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The Erin Brockovich Chemical is On the Rise

woman drinking water

Made in the year 2000, the film Erin Brockovich documented one woman’s fight against contaminated drinking water, and a particular cancer-causing compound called chromium-6. While the film may have ended well, recent data from the Environmental Work Group shows that about 250 million Americans may have drinking water that’s contaminated with this chemical.

At Kinetico, our water filtration systems will help keep this kind of harmful chemical away from you and your family. Let’s look at some test results, possible explanations, and how you can identify if chromium-6 is present in your water.

Test Results

Based on test results obtained from nearly 50,000 local utilities, drinking water supplies are contaminated with chromium-6 for about 250 million Americans. For about 231 million of these, average levels of chromium-6 exceed the cancer risk level, which is one-in-a-million.

Somehow, though, this still may understate the total number of people exposed. Water from most smaller water utilities and private wells isn’t tested for chromium-6 at all, and there are no federal regulations on chromium-6 in drinking water or tap water.

Possible Explanations

A couple possible reasons why chromium-6 levels are higher in the recent study:

  • The EPA classifies utilities that purchase finished water from other utilities as consecutive systems, and testing requirements here are less stringent. This suggests that many consecutive systems are therefore buying water contaminated with chromium-6 from other utilities.
  • California is the only state with a public health goal and legal limits for chromium-6. The areas that fall under their testing requirements only serve less than 10,000 people.

Identifying Issues

Until national limits are instituted, you can find out about chromium-6 levels by using the EWG database to search your area.

For more on chromium-6, or to find out about our home water systems, speak to the pros at Kinetico today.

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Anti-Aging Benefits of Drinking Water

woman drinking water

In today’s modern age, people are looking for ways to stop the inevitable progression of aging. People use everything from creams and serums to alternative medicines, but they often overlook one of the simplest anti-aging remedies available: Drink more water.

At Kinetico, we’re dedicated to providing highest quality drinking water. How can clean water from a water purifier help reduce the effects of aging and help you maintain beauty? Let’s take a look.

Hydrated Skin

Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to keep the skin hydrated. Hydrated skin will look younger and have a “glow”. In addition, water also helps fill in and plum the skin, which helps get rid of undesirable wrinkles and lines that may form in the skin. Skin appearance is one of the first signs of aging, so this is a valuable benefit of drinking water.

Redness and Acne Reduction

Cold water on the face has been proven to help reduce redness and the visual appearance of acne. Follow the simple process of first washing with warm water to open the pores in the face and follow that with a cold cloth over the skin. This will seal those same pores right back up and prevent clogging that can lead to acne.

Hair Growth

Drinking water triggers the circulatory system, which controls hair follicle stimulation which can enhance hair growth – some people who have growth issues can find benefits simply from drinking more water.

Nails

Another area the circulatory system controls is the growth of nails. More water will increase blood flow to the nails and make them grow stronger and healthier.

Toxin Flush

Water also helps flush toxins out of the body, and can help with skin appearance. Water intake can be one of the most significant factors in skin appearance for many people.

For more on how clean drinking water can benefit your anti-aging remedies, or to learn about our water filtration system, speak to the experts at Kinetico today.

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The Numbers on The Limit of Drinking Water

Water Filtration

The amount of water on planet Earth is literally the greatest concentration of H2O in the known solar system. Nevertheless, from the hundreds of millions of gallons of water out there, how much can humans really use?

A Lot of Unusable Water

First, it’s important to look at the exact of amount of water on Earth; geologists estimate the volume to be around 344 million cubic miles. Still, we can automatically eliminate 96 percent of that water (321 million cubic miles) because it’s saline water from the ocean, and another 5.8 million cubic miles are frozen in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves around 1.72 percent of water, or around 5.7 cubic miles of fresh water in groundwater, lakes, rivers, and other sources.

Much of Our Water is Already in Use

The Earth’s water volume isn’t locked in its liquid form though, as a significant portion of those remaining cubic miles are atmospheric moisture. This helps regulate global temperatures and seasonal changes, but can’t really be used for human consumption. Anyone keeping track should also deduct 3,400 cubic miles from the remaining supply, as these are already in use; locked within every living thing on the planet (biological water).

Most drinking water is inaccessible without heavy industrial drilling, as a significant portion of the water is in the ground beneath our feet. In fact, the total amount of readily available drinking water is around four percent of the world’s total supply of potentially drinkable water.

Looking at the raw number doesn’t raise much alarm; it’s still a significant volume that has been a critical part of human subsistence for millions of years. However, humans have to share that number with around six and a half million other land species of both plants and animals.

Drinking water is a finite resource that won’t last forever, and making sure that everyone has a clean supply of it should be a top priority for everyone. To make sure you are always drinking the cleanest possible water, check out our line of water filtration systems. Contact us directly for more information regarding our services in providing a supply of clean drinking water for your family.

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Benefits of the Reverse Osmosis Drinking or Home Filtrations Water System

Kinetico Utah - Water Filtration Systems Utah - Reverse Osmosis Water systems Utah

Did you know that according to the EPA there are over 80 contaminants that could potentially be in your drinking water? Do you really know what is in your tap water?

According to the Mayo Clinic an average healthy adult should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day which equals about 1.9 liters of water. Depending on the circumstance your body may require more water than another person due to things like activity, illness or environment. Our bodies must stay hydrated in order to stay in good working condition.

It is easy to see that clean water is vital to our state of health and wellness. In order to stay healthy and happy we must consume water that is free of harmful contaminants. We use water not only to hydrate ourselves, but the people we love.

Some of the contaminants that may end up in our drinking water can be hazardous to our health. Some of the contaminants you should be concerned about are:

Tetrachloroethylene is a contaminant that researchers at Boston University Medical Center have found to cause higher rates of stillbirth and placenta abruption in women. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, people who have been drinking water containing high levels of tetrachloroethylene for many years could have problems with their liver and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Arsenic is a very toxic heavy metal classified by the International Academy for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Category I carcinogen, which means it is definitely a cancer causing agent. This is another contaminant that might end up in your drinking glass.

Fluoride is a very toxic substance that has been banned in several countries! There are some U.S. cities that have even banned the use of fluoride.

Chlorine is a chemical added to water to kill some bacteria but once it enters the human body it actually triggers the production of free radicals and causes cell damage.

The simple fact is that we can’t take the quality of our drinking water for granted anymore. Private well water can be affected by a number of factors and even municipally treated water that meets all of the federal guidelines has been found to contain bacteria, viruses and protozoa, some which may end up in your drinking water!

A Kinetico Reverse Osmosis K5 Drinking System offers clean, clear and worry-free drinking water and is certified to remove more contaminants than any other Reverse Osmosis drinking system.

Reverse Osmosis Filtration is a process where water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane that filters inorganic contaminants like metals and nitrates. It is customizable to your home’s specific filtration needs. If your needs change over time the Kinetico K5 Reverse Osmosis System is also expandable. Only the Kinetico Reverse Osmosis K5 Drinking System gives you this level of protection: three fixed filters- a PreFilter, Reverse Osmosis Filter and PostFilter- and then you also have 2 FlexFilters that allow for complete system customization for tackling your waters specific filtration needs.

Stay on track for a healthy and happy future protecting yourself and your family. Contact one of our water professionals today for a free water test at Kinetico Utah. Local callers: 801-576-8600 or call us toll-free at 1-800-969-4420.

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Hard Water is

scrubbing shower

Hard water is water that contains calcium and magnesium. As water comes in contact with the earth’s surface minerals dissolve into it which then cause dry itchy skin, white or cream colored crusty build up on faucets, fixtures and glass shower doors. Hard water also collects inside appliances which reduces their effectiveness and life span.

The measurement for rating water hardness is a scale called grains per gallon (gpg). According to the Water Quality Association (WQA) water hardness is rated as follows.

Less than 1 Grain is Soft

1-3.5 Grains is Moderately Hard

7-10.5 is Very Hard

10.5 and Higher is Extremely Hard

A water softener removes the hard minerals from the water and therefore eliminates the problems associated with hard water.

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Soft Water is

baby with soapy hair

Soft water is the term used for water that is free of calcium and magnesium. The benefits of soft water include softer skin and hair, less spotting on bathroom and kitchen fixtures Soft water will protect appliances from scale build up that will reduce effectiveness and shorten their life.
Water is softened by a water softener, which removes the hard minerals and replaces them with sodium therefore providing the benefits listed above.

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Which Water Filter is Best for Me?

under sink

There are many different types of water filters and it’s easy to become confused about what type of water filtration is best going to solve your specific water problem. Water filters can be placed into four different categories, sediment, carbon, reverse osmosis (RO) and distillation.

Sediment: This type of water filter is used to remove particulates from the water like dirt, oxidized iron, and other particles that are suspended in the water. A sediment filter acts like a very small screen that filters out the sediments in the water. Sediment filters are sized by the size of particle they remove and can be very small to take out very fine materials like silica or much larger for removing sand from the water.

Carbon: Carbon filters are the most common type of water filter and are a key component of virtually every home water purification system. Carbon is very effective at removing dirt and sediments from water, chlorine, and many other chemicals. Carbon filters have very fine pores that are able to trap the particulates. In addition, the carbon acts like a sponge and is able to absorb the chlorine and other chemicals. It is very important to change the filter as the manufacture recommends ensuring the effectiveness of the filter. This type of filtration is used primarily to improve the taste of water and in removing the objectionable odors, like chlorine.

Reverse Osmosis: This is the most common way to purify water for drinking and cooking. A reverse osmosis system incorporates carbon filtration and a semi permeable membrane. The membrane is used to remove Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) which are minerals, salts, heavy metals, etc. that have dissolved into the water. This provides excellent tasting water that has as much as 99% of most of the impurities that can be in the water removed.

Distillation: A Distiller boils the water and the condensation is collected leaving the total dissolved solids behind, very similar to boiling water in a tea pot and the scale residue collects on the bottle of the kettle. This is an effective way to produce purified water, although, many object to the flat taste the water has.

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The Scoop on Salt Free Water Softeners

water faucet

We are all looking for easier, more convenient, less expensive, and environmentally friendly ways to do things around our homes and one of the commonly marketed products to help do this are “salt free water softeners.” The question that begs an answer is how effective are these systems at providing soft water, or the benefits that water softeners provide.

An internet search for salt free water softeners can sometimes create more questions than answers. There are multiple listings of companies selling these products making all sorts of claims about their product capabilities and other listings from various entities that repudiate these claims.

Over the past 20 years or so I that have been involved with the water industry I have come across information from various sources that may be helpful if you are considering one of these products. In the mid 90’s there was a surge of interest in “salt free water softeners” and at that time several respected organizations did research and published their conclusions.

A leading consumer publication tested magnetic water treatment devices to see how effective they are at protecting water heaters from scale build up. They installed new water heaters in homes and ran one on soft water, provided by a conventional water softener, and others had water from a salt free water softener coming into it. After a couple of years the water heaters were removed, cut open, and examined for scale build up. The water heater that had the salt free water softener providing water to it had no measurable difference in scale build up than if it had had no water treatment at all. In fact the scale build up in the water heater was no different in any way, in quantity or chemistry, as compared to the water heaters that had untreated water flowing through them.

The Utah Division of Consumer Protection also published a Consumer Alert titled “Magnetic Water Treatment Devices Do Not Work.” They quote a water chemist as saying “We could find no measurable water quality benefit that the units provided. If the devices really worked, every public and private water supply in the state would be using one by now; but the fact is – they are not.”

In another study commissioned by the Water Quality Association the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology was selected to determine the effectiveness of salt free water softeners. In the executive summary of their report Dr. Dan Carda states: “The study found that there is no change in the physical and/or chemical properties of the water treated with permanent magnetic devices.”

Recently I discovered a website that lists many of these products that are sold to treat water but make claims about being able to do so without filters or salt and it provides analysis on the science behind them. This may also prove helpful as you seek to sort fact from fiction.

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Are there risks to bathing in Chlorinated Water?

water faucet

Have you ever gone to get a drink of cool refreshing water only to be greeted with the smell of chlorine and wondered how good it is to drink that stuff. You may have even had the same question as you were soaking in the tub or enjoying a nice long hot shower and pretty soon the air started to smell like you were in a swimming pool? Over the past couple of decades researchers have studied the effects of drinking and bathing in chlorinated water and the research may be surprising.

Some research indicates that bathing and showering in chlorinated water may actually be more harmful then drinking it. When we bathe, the hot water causes the pores of the skin to enlarge which allows the body to readily absorb the chlorine and associated chemicals. Other research indicates that when we shower in hot water the Chloroforms have much greater vaporization rates and are easily inhaled and absorbed through the skin. According to research published in the Science News in January 2007 researchers at the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona found that people who drink Chlorinated tap water have a 35% increase in bladder cancer than those that didn’t. A similar link was found in those who frequently swam in pools treated with chlorine and also those who bathed in chlorinated water. Other side effects are dry hair and dry itchy skin, and premature aging of the skin.

Chlorine isn’t all bad though, it’s added to the water to act as a disinfectant, therefore protecting us from bacteria and other living organisms that can be in the water. The good news it that is can be very easily removed with some basic filtration methods. The most common way chlorine is removed is with a carbon filter and this can be done at the kitchen sink, refrigerator, drinking fountain, shower, or from all of the water in the home.
Carbon works by absorbing chlorine and other chemicals from the water. Carbon is also very effective at removing dirt and sediments from water.

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Are Water Softeners Green?

water faucet

As society searches for ways to have less of an impact on our environment many of us start to look around our homes and try to invest in items that are more energy efficient and green. If you live where the water is hard, which is water that contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium; a water softener just may be the greenest appliance you can own.

A properly functioning water softener will add years to the life of any water using appliance or fixture, significantly reduce the soaps required for laundry, dish washing, and bathing, and eliminate the use of harsh chemicals for cleaning scale deposits from showers, toilets, etc. They also help to reduce the energy needed to heat water by 17-20%. Recently the Water Quality Association (WQA) released the results of a comprehensive study detailing some of the ways soft water can protect appliances and save energy.

Additionally, BCIC, which is an organization the strives to find green solutions for people who live in urban areas, rated what they believe to be the 5 best home water filters and the Kinetico Water Softener was rated as the most Green Water Softener.

Kinetico water softeners are different from other systems in many ways that make them more environmentally friendly. They are non electric so no power is required to operate them, they use an average of 70% less salt and water, and they will provide you with an unlimited supply of soft water 24 hours a day so you receive the benefits of the system no matter how much water you us.