Well Water Filters and Systems
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Technical Files |
YOUR HEALTH - How Spa Chemicals Affect You?
Anyone who swims in chlorinated water for an extended periods of time knows the damaging effects of chlorine on skin and hair. Chlorine can leave skin feeling dry and itchy and leave hair dry, brittle, and prone to dandruff. It can cause or further aggravate rashes and other skin irritations and it leaves eyes feeling sore and itchy. Fortunately, most people do not swim very often and thus are free, for the most part, from the destructive nature of chlorine, right? Wrong. The fact is that most municipal water systems contain chlorine, and, depending on the presence of contaminants in the water, levels of chlorine can be quite high.
The use of chlorine in water systems began in the late 19th century as a way to combat diseases like cholera and typhoid, a task at which it was quite effective. As the levels of such diseases began to drop, municipal water systems began a veritable love affair with chlorine and inserted more and more of into the water. Chlorine is a powerful combatant against many parasites and disease-causing pathogens because of its harsh nature. Chlorine, though, is also a poison. Just as its harshness attacks pathogens and parasites, it attacks delicate body tissues when breathed or absorbed through the skin.
Most people recognize the effect of chlorine on the taste and health of drinking and cooking water, but what about the water they bathe in everyday? Chlorine is present in this water, as well, and can cause the same damaging problems to skin and hair as the chlorinated water in swimming pools. When showering, the heat of the water causes pores to expand and these enlarged pores absorb chlorine instantly. Of course, costly cosmetic products are available to counteract the effects of chlorine on skin and hair, but wouldn't it be so much easier and cost-effective to just bathe in cleaner water and prevent these problems in the first place?
The same technology used to filter contaminants and chemicals out of drinking water can be used to filter chlorine and other harmful chemicals out of bathing water. Shower filters promise great cosmetic benefits by providing clean, pure water in which to bathe. Showering in filtered water leaves you with soft, luxurious skin and stronger, healthier hair. Using a shower filter also cuts back on the cost of lotions, moisturizers, and hair products. By eliminating chlorine from the bathing experience, a shower filter can reduce fading of color-treated hair, making dyes last longer and decreasing the need for expensive visits to the hair salon.
Besides the damaging effects on skin and hair, chlorine can cause health problems when inhaled. Inhaling shower water also allows exposure to volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Combined with chlorine, these chemicals can be incredibly dangerous to the delicate tissues in the lungs. The hot water and confined nature of a shower vaporizes chlorine and VOCs and this chemical vapor is then taken into the lungs. Inhalation of such chemical vapor causes great problems for asthmatics, and it can cause similar lung and sinus problems even for those with healthy respiratory systems. In fact, inhaling chemical-laced steam during a shower actually provides more exposure to dangerous chemicals than drinking that very same water! Shower filters provide the solution to these health problems. By using a shower filter to eliminate the presence of chlorine and VOCs in bathing water, costly trips to the doctor can be avoided. With its valuable health benefits, showering in filtered water leaves you breathing easier and feeling healthier.
Chlorine can be a dangerous enemy that not only dries and damages skin and hair, but, when combined with VOCs, causes permanent respiratory problems, as well. Because so few people know about the chemicals present in the water they bathe in everyday, these chemicals attack swiftly and anonymously. The power to combat this enemy lies in pure, filtered water, though. Our skin and hair no longer needs to be chlorine's victim, and we can breathe easier knowing our lungs are free from the violent nature of VOCs. Shower filters can be valuable allies in our battle against these chemicals. Just imagine the wonderful, clean feeling of showering in fresh, naturally pure water!
Written by: Vanessa Lausch, Grape International
Chlorine, n. a halogen element, a heavy, greenish-yellow, incombustible, water-soluble poisonous gas that is highly irritating to the respiratory organs, obtained chiefly by electrolysis of sodium chloride brine. Symbol: Cl.
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
Chlorine is a very powerful chemical commonly used to sanitize water. Quite simply, chlorine has the ability to oxidize and destroy most any element it comes in contact with. Anything not destroyed by the chlorine is bleached clear, so as not to be seen.
Recently though, we have discovered that using chlorine to rid the water of organic contaminants leads to the formation of organo-chlorides, trihalomethanes (thm's), chloroform gas, and MX. These compounds are suspected carcinogens, and cause the unpleasant odors and the skin and eye irritation you experience in a chlorine treated pool.
Even the air around pools and spas can be deadly, as reported in 1998 in the American Journal of Public Health. The vapors rising off the pool contain endotoxins formed by the bacteria killed in the water by chlorine or bromine. Breathing these vapors cause pneumonitis; permanent damage to the lungs which causes pnuemonia-like symptoms.
Studies conducted for the EPA on exposure to chlorinated water suggest the following health risks:
* Immune system damage, especially in children
* Damage to the liver, kidney and digestive tract
* Miscarriage and sterility, birth defects, and nervous system damage
* Numerous forms of Cancer, especially rectal and bladder
Simply put, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that chlorine causes cancer, damage to the immune system, damage to the reproductive system, hormonal damage and is a slow, silent killer.
Because of these studies, the EPA announced in February of 1997 its intent to establish a Clean Water Plan to completely eliminate the use of chlorine wherever possible.
This same agency, the EPA, has unfortunately been very slow to recognize alternative forms of water treatment. To date, 4 years later, the only chemicals this agency recognizes as water sanitizers are chlorine, bromine, and biguanide. No change from 20 years ago.
There is, of course, intense political pressure from The Chlorine Council and other chemical consortiums to not ban the use of chlorine. It is, quite simply, very profitable.
The pool industry has grown up around chlorine, and eliminating its use would mean eliminating most of the revenue they now enjoy, what with all the chemicals required with chlorine use to prevent damage and maintain the proper water balance.
You, fortunately, do not have to bow to these political or economic pressures in deciding how best to protect the health and welfare of your family.
You have a choice, and have the right to choose for yourself!
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Bromine; Properties. Bromine is a dark-red, dense liquid with a disagreeable odor. It irritates the eyes and mucous membranes and, in contact with the skin, produces lesions which heal with difficulty. Chemically less reactive than chlorine, it combines with both metals and nonmetals. It acts as a bleach and oxidizing agent.
Collier’s Encyclopedia
Bromine; n. Reddish-brown nonmetallic liquid element of the halogen group having a disagreeable odor and irritating fumes and causing chemical burns on contact. Symbol: Br [Greek bromos "stink" + -ine, so called because of its bad odor.]
Collier’s Dictionary
Bromine was introduced a few years ago as an alternative to chlorine, but does not work any better, and is actually much worse. It's in the same chemical family as chlorine, a halogen, and is supposed to last longer in the hot water of a spa. But bromine is almost ineffective unless activated with chlorine or some other oxidizer. The bromine tablets you use in a floater also contain chlorine. When the chlorine gets low you have to add more tablets. This causes the left over bromine to build up to dangerously toxic levels. The next thing you'll notice is an eye burning vapor when you open the cover, dry, itchy skin, difficulty breathing while in the spa, and ultimately the 'bromine rash' on your thighs and midriff.
And bromine has proven to be much more destructive to metals in the spa, which is why most new spas have little or no metal at all in their design. Except, of course, for the heater element. (Say bye-bye to your heater!)
And while it is widely promoted that bromine doesn't have the 'unpleasant' odor of chlorine, this is only true when all water conditions are ideal. Just leave the cover on for too long a time or let the water get out of balance and wham! You'll discover just exactly why this chemical is called bromine, named after the Greek word bromos meaning "stink".
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About twenty years ago, a chemical company mixed together a contact lens cleaning solution and a surgical antiseptic and got it approved as a water sanitizer. The full name for this new chemical concoction was Poly HexaMethylene Biguanide (PHMB).
Little is known about the side effects of using PHMB's in water.
The chemical makers make no claims that the product will biodegrade quickly.
PHMB causes major problems when mixed with chlorine, or when used in water high in calcium and magnesium. A sticky, brown, gel-like sustance forms at the water line that is difficult to remove and severely plugs the filter.
This chemical requires almost daily maintenance of the water with shock treatments, water line controls, clarifiers, defoamers and more. Which just adds to the expense, the time and trouble of maintaining your water. If you like spending more time and more money to control your water, then this is the product for you.
As water treatment professionals, we have serious concerns about using PHMB's. Our company has received countless reports of people experiencing a complete inability to breath shortly after entering their spa containing this chemical. We can only surmise the cause of this problem as a release of the hexanes and methanes from the breakdown of the product. The manufacturers of these products will not provide us with any explanation. They, in fact, claim to have never heard of such an occurrance. Our position is that there is definately something going on, and will not recommend any product that may have such questionable side effects.
On a final note, with other chemical treatment systems you still have that constant chemical balancing act to perform. More work, more aggravation, more things to buy.
All things considered, it’s no wonder so many people are searching for effective alternatives for the treatment of their water.
Now you have a Safe - Easy to Use - Effective Spa Chemical Alternative:
Clarity for Spas
100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Call 800-860-2477 to Order
WHAT ABOUT BACTERIA IN MY SPA?
We offer Bacterial Count Tests for your Convience Only $8.95 add to cart
The government has very strict quality standards for the tap water you fill your spa with. When these standards are met, they claim the water is "sanitary", i.e. safe and free of disease-causing bacteria.
Even so, we instruct you to 'shock' new tap water with 15ppm chlorine to eliminate chloramines, tannins, algae or other residuals in the water supply. This chlorine shock will also destroy any pathogens, (disease causing bacteria and viruses), that may have somehow gotten past your local water authority and is in your "sanitary" water.
Once properly sanitized, your spa is free of any harmful bacteria. Now all you have to do is keep the water clean and clear and you have nothing to worry about.
When you use chlorine or bromine in your spa you will have dry, itchy skin and eventually experience red, bumpy inflammations. This is called foliculitis. Pool and spa professionals, and even some Doctors will tell you that this is caused by low sanitizer levels, and bacteria has grown in your water.
This is not normally the case.
As chlorine or bromine combine with minerals in your water, salts are formed. As the hot water of your spa opens up your pores, these salts imbed themselves in the now-open hair folicles of your skin. This causes rash-like symptoms, usually around the waist and inner thighs. Experienced Doctor’s will recognize this as the "bromine rash", and see it quite often. A good, hot bath in clean water and soap will help ease the symptoms.
The staphylococcus bacteria, which causes common acne and is found virtually everywhere, can also cause a rash. Exposure to chlorine or bromine destroy your mucous membranes and break down your body's natural defenses. This normally harmless bacteria will now attack your defenseless body and cause a rash.
Bottom line: Remove the chemical irritants from your spa and you may find, like many thousands of people, that these troublesome rashes disappear like magic.
The best way to keep bad bacteria out of your spa is to not introduce it in the first place.
Harmful bacteria, cysts, and virus come from the excrement of infected animals or infected people. Keep infected people and animals out of your water and you shouldn't have to worry about this source of contamination.
But just in case you do get bacteria, cysts, or virus in your spa, here are the facts that you should know.
If the water is kept clear and free of organic contaminants, where bad bacteria can hide, then they can not long survive in the aggressive environment of a properly treated spa.
Your spa creates a lot of turbulence. This physical agitation is very destructive to micro organisms, as it literally breaks them apart. Most disease causing bacteria will not survive for long in this environment.
Water softening agents increase the exposure of unwanted organisms to the aggressive water, speeding up the process. The Clarity for Spas contains natural water softening agents. No toxic chemicals needed here.
Heat and filtration are the best way to get rid of dangerous cysts. Cryptosporidium, the most common of these organisms, are virtually unaffected by chlorine or bromine. It takes 10ppm of chlorine for more than two weeks to destroy Crypto. And bromine is less reactive than chlorine, so it takes even more, for a longer time.
The Clarity for Spas coats your filter for better filtration, trapping any unwanted contaminants on the surface of the filter and holding them there until they dissolve or are cleaned off. The non-scaling properties and water softening action of the formula also improve heat transfer, meaning more heat distribution with less energy.
Virus, anaerobic bacteria, (and cysts, to a degree), are also destroyed by direct contact with oxygen. There are high levels of oxygen in the water in your spa. The trick is to get the oxygen to bond to the problem causing organism. The right enzymes will help the oxygen to bond with the unwanted pathogens, greatly increasing the rate of destruction. Enzymes are an important part of the Clarity for Spas.
Clean your filter on a regular schedule, and make sure it stays nice and white. Dark spots could mean trouble. Any discoloration of the filter material means it's time to soak the filter in a solution of Crystal-Clean, per instructions.
If you swim in some other pool, the ocean, lakes, streams or other water be certain you shower and wash completely with soap before using your spa. This, of course, also applies to your children, your family and anybody else that uses your spa.
Pseudomona aeruginosa are very resistant to chlorine and bromine. People that swim in public (chlorinated) pools and do not shower before using their spa run the risk of introducing pseudomonas into their spa. These bacteria are not deadly, but can give you a nasty rash. Ozone with 1ppm chlorine will get rid of them.
It takes very high levels of these bacteria to actually cause an infection. However, you do not want to have this unpleasant experience. And if any of these organisms get into your digestive tract, they will cause all kinds of grief. So it is always best to not drink the water in any pool or spa.
If you still have skin irritation after reducing your exposure to chlorine or bromine, test your supply water for bacteria. Don’t trust those colored strips; you should know what’s in your water.
Most pool and spa professionals have no means to test for bacteria. Their test kits and paper strips only check for salts, acid and chemicals.
You need to know that 1) your water is safe, and 2) is free of harmful organisms.
We offer the industry's best bacteria test kit so you can check your water yourself.
If you get a rash from using your spa, if a person or animal defecates in the water, or your tests show that harmful bacteria has somehow been introduced into your spa then do a chlorine flush: Remove any solid excrement, add 20ppm chlorine and maintain that active chlorine level for 9 hours. Now the water is sterile again. At the same time soak your filter in 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.
Well water not maintained by a governmental authority must be tested before any treatment can be recommended.
Call 800-860-2477 to Order
"My wife and I have been using the product in our spa for almost seven months, and it does exactly what it says it will do! Most important to my wife is the fact that since using Clarity for Spas she has stopped having a recurring yeast infection exacerbated by spa use. This makes the product very worthwhile to us, and we would pay twice the price. I highly recommend the Clarity for Spas."
Dave M. - Oceanside, CA
"We use our spa everyday! Before Clarity for Spas we suffered from dry, itchy skin and exposure of tons of chemicals. The Clarity for Spas is the best! Pure, clean, fresh water with no chemical irritation - Great product!"
Roy & Michel A. - Chino, CA
"Thank you for introducing me to your wonderful product! I am amazed not only at how crystal-clear my spa is, but also how great the water feels. I love not having to rinse the chlorine off me or my swimsuit -- and my skin feels better after I use the spa! When you add this with the ease of using the Clarity for Spas the cost savings, I feel you have a revolutionary product that everyone should be using."
Greg M. - Placentia, CA
"All of that itching and the red skin ... and so much trouble with the chemicals too. The Clarity for Spas got rid of all of this. It is great!"
Lee F. - Santee, CA
"A great product. I would never go back to chemicals."
Tom A. - San Diego, CA
"Great product for those that don’t like to spend time cleaning spas. No work, more fun!"
Jim R. - Leucadia, CA
"I really like this so much better than the chemicals. My skin feels so much softer when I get out of the spa. I’m sold!"
Sherri T. - Yucaipa, CA
"This is everything promised. Water is always completely clear. No testing and no chemicals. Great!"
Dick & Lynn K. - Claremont, CA
"It works! I don’t believe in magic bullets but it works."
Mike L. - Temecula, CA
"When I first saw this stuff, I didn’t think it would work. After one use I’m totally sold on this product. I now have this big box filled with chemicals that are not being used. Thanks for the service that you people have given me."
Jesse M. - San Diego, CA
"We use the spa all the time. The water is so soft and feels great!"
Fred M. - Escondido, CA
"As soon as I opened the bottle and smelled the Clarity for Spas, I knew the stuff was good!"
Ben C. - Mission Viejo, CA
"The Clarity for Spas is wonderful! I no longer have that slimy feeling when we used chemicals, and no more chemical smell. It is less expensive and definitely less maintenance. My skin feels smooth now when I get out of the spa and there is no more need for a shower."
Sharon B. - San Diego, CA
"The 14 days since we received the Clarity for Spas are in the past. We have entered into a whole new world of spa enjoyment. I just finished my first spa experience with your product and I am amazed at the smoothness of my skin, the pleasant fragrance I smell on me and in the spa, the clarity of the water, and the price which I paid for your product. It is worth every cent!"
Skip C. - Oceanside, CA
"The Clarity for Spas is of great benefit to all spa users. It eliminates the need for chlorine, bromine, pH Up products and pH Down products, which are known skin irritants and potential carcinogens. For the first time, a product, the Clarity for Spas, is available to maintain a healthy spa without fear of chemicals or bacteria."
Dr. Williams. - Los Angeles, CA
"Boy! That stuff is great!! No worries or testing of water."
Rick & Kathy W. - Upland, CA
"First of all, it is a piece of mind to the simple fact that we go on vacation for a long period of time and we no longer have to worry about the chemicals for the spa. Secondly, it is an easy care now. The water is very clean and clear. No more ring around the spa. I’ve tested it 3 times and it’s right on the button. I am very happy I read the advertisement."
Andre M. - Mesa, AZ
"I like not fussing with my spa."
Alfred V. - Yorba Linda, CA
"Besides the fact that we no longer have to mess with chlorine & muriatic acid and never getting that "balance" just right. My tan doesn’t fade!! We love it!"
Giana V. - Costa Mesa, CA
"I was skeptical too! This stuff really works well. Darlene is great and very helpful. Try it, you’ll like it. Spa maintenance couldn’t be easier."
Fred W. - Yorba Linda, CA
"Bought product in 1996 - excellent results - haven’t used chemicals since - water perfectly clear - haven’t had to drain water."
Nancy B. - Vista, CA
"We love your product! We no longer have to worry about taking our 11 month old son in the Jacuzzi. No more chlorine film on your skin. Thank you!"
Amy W. - San Diego, CA
"We are enjoying the Clarity for Spas. No more itching and our skin feels great! We refer our friends to use this product because it is so good. We highly recommend it."
Ray B. - Lakeside, CA
"The Clarity for Spas is just wonderful! Just as fresh as the day I put it in (3 months ago). I’m just in love with this stuff."
Patty H. - Highland, CA
The finest spa treatment on the market with friendly, knowledgeable, 7 day customer support
What more could you ask for?
Call 800-860-2477 to Order