Frequently Asked Questions and Glossary

Water

A colourless transparent liquid, devoid of taste and smell and completely neutral in its reaction.

RO - Reverse Osmosis

Osmosis occurs in nature where plants take water from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution. RO reverses this process where pressure is applied to water molecules from a concentrated solution (water with dissolved contaminants) and some water (depending upon the design of the filter) passes through a semi-permeable membrane. The rest of the water is emitted from the filter as rinse water together with the contaminants.

DI - Deionised Resin filtration.

Deionised resin consisting of cation and anion resin beads for the removal of ionised minerals and salts from water.

pH

A measure of the degree of acidity and alkalinity in water from 0 to 14. Numbers below 7 indicate acidity whereas numbers above 7 indicate alkalinity. 7 is neutral.

chlorination

Chlorine is added to water for disinfection and control of bacteria.

fluoride

A naturally occuring or introduced substance in water supplies for the development of children's teeth and the reduction of cavities. May cause discoloured teeth and skeletal fluorosis bone disease if ingested above certain amounts.

point-of-entry

Water treatment water filtration to a home or other building.

point-of-use

Water treatment applied to one tap within a home or other building.

Sediments or suspended particles

Contaminants such as dirt and rust that float in water.

Activated Carbon

A water treatment medium made in block, granular or powder form. It is commonly used for the removal of chlorine and other organic chemicals from water Activated carbon block filters have greater absorbtion capacities than granular or powdered carbon.

Water softener

The removal of calcium and magnesium ions which cause hardness in water and precipitate as scale in kettles, shower heads, water pipes and heaters.

Breakthrough

Term associated with the expiration of activated carbon media where the absorption capacity of the carbon has expired and the contaminants may bleed back into the water supply. Similarly associated with sediment filters where the water pressure may either bend or flex a heavily laden filter cartridge or the filter media may be breached releasing the suspended contaminants into the water supply.

Water filter maintenance

Regular program of replacing the water filter media/cartridges to ensure that breakthrough does not occur.