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FAQ's
about Water
Ionizers on the Market
There is much confusion in the
marketplace concerning Water Ionizers. The Internet for example is
full of information, misinformation and disinformation.
Where are Water Ionizers
currently manufactured?
Water Ionizers are manufactured in two countries, Japan and Korea.
None are currently manufactured in the United States. There are
Water Ionizers on the market being sold as American Made, however
all their parts are imported from Japan, sometimes Korea, and simply
assembled in the US.
How long have Water Ionizers
been on the market?
Water Ionizers have been available in the orient for about forty
years and in the United States for about 10 years. They were
popularized in Japanese and began to become somewhat common there
around the mid 1980's. Several Japanese models imported in recent
years from Japan are no longer being manufactured although getting
filters for those units usually does not pose a significant problem,
although they can sometimes be costly. Water Ionizers have been
imported from Korea since the early 1990's, primarily from Jupiter
International which produces the MASTERPIECE and MAVELLO, the Water
Ionizer leader in Korea.
Which country manufactures
which Water Ionizers?
Water Ionizers manufactured in Korea are the Ionice, the McCoy and
the Jupiter brand. Water Ionizers manufactured in Japan are the Pure
Porte, The Millennium, The Water Doctor, Microwater Series II and
The Singer. We have hands-on tested many of them and have determined
that most are quality Water Ionizers which deliver the high levels
of ionization desired, that is, a pH range of approximately 5.5 to
10. Clearly, the consumer must decide whether the Water Ionizer is
worth the price being charged for it and which has value for the
money.
Should a Water Ionizer have a
fuse or a circuit breaker?
A Water Ionizer should have a three prong plug and thick electrical
wire. Two prong plugs encourage overheating as they do with any
other appliance. It does not matter whether a Water Ionizer has a
fuse or a circuit breaker, although circuit breaker Water Ionizers
often have thin electrical wires, two prong plugs and weak
transformers that overheat. Thus they often require a circuit
breaker rather than a fuse which would often need to be replaced.
Why do different Water
Ionizers come with a different selection levels of intensity?
A Water Ionizer should have at least 3 levels of intensity to chose
from. This is mainly because Ionized Water is extremely detoxifying
and people who have toxins built up in their system can suffer
reactions such as headaches or diarrhea. This is especially true of
the elderly because they often have built up many toxins in their
bodies over the years. Also those who have a very poor diet or have
taken a lot of medicine. The MASTERPIECE Water Ionizer has 5 levels
of intensity, which does not mean it makes stronger Ionized Water
than a unit that has only 3 levels. Having 5 levels simply offers
the convenience of more levels of strength to chose from, thus
allowing people to build their tolerance for Ionized Water more
slowly if they wish.
Does the volume a Water
Ionizer produces per minute important? Are some Water Ionizers on
the market stronger than other Water Ionizers?
All home Water Ionizers currently manufactured that deliver
approximately 1 to 1 1/2 gallons per minute. There is very little
difference between the strength of the various Water Ionizers on the
market. Ionized Water with a 10 pH or higher takes only a
unflattering taste, almost as though it is salty. The slower you run
water through a Water Ionizer, the stronger it will become because
the source water has more contact time with the electrodes. This is
why the flow rate of Water Ionizers essentially does not matter. If
you wish to drink strong Ionized Water then running the source water
through it very slowly will accomplish this.
Do all Water Ionizers have a
Calcium Port and what is its function?
Some Water Ionizers such as the MASTERPIECE and MAVELLO Water
Ionizer come with a port where calcium, magnesium and other minerals
can be added, which boosts the intensity of the Ionized Water. Once
minerals have been ionized they are assimilated into the body more
easily. The more minerals that are in the source water used to
produce the Ionized Water, the stronger it will be. This is why
Ionized Water can NOT be made from distilled, purified or reverse
osmosis.
Does it matter what the
electrodes on a Water Ionizer are composed of?
The electrodes are one of the most important components of a Water
Ionizer. It is sometimes suggested that there are units on the
market that have stainless steel electrodes and this simply is not
the case. All Water
Ionizers currently manufactured have titanium electrodes that have
been dipped in platinum,
which is one of the biggest cost of a Water Ionizer. It is important
to note that the electrodes are coated with platinum, not
electroplated with it.
There have been claims made by
water ionizer manufacturers that they use solid platinum electrodes.
Is this true?
This can not be true because it would not aid in the performance of
the water ionizer. Water Ionizer manufacturers use titanium because
it is hard and lasts many years. They coat the titanium with
platinum because it is good conductor and it durable. However, to
manufacture electrodes that are solid platinum would make no sense.
It would be very costly, nearly tripling the prices of the
electrodes, and it would not improve the quality or strength of the
Ionized Water produced by them. Platinum is also a very soft metal,
which would not be suitable or practical for producing platinum-pure
electrodes since they must be comprised of a hard metal such as
titanium if they are expected to last several years. Electrodes
comprised of pure platinum would not last any longer than
platinum-coated titanium electrodes.
Do all Water Ionizers have a
carbon filter? Why do some carbon filter have silver impregnation?
All continuous flow Home Water Ionizers on the market have a carbon
filter. The MASTERPIECE and MAVELLO Water Ionizer comes with a
silver impregnated carbon filter. The carbon in the MASTERPIECE and
MAVELLO filter is silver impregnated in order to retard bacterial
growth. The silver that is impregnated in the carbon will NOT leach
into the water. Every major manufacturer of carbon filters in the US
produces carbon filters with silver impregnation. There are no Water
Ionizers currently manufactured that use arsenic in their filters as
has been suggested.
What is the advantage of
having UV light on a Water Ionizer?
The purpose of UV light is for bacterial disinfect ion. However, on
a Water Ionizer this is completely unnecessary for several reasons.
If you have city (municipal) water then your water has already been
disinfected through the use of chlorine. The carbon filter on the
Water Ionizer will remove the chlorine. The UV light itself loses
much of its effectiveness after the first six months of use and
should be replaced often, which is of course an expensive
proposition. Also, the glass tube that the water travels through in
order that it can be exposed to the UV light develops a film on it
after only a few months, which greatly lessens the effectiveness of
the UV light on the water which passes through the tube.
Do Water Ionizers remove
fluoride from the water as some have claimed?
There have been statements made regarding Water Ionizers removing
fluoride from municipal water. Water
Ionizers can not remove anything from the water.
To Ionize means simply to gain or loose an electron. The amount and
type of minerals that are present in the water before ionization is
the same after ionization. In every test we are aware of, no more
than 50% of the fluoride in the water was lost on the alkaline side
of the Ionized Water. This means that half but not all of the
fluoride in the Ionized Water after ionization had migrated to the
acidic side of the ionization process which runs into the drain.
However, it must be clearly stated that the ionizing water does NOT
completely remove fluoride from the Ionized Water on the alkaline
side.
Why is there such a large
price difference between Japanese and Korean Water Ionizers?
Water Ionizers are very much like any other appliance on the market
in that a $100 appliance essentially performs the same function as a
$500 appliance. The $500 appliance may have all the frills, however
the more bells and whistles, the greater chance something is going
to break. Usually, importing goods from Japan means dealing in a
system of built-in middlemen, which Korea does not have. |
