find, when doing some research, for this article was around 55p for a 600ml bottle, but that’s only if you buy 24 bottles at a time. How is Smart Water made? We know that Smart Water is vapour-distilled spring water. Let’s look at this more closely. But before we do it’s important to add that there are no known benefits of distilling potable water and then reintroducing the ingredients lost in the distillation process. In Smart Water’s case, this refers to calcium, magnesium, and potassium. To manufacture Smart Water, the collected spring water goes through an industrial process called distillation that removes most inorganic impurities, such as naturally dissolved minerals, many of which are good for us. The spring water is boiled until it turns into vapour and then its condensed back into liquid. After distillation, the water undergoes a secondary water purification process and then the good nutrients of calcium, magnesium, and potassium are added back in. These electrolytes would have been removed in the first stage. The distillation process requires a lot of electricity. Approximately 78 calories of energy are used to produce 1 litre of water. What are the Smart Water bottle ingredients The Smart Water bottle ingredients are spring water and electrolytes of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium bicarbonate. Would you know exactly what these electrolytes were and whether they were good for you? It’s OK, not many people would. Smart Water contains the following in trace amounts. Calcium carbonate in Smart Water – is often added to bottled water to adjust the pH and alkalinity and improve the taste of the water. Because it’s in such small quantities it has no real nutritional value. Foods such as broccoli and kale contain significant amounts of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is often added into food such as dried fruits, cereals, processed meat and fish, canned products. Magnesium chloride in Smart Water – the heart, nerves, bones, muscles, and cell health rely on magnesium. Magnesium rich foods include roasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, spinach, cashew nuts and peanuts. Potassium bicarbonate in Smart Water – essential inorganic compound that’s good for bones, muscles, and the heart. It will be added to Smart Water to enhance the taste. A wide range of foods are good for potassium intake such as apricots, avocados, bananas, spinach, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergine, courgette, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, beans, and peas. Remember you can consume calcium, magnesium, and potassium from a good balanced diet. Don’t ever rely of Smart Water to give you enough. Coca Cola markets Smart Water bottle ingredients as ‘pure genius’. They use seductive words that incite those who drink it into believing that they’ll have increased levels of clear thinking, fitness, mindfulness, adventure, sport, and well-being. Smart Water is also pH balanced, sugar free, gluten free, with no artificial flavours or colours added. They will be referring to their flavoured range here as water wouldn’t contain any of these things anyway. Is Smart Water good for you? A fantastic question – Smart Water – is it good for you? Water is good for you. It’s vital for our body and plays a supportive role for how our body functions. Water carries nutrients to our cells, it helps get rid of waste products, it cushions and protects our joints and organs and maintains our body temperature. Water is far better for you than still or carbonated soft drinks that are packed full of refined sugar or artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. So, when we are asked as water filtration specialists to give answers to the range of questions, we get asked about Smart Water such as ‘how good is Smart Water’, and ‘is Smart Water any good’, we must be honest and say that Smart Water is UNNECESSARY. In fact, we do not believe that any bottled water is necessary when there are much better ways to filter water and all of them from the comfort of your own home. The SMARTEST thing you can do is to stop buying bottles of water. And if you don’t like the taste of your household tap water then be a smart cookie and install one of our water filter systems that tailors water to suit your needs. Don’t jump on the band wagon by buying Smart Water Is it really that fashionable to buy Smart Water, or any bottled water for that matter? It intrigues us as to what the public search for on the internet about Smart Water. Is Smart Water good for dehydration? Is Smart Water good for electrolytes? Is Smart Water good for your pH balance? Is Smart Water good for your stomach? Is Smart Water safe to drink? Is Smart Water safe for pregnancy? The simple answer to all these regularly searched questions is that the water coming out of your kitchen tap is good for you. It’s becoming less fashionable to buy expensive water that’s packaged up in fancy plastic bottles. Water that claims to make us fitter, healthier and stronger! But we’re not naïve. As water filtration specialists we understand that there are certain elements of tap water that people do not like, such as the taste and smell of chlorine, and therefore do not want it in there. So, what are the alternatives to Smart Water? Better alternatives to Smart Water There is no denying that Smart Water is a premium brand with a premium price tag. All our water filters use high quality components, and we pride ourselves of tailoring solutions to meet individual needs. There are a lot of water filters for home to choose from and we would confuse you if we regurgitated our whole website into this article. But if you take some time to think about and answer our ‘top 10 questions’ before purchasing a water filter, you’ll have taken a huge step towards getting exactly what you want. What do you dislike about your tap water? Are there any contaminants that you want to filter out of your water? Are you on mains water or do you have a private water supply? Do you want to filter your whole house or just your drinking water? How big is your house? How many people normally live in your house? Where do you want to install the water filter, and do you have the space? How much do you want to spend? Are you committed to changing your water filter cartridge every 12 months? Do you want to work with a company that has years of experience in water quality and 5-star customer reviews? These are the types of questions we’ll ask you when you contact us. With our knowledge and experience in water filtration, we help guide you to finding a water filtration product that solves the problem you’ve got. Our business is built on what people want, not what we think we can sell them. We’ve already said that it would be impractical and unfair to throw every product we stock at you. But guided by the type of answers we hear to the questions above; we thought it might be useful to offer a few different water filter system suggestions. So, here goes! Entry level alternative to Smart Water If you are in the ‘don’t like the taste and smell’ of tap water camp then our high performance drinking water filter system, the Pearl T will remove the chlorine for you. Remember, the chlorine is a cheap and effective disinfectant and must be added to mains water to destroy bacteria and viruses that may be harmful to you. But it’s so easy to remove it if you don’t like it. It’s a small unit with a height, width, and depth of 34cm, 14cm and 13cm respectively. So, it will fit very neatly under your kitchen sink, and you only need to change the cartridge a minimum of every 12 months. That’s got to be a lot easier than buying bottles of Smart Water. The Pearl T is one of our most popular entry level water filters and it also removes sediments, microplastics, PFAS (forever chemicals) and more. What’s more, it leaves all the good minerals in there like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Mid-range alternative to Smart Water If you want to take it to the next level, then one of our drinking water purification systems will get rid of any unwanted impurities and give you tap water that’s worth drinking. Our Oyster water purifier is environmentally, cost, and maintenance friendly. This two-stage system beauty will remove chemicals, including chlorine, endocrine disruptors, PAHs, VOCs, bacteria, chromium IV, cysts, ferric iron, lead, microplastic, and forever chemicals. To name but a few! The Oyster water purifier is twice the width of the Pearl because it’s a dual unit with two housings and two water filter cartridges. Our water purifier range OUTSMARTS Smart Water. You’ll have fresh, pure water on tap 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just think of how many reusable drinking water bottles you can fill with your plentiful supply. Specialist alternatives to Smart Water Why stop at just treating your drinking water when you can install a water filter system that will treat your whole house. We offer many configurations of whole house water filtration systems. Here’s just a couple to whet your appetite: Doby taste and OneFlow whole house water filter The Doby taste and OneFlow whole house water filter could answer your prayers when it comes to treating limescale up to 427 ppm CaCO3. One of our best-selling hard water conditioning systems. These literally fly off our shelves. You need a bit more room to install these units so allow for a height of 72cm, width of 60cm and depth of 18cm. It’s amazing at what space our customers have come up with to install this sought after limescale filter. Doby water purifier The Doby water purifier whole house water filter is just like the Oyster water purifier, only more so! This two stage whole house water purifier is perfect for households with up to four bedrooms. It’s the same size as the Doby taste and OneFlow. Our water purifiers remove unwanted impurities for a better, healthier alternative to systems such as reverse osmosis. Why buy from Fountain Filters Remember, anything is possible when it comes to your household water. You’re in control. We’ve just given you examples of some of our best-selling products that are worthy alternatives to Smart Water. You can choose what you want in your water and what you don’t, which we think is way smarter than anything else. We have hundreds of very satisfied customers who have put their trust in us to help them find a solution to their water problems. Let us help you break that addiction to Smart Water. We are here Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm when you want to call us on 01352 838 281 with your questions. Or if you prefer a written conversation, our helpdesk is waiting for your message. FAQs What is Smart Water? Smart Water is vapour-distilled British spring water. Spring water is distilled to remove inorganic impurities. The water is then boiled until it turns into vapour and then condensed back into liquid form. Who owns Smart Water? The brand Smart Water is owned by Coca Cola. Smart Water was first launched in the USA in 1998. Smart Water then became available in the the UK in 2014. Does Smart Water have electrolytes? Yes, Smart Water does contain electrolytes. After the distillation process strips everything out of the spring water, electrolytes of calcium, magnesium, and potassium are added back in.
0 how much water should you drink daily
How much water should you drink daily? How many litres of water a day should we all be drinking? Usually, adults need to drink between 1-1 1/2 litres of water per day. How much water a day is too much? If your urine has no colour, you're probably drinking too much water. These appear relatively straightforward questions, but the answers may require more in depth explanation. Nothing is ever that simple! The amount of water you should drink daily is dependent on several factors, your age, size, level of physical activity, medical problems, medicines you take, how much water you’re taking on board through the foods you eat. This article aims to give you some general guidelines that will help you navigate how much water you are meant to drink a day. We’re going to concentrate mainly on water in this article because it’s readily available straight from your kitchen tap. Water is calorie free, sugar free, and the most healthy, essential and beneficial for your body. Why is water essential for health? Water is an essential and vitally important part of your life. Without it you would die. While researching, different sources threw out ‘similar but different’ information about how much of the human body is water. So, we’re going to sit in the safe zone and say that the human body is made up of about 50-70% water. Children have more water in their body than the elderly. Every single process that goes on in your body requires water. Water… • is needed by the brain to manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters• helps regulate your temperature (sweating and respiration)• acts as a shock absorber for your brain and spinal cord• converts food to energy• helps deliver oxygen throughout the body in red blood cells suspended in blood, which is on average 51% water.• helps form saliva• helps keep the inner linings of organs moist such as the nose, mouth, lungs, and stomach. • allows body’s cells to repair, grow, reproduce and survive• flushes waste products, mainly through urine• lubricates joints You don’t just ingest water from drinking tap water, tea, coffee, and soft drinks. Food also contains water, but it’s very dependent on the quality of your diet as to how much water you are taking on board. You’re going to get a lot more water from fruit and vegetables than you are bagels and chocolate digestives! You’ll read more about foods that contain a high percentage of water later in this article. Alcohol does not contribute to your fluid intake and dehydrates you, so that cheeky beer on a Friday evening may quench your thirst but it will do nothing for your hydration levels. How much water do you need each day? There are no hard and fast rules regarding how many pints of water a day you should be drinking, but there are general guidelines out there, freely available on the internet. Drinking 6-8 200ml glasses (1.2-1.5 litres / 2-2.6 pints) of non-alcoholic fluid daily should replace normal fluid loss, when combined with water you get from the foods that you eat. Drinking tap water is by far the cheapest and healthiest way to stay hydrated. If you don’t like the taste or smell of your tap water you can improve it with one of our drinking water filter systems How many litres of water you should drink a day will be influenced by various factors including: • The weather – if it’s hot you’ll sweat more, and this will influence how many cups a day of water you should be drinking.• How much you’re exercising - the more exercise you do, the more sweat you’ll produce, and the more water you’ll be losing. How many litres of water per day will coincide with how much exercise you’re doing. More exercise = more water needed but be careful not to overdo it. • Pregnancy – a women’s body works incredibly hard during pregnancy to produce extra blood, build new tissue and form amniotic fluid. If you are breastfeeding, you’ll also need to drink more water to assist in breast milk production, which is more than 80% water. • How well you are feeling – diarrhoea and vomiting cause your body to lose water, so as much as you might not want to, taking on ‘little but often’ sips of water is beneficial. If you have a temperature, you’ll be sweating more and will therefore need to replenish that lost water. If you’re unfortunate enough to have a urine infection, drinking lots of water will help flush those toxins out of your body. To keep it simple and personal to you, we believe that the easiest way to tell if you’re staying adequately hydrated is to ensure your urine remains a pale straw colour throughout the day. You should be aware of what your body is doing. So, check your pee every time you go to the loo. You are in the best position to know how many glasses of water a day you should be drinking. What are the effects of not drinking enough water? Being dehydrated manifests itself in various ways: • Tiredness • Poor concentration • Mild memory problems• Less motivation to do anything and difficulty in exercising • Headaches • Dry skin You’ll know what it’s like to feel dehydrated. We’ve all been there. That dry sticky feeling in the mouth because of a lack of saliva. Your lips feel as though they’re sticking together. But that’s not the only sign of dehydration. The best way to determine if you’re taking on enough fluids is to look at your urine. What colour is it? Look at this handy guide and determine if you’re hydrated enough. Pale, straw coloured is good. Dark, cloudy or strong smelling urine isn’t, and you need to drink more water. Have you noticed that your first pee of the day is darker than pale straw coloured? That’s because you haven’t had a glass of water for the entire time you’ve been asleep. It’s important to hydrate first thing in the morning. Taking a glass of water to bed with you at night is an easy way to remember to have a good drink first thing in the morning. Can you stay hydrated without drinking water? While water is by far the easiest and most accessible way to stay hydrated, we appreciate that some people think water is the most boring drink on the planet. You wouldn’t think that if you lived in a water deprived area of the world we bet. Here are some excellent ways you can get some water into your body that avoid plain old tap water. • Coconut water – made up of approximately 94% water and no added sugar if you choose the unflavoured ones. Make sure you read the ingredients of the coconut water before you buy it to make sure you’re getting 100% coconut water and that it’s not packed full of sugar and flavourings.• Herbal teas – a definite favourite of ours at Fountain Filters. There are such a variety of herbal teas to choose from. Peppermint, lemon and ginger, chamomile, red berries, and so many more. A healthy way to stay hydrated. • Fruit infused water – there are a multitude of ways to infuse plain tap water to make it that little bit more exciting. Try adding strawberries, lemon, lime, oranges, blueberries, pineapple, watermelon, basil, cherries, grapefruit, raspberries, mango, grapes, cucumber, and mint. Obviously, not all these suggestions in one go! Play around with them to see which combinations you like best. • Add some sparkle – sparkling water can be a nice change from plain tap water. If you’ve got a SodaStream try putting the sparkle in yourself or buy sparkling water in glass bottles. Please avoid buying single use plastic bottles. • Add cordial – a little splash of cordial in tap water takes the edge off the plain taste. Choose low-sugar options. • Drink milk – about 87% of milk is water so this is a fantastic way to stay hydrated. Milk also contains a good balance of proteins, fat and carbohydrates as well as other nutrients including calcium, potassium and magnesium. • Fruit juices and smoothies – this is one that we would probably recommend the least, just because of the sugar content. It’s so easy to drink a lot in one go so you’ll be downing extra calories and sugar when you shouldn’t be. It’s better to eat the fruit than drink it because when making smoothies the fibre is removed which helps slow down the speed fructose is absorbed into your blood stream. This is particularly important for people who have diabetes. • Soup – a stomach warming bowl of homemade soup that’s packed with vegetables is the perfect way to get more water into your diet. And it’s so tasty. But remember homemade is better than the tinned soup from the supermarket. Cheaper to! Does food contribute to your daily water intake? It most certainly does. Not all our water intake needs to come from drinking glass after glass of water. About 20% of your daily water intake will come from food. Foods that contribute to how much fluid you should drink a day include: • Cucumber (96%*)• Tomatoes / Courgette / Lettuce (95%*)• Spinach (93%*)• Mushrooms / Watermelon (92%*)• Honeydew melon (91%*)• Broccoli (90%*)• Brussel sprouts / Oranges / Apples / Grapes (86%*)• Blueberrries (85%*)• Bananas / Avocadoes / Potatoes (70-79%*)• Pasta / Salmon / Chicken Breast (60-69%*) *Approximately How to know if you're drinking enough water? The easiest way to answer this is you won’t be thirsty. The reason we take on more water is that we’re thirsty. We have a physiological trigger which tells us we’re thirsty and that’s when we need to act. Obviously, it’s a lot more complex than this but we’d be going way off topic if we started exploring this in more depth. But here’s a scientific paper on water, hydration and health that you can browse at your leisure. And don’t forget your pee. If you’re not drinking enough water the signs are clearly visible in your urine. Dark, strong smelling urine is a clear sign that you need to drink more water. Can drinking too much water be harmful? Yes, drinking too much water can be harmful, but how much water is too much for a day? Overhydrating is rare, but it can be dangerous. It’s not just a case of drinking too much water, some health conditions can also cause a person’s body to retain more water, such as kidney problems, heart failure, and liver disease. Having too much water in your body (through either intake or retention) can cause water toxicity (water poisoning). Water toxicity means that your kidneys can’t excrete (through urine) the increased levels of water in your body and therefore retain too much. The electrolytes in your body dilute and the amount of sodium (salt) becomes too diluted. This leads to the development of hyponatremia. Hyponatremia from water poisoning can lead to: • Headaches – due to swelling in the brain• Confusion or feeling disorientated• Feeling drowsy• Muscle cramps• Nausea and vomiting We’re going to mention urine again. Colourless urine means you’re overhydrating, straw coloured is good, and dark smelly urine is not good. Remember that overhydration is uncommon in healthy people. How Fountain Filters can help you drink more water? Drinking water is our business. We’ve lived and breathed advising people about how they can improve their household tap water and the water filtration system costs associated with those improvements. Getting in touch with us is easy. Either call us on 01352 838 281 or send us a message through our contact us page. FAQs Is 4 pints of water a day enough? 4 pints of water may be enough. It’s recommended that you drink 6-8 200ml glasses (1.2-1.5 litres / 2-2.6 pints) of non-alcoholic fluid daily to replace normal fluid loss, when combined with water you get from the foods that you eat. What happens to your body when you start drinking more water? When you drink more water everything in your body will start to function better. Water is essential for all parts of the body right from the brain down to the joints in your feet. Is 8 pints of water a day too much? Drinking 8 pints of water a day may be considered too much. Overhydration is not recommended and can lead to medical complications. The best way to determine if you’re staying on top of your hydration is to check the colour of your urine and if it’s pale straw coloured, you’re doing a fantastic job.
0 is london tap water safe to drink
Is tap water safe to drink in London? Unless you’ve been told specifically by your local water authority not to drink tap water or have been issued with a boil notice before drinking tap water then YES, tap water in London is safe to drink. This very simple ‘yes, tap water is safe to drink in London’ answer is not reflective of the misinformation that is spreading like wildfire across popular social media platforms. Some water filtration companies are using aggressive marketing tactics to convince you that tap water in the UK is unsafe to drink and they’ve got a ‘wonder product’ (a.k.a ‘bog standard water filter that they sell at an inflated price’) that will make it drinkable and a ‘white paper’ (a.k.a marketing sales copy) to back up the hard sell. They then use celebrities to endorse their products in the hope that it will help them sell more. Fountain Filters has seen companies like this come and go and we’re left to pick up the pieces of looking after their unhappy and let down customers. The spread of misinformation about tap water in the UK being unsafe is not only harmful to the industry, but also fundamentally untrue. However, it is fair to say that even though tap water in London is safe to drink (and across the rest of the UK) there may be specific things about it that you want to change or improve. This can be something as simple as disliking the taste or smell of London tap water to wanting to eradicate limescale. There’s also the increased public awareness about PFAS (forever chemicals), microplastics and lead. This is something we’ve noticed a huge increase in queries about during 2024 and envisage these remaining hot topics going forward. Where does tap water in London come from? 2.6 billion litres of water is used in London every day. Rivers Thames and Lee provide most of London’s tap water via five large water treatment works. Any additional water that is required comes from underground aquifers and a desalination plant at Beckton that was built in 2010 to supply drinking water during peaks of high demand. Unfortunately, the desalination plant has only successfully operated 3 times between 2010 and 2023, which considering how much it cost to build is disappointing. London, Swindon and Oxford are categorised as ‘water stressed’. The London areas have less rainfall than Dallas, Rome and Sydney. This is serious because water shortages, climate change and an increasing population are all factors in what could become a distressing situation in the future. Continued investment in infrastructure, fixing leaks, and education around how we could use water more wisely are key. Multiple treatment processes ensure that your water is safe to drink in London and meets the UK water quality standards. To ensure tap water is safe to drink in London, thousands of tests are carried out from samples from water pipes, water mains and household taps. Why does London tap water taste different? Tap water tastes different in London because the source water is different. Although it’s safe to drink tap water in London that doesn’t mean you have to like it. And that’s OK because you can filter it. Tap water varies across the UK. The landscapes are different, the source water is different, the levels of minerals are different, some water authorities add fluoride, some don’t, the levels of chlorine will vary. The list goes on. When people move geographical areas one of the very first things they notice is that the water tastes different, and they’re not used to it. We get so many calls from people who want the water to taste the same as the area they’ve just moved from. That of course is impossible. If we concentrate specifically on London tap water, there are a few reasons why it is different to other parts of the UK. The London tap water issues that come up regularly are: Problems with limescale due to hard water Unpleasant taste/smell Fluoride (spoiler alert - Fluoride is not added to London tap water) Forever chemicals Microplastics Lead (only a concern if you have lead pipes) Problems with limescale in London tap water If you use our postcode checker you can check how hard your water is in London. London has hard water and the visible effects of limescale are there for all to see. From the buildup of scale in your kettle, limescale deposits on taps and shower screens, right up to coffee machines and other household appliances breaking down more quickly than they should. Then there’s the continuing need to use more soap, shampoo, shower gel and detergents just to get the lather you desire. Drinking hard tap water in London is safe. The minerals calcium and magnesium are important to have in our diets. It’s just the limescale that people want to remove or reduce. Unpleasant taste/smell in London tap water If you’re on mains water in London, then you’ll have chlorine in your water. You know that smell when you enter a swimming pool. That’s the aroma of chlorine, and people don’t like it. It’s got a bleach or TCP kind of smell. But the addition of chlorine to tap water in London and across the UK is vital to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of water pipes remain free from harmful bacteria that would make you ill. It is safe to drink tap water in London that contains chlorine, but if you don’t want it in your tap water it’s incredibly easy to remove. More on how to do that later. Fluoride in London tap water The addition of fluoride in drinking water confuses a lot of people. We receive numerous calls from people who are concerned about fluoride in their tap water, and they wish to remove it. It would be so easy, but so wrong of us to sell people a water filter system to remove fluoride when it’s not even added to their tap water. Currently, England is the only country in the UK that adds fluoride to drinking water. And only 10% of England’s population has fluoride added. This does NOT include LONDON. Remember what we said in our introductory paragraph above that there are some aggressive marketing campaigns going on across social media about the state of UK tap water. The public are commenting on these posts asking whether their ‘wonder product’ removes fluoride. The company is responding by saying ‘click here to be added to our waiting list’ as they’re releasing a product soon that will remove fluoride. What they are not doing is asking what part of the UK that person is living in and then allaying that person’s fears if they live in an area where the local authority doesn’t currently add fluoride to tap water. It’s blatant scaremongering and Fountain Filters are 100% against this. So currently, from a fluoride perspective it is safe to drink London tap water. PFAS (forever chemicals) in London tap water Aside from the UK having one of the best public water supplies in the world, PFAS or forever chemicals as they’re more commonly referred to blights that good record. The term ‘forever chemicals’ gives us a clue about why people are concerned about them. They do not break down over time and so are always in the tap water. Thousands of everyday chemicals are grouped under the PFAS umbrella, such as non-stick coatings on pans, batteries, food packaging, stain resistant fabrics. It is an endless list. PFAS may be useful in their working life, but not in their afterlife and we really should be removing them from our London tap water. It’s for this reason that Fountain Filters believe that it is NOT safe to drink tap water in London because of the risk of trace amounts of forever chemicals being present. However, we don’t want to scare you. Our role is to give you comfort in the knowledge that you can effectively remove PFAS in London tap water. We’ll cover just how easy this is to do a little later. Microplastics in London tap water Microplastics in UK drinking water is another hot topic that continues to bubble along in the press and across social media platforms. As the name suggests microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are not discernible by the human eye. Where there is plastic waste there are microplastics. We all have a responsibility for the level of microplastics found in UK tap water. If you continually buy and then dispose of single use plastic bottles and containers you are adding to the microplastics problem. Once erosion of the plastic takes place microplastics can end up anywhere. In the food we eat and the water we drink. Fountain Filters feel it’s safe to say that microplastics in UK tap water will be in minute quantities because the public water supply filters a lot of it out before it reaches your tap. However, there will be microplastics in tap water and for that reason London tap water is not safe to drink if you want to avoid ingesting plastic. But tap water is safer than plastic bottles of water. If you think that you’re avoiding microplastics because the only water you drink is bottled water bought off the supermarket shelf then sadly you are mistaken. Lead in London tap water Realistically, you only need to be concerned about lead in your tap water if you have discovered that there are lead pipes in your house. If you have lead in your tap water in London it is toxic and we highly recommended that you filter it out. We obviously don’t know how much lead is in your water, you would need to get your water tested to determine the amount. It’s a lot cheaper to install a drinking water filter to remove lead than it is to get the pipes replaced. Please note that boiling water that contains lead will not remove it. It will do the opposite. It will increase the concentration of lead in your drinking water. Tap water is NOT safe to drink in London if it contains lead. Is bottled water safer than tap water in the UK? No, Fountain Filters does not think that bottled water is safer than tap water in the UK. Please do not go down the fashionable rabbit hole of believing that bottled water is safer to drink than tap water. There are a few reasons why bottled water is not better to drink than tap water. Bottled water can contain a few hundred microplastics per litre versus tap water with between zero and 10 microplastics per litre. 93% of bottled water has some signs of microplastic contamination according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). WHO published an article on the 30th August 2022 on the Dietary and inhalation exposure to nano and microplastic particles and potential implications for human health which covers human exposure to the occurrence of microplastics in drinking water. Water bought in single use plastic bottles works against what the UK are trying to achieve in terms of reducing plastic waste. Did you know that up to 1 billion single-use plastic bottles are used in London each year. The bottled water industry is far less regulated than the public water supply in the UK. However, we have come across The Natural Mineral, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007 which goes into detail on the requirements for prescribed concentrations of micro-organisms, elements and substances contained in the water prior to bottling. Bottled water is more expensive than tap water. 2 litres of water from a tap will cost you less than 1/3p. A 2L supermarket own brand is around 45p and a premium branded 2L bottle would set you back 90p or more. Where can you access tap water in public places? Under the Refill London scheme you can fill up you re-useable water bottle with free drinking water at one of 5,000 refill stations across London. You can download the Refill App to find out where your nearest London water refill station is. The app doesn't have brilliant reviews, but as with all things like this, it's work in progress. One of the main reasons for installing drinking water stations across London is to drive down the use of single-use plastic bottles. A study in 2022 (see the Refill London website link above) found that 90% of people living in London owned a reuseable bottle, so the more refill stations there are the better. Not having access to this free drinking water stops people using their reuseable bottle and forces people into thinking they need to buy bottled water. All premises licensed to sell alcohol in the UK have to provide free drinking water when requested. This applies even if you’re not a paying customer. Non-licensed premises are encouraged to provide free drinking water but can charge if they wish to do so. If you want to outsmart everyone around you, invest in a Water to Go drinking water filter bottle and you can guarantee fresh filtered water from any London tap. How to improve the taste and quality of London tap water We’ve highlighted some common concerns about London tap water that people call us daily about. To reiterate, these are problems with limescale due to hard water, unpleasant taste and smell of London tap water, fluoride, PFAS (forever chemicals), and the presence of microplastics in London water. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to ignore fluoride as this is not currently added to London tap water. To help you improve the taste and quality of your London tap water and give you peace of mind that London tap water is safe to drink then Fountain Filters recommend looking at the following product categories / products on our website. Water filters to resolve problems with limescale in London tap water Fountain Filters have a lot of experience helping people in London combat limescale problems associated with hard water areas. We have hard water filter systems that reduce limescale in your drinking water and also throughout your entire London home. Water filters to improve the taste and smell of your London tap water Tap water in London is treated with chlorine which is a disinfectant used by the water industry to kill harmful bacteria. This ensures your household drinking water won’t make you ill. Some people don’t like the taste or smell of chlorinated water and would prefer to remove it from their tap water. The removal of chlorine from tap water is incredibly easy with any water filter system that contains a carbon block water filter cartridge. Our most basic drinking water filter to remove chlorine is our best-selling Pearl T. To remove chlorine from every tap in your house take a look at our Doby whole house water filter. The water filter cartridges used in both water filter systems will ensure your London tap water is free from chlorine and safe to drink for a minimum of 12 months. You only need to change the cartridge every year which is good news for London homeowners. Water filters to reduce PFAS (forever chemicals) in London tap water Despite all the noise out there on social media there is no need to complicate the removal of PFAS from your London tap water. ANY water filter containing a carbon block water filter cartridge is going to reduce the level of PFAS in your tap water, making it safe to drink for you and your family. You don’t need anything fancy so please don’t be swayed by anything else you might find. Please follow the same links for products that you see above for improving the taste and smell of your London tap water. Water filters to reduce microplastics in London tap water To remove microplastics from tap water in London you need to be looking for a system that uses a carbon block water filter cartridge with a micron rating of 1 or below. 5 micron will reduce microplastics, but we recommend a smaller micron rating to be on the safe side. For your drinking water only, this would be our Pearl T with what we call a chlorine guzzler cartridge. A combined water filter system such as our Oyster TC would also do the job. This system uses two water filter cartridges: a 5 micron carbon block and 0.5 micron carbon block. To treat your whole house for microplastics you need the exact same Doby whole house water filter from the ‘how to improve the taste and smell of your London tap water’ section above, but with a 0.5 micron carbon block instead of the 5 micron cartridge that comes as standard with that filter system. How Fountain Filters can help you with your London tap water We don’t want you to buy bottled water thinking it’s going to be safer than filtering your own London tap water. We don’t want you to be mislead by the nonsense information out there on the internet. The cost of installing a house water filtration system will always be cheaper than buying bottled water, adding to the huge environmental problem London has with single use plastic bottles. But we understand that if you’re just starting out with filtering your own London tap water to make is safe to drink that it can feel a little overwhelming deciding on what is right for you. That’s where our expert knowledge comes in. We’ll guide you to finding the best solution for your individual needs, no matter what those needs are. It’s easy to get in touch. Either call 01352 838 281 or leave a message on our helpdesk. FAQs about London tap water: Is it safe to drink tap water in London? In essence, YES but that doesn’t mean you have to like it and there are filters you can use to make it safer, such as removing PFAS and microplastics. Is London tap water recycled sewage? No, the water coming out of your tap is not recycled sewage. Your drinking water comes from rivers and aquifers where it’s treated to make it safe for human consumption. It’s only after you’ve used it and it’s literally gone down the drain into the sewage system that it’s transported back to the treatment works and then safely recycled back into the environment (not into the drinking water supply!). Do we end up drinking toilet water? No, you’re not drinking toilet water in London. Your drinking water comes from rivers and aquifers, and it’s treated to make it potable. Once you’ve used the tap water it goes down the drain via the sewage system where it’s treated and recycled back into the environment.
0 water filters protect your caravan plumbing and boiler system
The Role of Water Filters in Protecting Your Caravan's Plumbing and Boiler System No matter how basic a set up you have for your static caravan, the one thing you’ll always need is water; and the one thing you’ll always want to avoid is caravan boiler problems. If your static caravan is situated in a hard water area you’re definitely going to need specialist water filters for caravans and motorhomes. Installing a specialist water filter means you’ll avoid static caravan boiler problems. In this article we’ll concentrate on how static caravan and motorhome owners can remove limescale from caravan pipes and future proof a caravans internal plumbing system against costly breakdowns. The role of water filters in protecting caravan plumbing A caravan anti limescale device will prevent limescale in caravan cold water pipes. Limescale is caused when levels of calcium and magnesium in the source water are high. Water hardness in the UK is measured in parts per million (ppm) and levels vary depending on where in the UK your static caravan is situated. Moderately hard water has a reading of 101-200 ppm. Very hard water has a reading of 276+ ppm. Understanding the differences between hard and soft water is important when it comes to answering the question ‘do I need a water filter in my caravan’? Limescale appears in places that you’d rather it didn’t, such as on shower screens and shower heads, around plugs and the end of taps, in your kettle, or in your caravan water heater. Over time, limescale has the potential to destroy any appliances in your caravan that water flows through. Protecting your boiler system with water filters Hard water isn’t a problem, but the limescale that hard water creates can be a major problem. When it comes to preventing limescale in caravan cold water pipes, there are 2 main types of water filter media to consider. The first is food grade polyphosphate crystals that are inserted into the middle of a carbon block water filter cartridge and held in place with plastic retainer clips. (insert picture). The phosphate is released gradually into the water where is combines with the calcium and magnesium, forming a stable compound that inhibits limescale formation. This is called the sequestration method. The sequestration method is an effective caravan limescale device that works reasonably well in areas that have slightly hard to moderately hard water. The second is Template Assisted Crystallisation (TAC). TAC is our fastest growing method for combatting the negative effects of limescale in static caravans. Hard water flows into a cartridge that contains white sand like media. This media circulates with the water, interacting with the dissolved carbonates. The hard ions (calcium and magnesium) are attracted to the media’s crystallisation sites, forming microscopic crystals that detach from the media and flow through the pipes instead of sticking to them. If you prefer a visual explanation, then this video will help. Using TAC as part of a caravan water filter set up works extremely well in moderately hard to very hard water areas. Choosing the right water filter for your caravan Now that we’ve covered the two types of media that can be used to remove limescale from static caravans, it’s now down to choosing the right water filter that’s going to solve the limescale problems you’re experiencing. Let’s help you narrow it down with this list of key factors to consider: How hard is the water coming into your static caravan? If your water is moderately hard (101-200 ppm / 100-199.64 mg/l) you may be OK with a caravan water filter that uses polyphosphate crystals such as our Pearl hard water filter. Or to treat all water in your static caravan (including the caravan’s water heater / boiler), the Moby hard water filter. For hard to very hard water (201-276+ ppm / 200-275+ mg/l), the Pearl Oneflow hard water filter will be more capable at treating limescale. Or to treat all water in your static caravan (including the caravan’s water heater / boiler), the Moby OneFlow hard water filter. The caravan water filters we’ve mentioned above will treat hard water only. We do supply even bigger hard water filters, but that normally requires a conversation with ourselves about what exactly your needs are. If you wish to remove any other contaminants during the filtration process, you can add other stages. We supply multiple water filter configurations, and we recommend you get in touch so we can come up with the best solution for you. Where are you going to install the caravan or motorhome water filter? The Pearl drinking water filters and Moby mains water filters we’ve suggested above almost always get installed in the cupboard under the sink. If this wouldn’t work with your existing caravan set up, you can install the larger water filter systems in a lagged box on the outside of your caravan or motorhome. Choosing the right size of caravan water filter The vast majority of our static caravan customers find that the limescale water filters and mains hard water filters fit perfectly and effectively reduce limescale. It’s important to choose the right sized filter. The water needs enough contact time with the media to ensure that the limescale is being treated effectively. If water passes through the water filter cartridge too quickly then you’ve wasted your money and will be disappointed with the results. For example, never expect a drinking water filter to treat the water from every outlet in your caravan. Installation and maintenance of caravan water filters Once you worked out where in the static caravan you are going to install your water filter system the installation should be very straightforward as it’s basically water in and water out. Full fitting instructions are provided with every caravan water filter. The beauty of our systems is that they are low maintenance, and you don’t need electricity for them to work. You only need to change the water filter cartridge every 6-12 months depending on how much water is being used. When and why to replace water filter cartridges is important. We encourage you to keep on top of your cartridge changes to ensure you don’t end up having issues with limescale in the future. It’s much more costly to have pipes and appliances replaced than to simply purchase a water filter cartridge. How Fountain Filters can help you get the water filter you need for your caravan or motorhome Hard water can be problematic to deal with, but here at Fountain Filters our speciality is problem solving. We’ve been finding solutions to peoples hard water problems for years. And we can help you find a solution to any static caravan boiler problem. We are happy to look at the set up in your caravan. You wouldn’t believe the number of under sink cupboard pictures we get sent. The two main ways to get in touch with us are either through our helpdesk or by calling 01352 838 281. FAQs Do I need a water filter in my caravan The answer to this question starts with gaining insight into whether water filters work. Luckily for you Fountain Filters has the expertise to answer this. Why do I need a water filter for my caravan If you want to travel and explore the great outdoors, investing in a water filter for your caravan should certainly be in your top 10 things to invest in. Depending on where you travel to, unfiltered water may contain contaminants that you’d be best off not drinking. It’s better to be on the safe side when it comes to your health and well-being.
Water fluoridation in the UK Fluoride occurs naturally in water, but some areas of the UK (England only) have fluoride added by the water companies upon request from local health authorities. We’ll cover why they fluoridate drinking water later. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland do not currently add fluoride to drinking water, but naturally occurring fluoride may be present. Here is a water fluoridation UK map so you can quickly see if fluoride has been added to your drinking water. This map was sourced from GOV.UK. Understanding water fluoridation The main reason that fluoride is added to water is to prevent rising tooth decay and improve oral health in the general population. However, fluoridation of water pales in comparison to the availability of toothpaste containing fluoride, which is available across the UK. Fluoride in varying levels is added to toothpaste as a preventative measure against oral disease and is the most common delivery system of fluoride to the UK population. Benefits of fluoridated water The addition of fluoride in water is all about intervention. Food sugars + mouth plaque bacteria = acid, which leads to cavities. Dental cavities can ultimately end in tooth decay and extraction, unless something is done about it. Tooth decay is avoidable. Extracting decayed teeth from children is not something to celebrate. According to the British Dental Association (BDA) 'tooth decay is still going unchallenged as the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children'. And for the financial year 2021-2022 there were 26,741 episodes of tooth extractions in NHS hospitals for 0-19 year olds, with the primary reason being tooth decay. This obviously cost the NHS, and you the taxpayer a lot of money. This is why some parts of the UK fluoridate water, and why fluoride toothpaste is available. So that there are consistent levels of fluoride in the mouth to make teeth enamel more resistant to decay. Research findings on water fluoridation Despite the horror stories that you’ll read on the world-wide web, water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health intervention that can improve dental health and help to narrow dental health inequalities across England. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to agree with it. You can remove fluoride from tap water and we’ll guide you through the most effective ways to do this with one of our fluoride water filters. The Water Quality Regulations 2016 allow for up to 1.5 mg/l of fluoride in the public water supply. If water companies in England fluoridate water, they do so up to 1 mg/l. Visiting your water suppliers website will give you the most up to date information of the fluoride levels in your water supply. Remember that fluoride is naturally present in water, and the fluoride UK water map above tells you if you’re in an area that is artificially fluoridated. Fluoride in drinking water We’ve already established that England is the only country in the UK that adds fluoride to drinking water to improve dental health. And only 10% of England’s population has fluoride added to drinking water, which is about 6 million people. The most extensively fluoridated areas in England are the West Midlands and the Northeast of England. Historically, these are areas that have experienced high levels of deprivation. Checking fluoride levels in your area To quickly check if you have fluoride added to your drinking water supply, look at our UK fluoride water map above. Then for more detailed information about the fluoride levels in your drinking water, look at your water suppliers website. They may have a postcode checker, so it’s worthwhile looking for that. This will give you the level of fluoride present in your household water. It will also give you information on permissible levels. Effective methods for removing fluoride from water If your water is currently being fluoridated to elevate the naturally occurring levels, you may or may not agree with it. That’s entirely up to you and if you disagree with the fluoridation of water, you can do something about it. Firstly, you can stop buying toothpaste that has fluoride added to it. The toothpaste tube will always list fluoride if it’s been added. Secondly, you can reduce the amount of fluoride in your household water with one of our specialist fluoride water filters. Our fluoride filters will either treat your drinking water only, kitchen cold tap, or whole house. It really is very easy, and we will do what we can to help you. So, check the map, check your water suppliers website, do some research, decide what’s best for you and your family, and if that’s to minimise exposure to fluoride the next logical step is to call us on 01352 838 281 or pop a message on our helpdesk. Key takeaways from Fountain Filters When it comes to water filtration there is always a lot of information to sift through and try to understand. But for the purposes of fluoride in water, here are our top three takeaways. Look at the UK water fluoridation map above to determine if your water is artificially fluoridated. Remember that fluoride occurs naturally in water, so getting one of those home test kits for fluoride will almost always throw up a positive reading for fluoride. It’s better to visit your water suppliers website. Work out whether you want fluoride in your water or not. If you don’t want fluoride in your drinking water, then contact Fountain Filters and do something about it. FAQ about fluoride in water Does boiling water remove fluoride? NO. Boiling water does not remove fluoride. If you boil water containing fluoride, it would leave the same amount of fluoride in a smaller amount of water, due to evaporation during the boiling process. Why do water companies use fluoride? Fluoride is added to some public water supplies in England to reduce oral health inequalities and tooth decay rates, particularly in children aged 0-19 years old. Does bottled water have fluoride in it? Bottled water may contain fluoride. It's important to look at the label on the brand you wish to purchase.
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Understanding hard and soft water Understanding hard vs soft water isn’t complicated. Water contains a variety of minerals. The minerals responsible for hard water are calcium and magnesium. Essentially, the more calcium and magnesium present in your water, the harder your water is. Without getting into too much detail here as we’ll be covering it later, water hardness is measured in parts per million (ppm) and levels vary across the UK. Your water is classed as moderately hard if you have a reading of 101 – 200 ppm. The higher the ppm the harder your water. Very hard water has a ppm reading of 276+. In this article we’re going to cover the difference between hard and soft water. You’ll gain an understanding of what causes hard vs soft water, how to identify if you have hard or soft water and the pros and cons of both. Whilst hard water is nothing to be alarmed about, you’ll also learn about why many people in the UK prefer soft water compared to hard and a little about how you can soften or condition your hard water. Differences between hard water and soft water It’s all down to the concentration of minerals in the water. If your water has a high calcium and magnesium mineral content you have hard water. If your water has a lower calcium and magnesium mineral content you have softer water. The sliding scale below tends to be used as a guide to determine levels of water hardness. Very hard water: 276 and above (275.00 mg/l up) Hard water: 201-275 ppm (200-274.50 mg/l) Moderately hard water: 101-200 ppm (100-199.64 mg/l) Soft water: 0-100 ppm (0-99.89 mg/l) The differences between hard water and soft water are visible. If you live in a hard water area in the UK, you’ll experience and probably get quite irritated with: Limescale spots all over your shower screens and limescale deposits on the shower head. Limescale build up around plugs and limescale crusting on the end of taps. Scaly limescale in your kettle, which then end up floating on the top of your hot drinks. Limescale spots on your glasses when they come out of the dishwasher. Limescale coming out of your iron. Household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, boilers breaking down more quickly because of the limescale build up in pipes and the internal mechanics. Increased energy costs. Having to use more self-care products such as shampoo, soap and shower gel just to get some soapy lather. Clothes fresh out of the washing machine can be mineral stained and wear out more easily. Diminishing water pressure due to the build up of limescale in household pipes. Because soft water has lower levels of calcium and magnesium, you’ll avoid many of the problems listed directly above. Soap will lather up beautifully, clothes will be cleaner and last longer, and you’ll probably have better water pressure throughout your home. Soft water will also save you time when cleaning as it won’t take as long, and you should spend less money on cleaning products. We say ‘should spend less money’ because we all know how much people love buying cleaning products they don’t need. This is what we refer to as ‘the Hinch effect’! What are the causes of hard vs soft water Hard water has high concentrations of dissolved minerals; calcium carbonate (CaCO3), magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), and occasionally small amounts of silicates of various kinds. Soft water has lower concentrations of these dissolved minerals. It’s all to do with geology and where the source of the water is and the rocks and landscapes the water has flowed through and over before reaching the water treatment works and eventually your taps. How to identify if you have hard or soft water Aside from just intuitively knowing whether you’ve got soft water vs hard water based on what we’ve already covered in this article we have a couple of other ways you can confirm what you already know. The first is our postcode checker. Fountain Filters have built an easy to use and free online tool where you can check how hard your water is. If you type in your postcode, it will let you know whether you live in a very hard water, hard water, moderately hard water, or soft water area. Our postcode checker doesn’t stop there. It will also give you further detail on what your water type means and practical suggestions on how to change it. The second way you can check hard water vs soft water in the UK is to look at your local water suppliers website and that should tell you approximately what your parts per million (ppm) reading is. The information may be expressed as milligrams per litre (mg/l) or degrees Clark. Don’t be confused – they all mean the same thing. Common issues with hard water There are negative side effects with hard water and none of them are to do with drinking it. As we’ve already mentioned – hard water leaves it’s mark at various locations around your house, including: Shower screens and shower heads. Polished floors, benches, counter tops, and around tap ends and plugs. Household appliances including dishwashers, washing machines, boilers, and kettles. Limescale can be difficult to remove and no sooner than you think you’ve cleaned it away; over time it comes back and you’re back to square one – unless you do something to sort it out once and for all. More on this later. Additionally, washing your hair and body in hard water can create issues that you wish weren’t there. Hair and skin can be left feeling dry and itchy which is a major irritation if you already suffer from skin conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, or psoriasis. Benefits of hard water Hard water contains valuable minerals such as calcium and magnesium and it’s healthy to drink. We need those minerals in our diet, which is one of the reasons Fountain Filters can’t fathom out why some people choose to drink distilled water. That makes no sense to us. Hard water is good for the garden. Many plants prefer hard vs soft water just because of the use of sodium chloride (salt) in softened water. Plants and soil just don’t want to drink softened water. Reasons to switch to soft water Even though hard water doesn’t pose any significant health risks, more people want to experience the benefits of soft water compared to hard water. You switch to soft water by treating the hard water in your home. The main reason people want to switch to softer water is because they are irritated by the damaging effects of limescale on their expensive household appliances. They want to benefit from household appliances lasting longer. People either opt for salt based water softeners or one of our highly sought after salt free whole house hard water filter systems that conditions the water by changing the chemical properties so that the hard scale doesn’t come out in solution and stick to appliances and pipes. Or, and becoming even more popular in the UK is protecting a home’s boiler with one of our boiler descalers. Can you drink softened water ‘Can you drink softened water’ is a question Fountain Filters gets asked a lot. So, much so, that we wrote an article about it. The simple answer is ‘yes’, drinking soft water vs hard water is OK in most cases. In that article we’ve stated that drinking softened water may be safe for healthy adults, but not necessarily children or those that need to follow a low sodium diet. By softened water, we mean water that has been treated with a water softener. The water softening process and its safety Have you ever wondered how a water softener works? Fountain Filters explains is right here for you. This article ties in quite nicely with our article about whether softened water is safe to drink. It’s important to always do your own research, because ultimately you must be happy with the water in your home. Why trust Fountain Filters with your hard water in the UK Even though we advocate doing your own research when it comes to hard vs soft water, Fountain Filters, a leading UK specialist in treating hard water have been helping people resolve the negative impact of hard water in their homes since 2011. We receive daily calls and help-desk messages from people who want to move from hard to soft water. Will you be the next person to contact us on 01352 838 281 or drop a message into our inbox? We’re here to help.
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Troubleshooting Common Water Softener Problems You’ve installed a quality water softener and everything is ticking along nicely until disaster strikes and the water softener you’ve been relying on to give you softened water no longer does. You’ve hit a snag and haven’t a clue how to fix it. We’ve put together this water softener troubleshooting guide to highlight common water softener problems. With help from Fountain Filters, you can overcome any water softener problem. Water softener problems should be fixed quickly to avoid a break in your softened water supply and further damage to your water softener system and household appliances. After you’ve read Fountain Filter’s water softener troubleshooting guide, they’ll be certain problems that you’ll confidently fix yourself and others where you may need to call in a water softener professional. Common water softener problems Just like any other household appliance, water softener systems are prone to the odd problem or two. It’s important to keep an eye on your water softener and carry out regular maintenance checks so that you can resolve issues before they become a major problem. Fountain Filters have an in depth article that focuses on how water softeners work, but essentially, water softeners have a mineral tank that filled with resin beads that are high in sodium ions. These resin beads attract and hold onto the hard ions – in this case calcium and magnesium, the minerals responsible for water hardness. The beads release the sodium ions into the water instead of the hard ions and soft water continues its journey into your household pipes ready to be used. Over time the resin beads become saturated with hard ions and must be regenerated with salt or potassium chloride so that they continue to work effectively. Regeneration of the resin beads involves flushing out the mineral tank with a saltwater solution. This strips the beads of the limescale deposits. The limescale is discharged and the resin beads are as good as new, ready to start working at maximum efficiency again. It all sounds so simple and straightforward, but sometimes things can go wrong. Here are some common water softener problems that you may come across, as well as water softener troubleshooting tips that will have your system back to full functionality. 1. Blockages or Clogging in your water softener The same limescale that you’re removing from your household water can leave it’s scaly deposits on your water softening system. The water line that runs through the tank of your water softener can get blocked up with a mix of calcium and magnesium (the hard ions) and salt from the water softeners brine solution. How to spot if your water softener may be blocked You can tell if your water softener may be blocked or clogged up because you’ll start to notice limescale deposits on your household appliances, in your kettle, on your glassware, down your shower screens. These red flags are warning you that your water softener isn’t working as effectively as it needs to and that it might be clogged up with limescale. The Fountain Filters fix Our water softener system troubleshooting fix is to locate the two areas in your water softening system where blockages are most likely to occur. These areas are the valve injector and the brine line. Firstly, let’s look at the valve injector. Check to see if the water in the brine tank is high. If it is, this is typical of a clogged valve injector. A clogged injector can reduce the water softeners ability to create suction for the brine cycle, which means the water softener can’t regenerate properly. Shut the water off and then use a pair of pliers to pull the injector out. Look through the small opening for anything that might be stuck in there, using a fine needle or safety pin to remove the blockage if there is one. Replace the injector and turn the water back on. Secondly, the brine line. Look at the brine line closely for signs of any deposits that could be restricting the flow of water. Before you go messing on with the brine line, you may need to ask a professional to clean the line for you to avoid damaging the water softener. Take note of how the professional does it and with what tools and maybe try it yourself next time. Make sure you look at your warranty before trying this at home though! 2. Salt bridges or salt mushing in your water softener A hard crusty salt bridge in the brine tank of your water softener blocks the salt from dissolving into the water to make brine. If there is high humidity or unusual weather changes, this can cause the salt to clump together. Or, you may have been tempted to buy low quality salt, the sort of which is not recommended for your water softener. Salt mushing is the sludgy equivalent to a salt bridge. It’s when the salt recrystallises on the bottom of the brine tank, and just sits there as a gooey mess. The Fountain Filters fix For a salt bridge, grab a brush handle and beat the salt bridge up until it resembles a bridge no more! It’s a little more time consuming for the salt mush. You’ll need to drain and clean the tank before refilling it with good quality water softener salt. 3. Resin replacement in your water softener The resin in your water softener is where the magic happens, where hard water turns into soft water through the process of ion exchange. Over time, the resin gets a bit old, just like us! When this happens the water softener becomes less capable and will need to regenerate more often to keep up with supply of soft water into your home. Look for sandy particles in the resin tank. If you see any it’s time to change the resin in your water softener – and quickly. You don’t want to risk damaging your water softener system. Chlorine can shorten the lifespan of the resin, so it might be an idea to remove chlorine from your water first before it even goes through the water softener. The Fountain Filters fix Before you call in the professionals to replace the resin and get your water softener back up to running at peak performance, you could try the short-term fix and adjust the water softener settings so that the system regenerates more often until you can get the resin replaced. 4. Motor issues It’s fair to say that if something has moving parts, it can break down. Simon and I are marathon runners, and our moving parts break down all the time! The motor on your water softener can also break down and this is not good as your system won’t be able to move between the different cycles, such as softening and regeneration. If you’re sure it’s the motor in your water softener that’s failed, then here’s how to fix it. The Fountain Filters fix Before you reach for the phone in a panic, dig out your water softener user manual and check the cables and settings on your water softener just to make sure it’s not something else that’s preventing your water softener from working correctly. If everything is OK following your initial check of the water softener and you are convinced it’s a motor failure, then dig out your warranty information and call the company you purchased your water softener system from as you may be able to get a new motor free of charge. A water softening professional will then be on their way to you. 5. Brine tank overflow in your water softener The brine tank of a water softener holds the salt. That salt water (brine) is used to clean (regenerate) the resin beads in the media tank. And those resin beads do all the hard work of removing the hard ions. If you don’t have a brine tank that’s working correctly your water softener won’t be working effectively to soften your water. There could be several reasons why the brine tank may overflow, including a broken valve, clogged injector, blockage in the brine line, or a stuck float. The Fountain Filters fix Put your water softener problems troubleshooting hat on and check the following: Check the brine line to make sure it’s attached to the float inside the brine well, if it’s not then be sure to attach it. Ensure that there is a tight fit on both the brine tank caps and brine well. Remove any salt build up in the brine line float. The brine line valve can get clogged up with debris from the water so look for any salt clogging inside the brine tank. Make sure the drain line is free of any clogging or kinks. The valve injector could be clogged up, but you’d need a professional water softener engineer to check this for you and clean it out or replace it. Troubleshooting your water softener If you’re going to have a water softener installed, then we think that you also need to learn how a water softener works and how to water softener troubleshoot. This means becoming familiar with the user manual that would have been left with you when you had your water softener fitted. The manual will have a section dedicated to water softener troubleshooting and could save you money because many of the fixes you can do yourself. Fountain filters wrote an article called ‘How to install a water softener’ that you might find useful in terms of understanding the steps a professional will go through when they are installing a water softener in your home. Maintenance to prevent common problems with your water softener Don’t wait for water softener problems to arise. Ensuring that your water softener is fully functional all day every day means that you should think about having is regularly serviced by someone who specialises in water softening systems. In-between those services you can stay on top of any issues that arise because you’ll be familiar with the system and will have looked at water softener system troubleshooting sections in the user manual. When to call a professional about your water softener Sometimes there comes a time when you must call on the water softening experts. You’ve tried to fix things yourself and haven’t quite managed. That’s OK, it’s just because you don’t know the ins and outs of the water softener the way the experts do. They live and breathe water softeners and asking for help is always a good thing. How Fountain Filters can help you with water softener troubleshooting We’re always on hand, either by calling us on 01352 838 281 or sending us a helpdesk message when things go wrong with your water softener. Many of the problems that you may come across with your water softener can be fixed by you, without the need to call a professional. And before we forget, one of the questions we get asked a lot is ‘can you drink softened water’. We know it’s going slightly off the troubleshooting topic, but it’s worth a read.
Fountain Filters, Strowger House,
Sandy Lane Ind. Est.
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 5HE, UK.
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