I’ve been drinking ionized water for years and only just recently started using reverse-osmosis-remineralized-water as my source water. I had no subjective knowledge of reverse osmosis prior to about 6 months ago, so I am writing this blog post for others who are in that situation.

There are many reasons one might need to use reverse osmosis. But, there is a serious problem with Reverse osmosis, and that is: it takes too much out of the water, leaving it void of all the healthy minerals and leaving it acidic as a result. RO used to be considered unhealthy, “dead water”. However, now, with the use of the Water Remineralizer, RO water is a healthy source water to use with a water ionizer. With my reverse osmosis system, the RO water before being remineralized is about a pH of 4, and after remineralization it’s about a 9 pH. If you’re not happy with your municipal water, co-op or well water as a healthy enough source for your ionized water, reverse osmosis might be the very best option for you.

Reverse osmosis was originally developed to remove salt from seawater. Which prior to that time, only distillation would do this trick. So if you use a whole house sodium-based water softener, something like a reverse-osmosis-remineralizer-system would be needed for your drinking water.  

To give you an idea of just how small of a particle an RO system will filter out, here’s a chart that might help you grasp it:

• A 1 micron filter  will filter out particles up to 1millionth of a meter [or 1 thousandth of a millimeter] [or the width of a single strand of hair].
• A .1 micron filter will filter particles 10 times smaller than 1 micron.
• A .01 micron filter will filter particles 100 times smaller than 1 micron.
• A reverse osmosis unit will filter particles from 1,000 times up to one million times smaller than 1 micron.

There is another problem with reverse osmosis: that is the time to filter using RO is very slow. Before I got my reverse-osmosis-remineralizer system I could get a gallon jug filled, no problem, for my husband to take to work with him, but now [with the RO system hooked in] the pressure drops too low after about 2 quarts. Then you have to wait for 20 minutes to fill up the rest of the gallon. So, you may not be able to get all the water you want, when you want it with RO.

I’m not really complaining [too much], because…

I LOVE MY NEW REVERSE-OSMOSIS-REMINERALIZER-SYSTEM!

But, for someone wanting ionized water on the run, just keep it in mind that using reverse osmosis as your source water will slow things down, and you may run out of water during heavy-use times.

I did a series of videos, trying to figure things out with my reverse osmosis system – so I could answer my customers’ questions and communicate more accurately about reverse osmosis systems in general. Those videos follow this short section giving brief answers to the main questions I think people need answered. This is a work-in-progress, so I’ll post what I have so far done and learned…but add to it later as I find out more answers to my own questions.

How Much Does an RO System Cut Your Water Flow to the Water Ionizer?

The RO System cuts the pressure to the water ionizer quite a bit, so it is capable of flowing through the water ionizer about 40% slower — almost in half [in my observation]. So, a glass of water takes about twice the time to fill using RO as it would using your regular municipal water.

How Much Water Does a 6-Gallon Reverse Osmosis Tank Hold?

It holds about 4 1/2 gallons of water. The rest is filled with air [pressurized], which is necessary for maintaining the water pressure.

Using a 6-Gallon Tank, How Much Ionized Water in One Pouring Can I Expect to be Able to Get?

After the initial 40 ounces or so of ionized water production, there is a severe lessening in the water pressure to where it slows down so much the water ionizer stops ionizing [or ionizes the water only intermittently].

How Can you Tell How Much Water is in a Full Tank?

Water weighs about 8.35 pounds per gallon. Knowing the weight of the empty tank [11 lbs.] and the weight of the full tank [46 lbs] you can mathematically figure out the amount of water in the “6 gallon” tank. [35/8.35 = 4.2 gallons]

Here I am Weighing the Full RO Tank

Here I am Talking a Little About the Way the RO and Remineralizer Work

Here I Am Showing You How Much RO Water Will Flow through the Water Ionizer Before the Flow Rate Gets Too Slow.

Here I Am Weighing the Tank to See How Many Gallons [Total] Were Run Through the Water Ionizer

The tank weighed 38.8 pounds after pouring close to 2 quarts of alkaline water from the water ionizer [as opposed to 45.8 pounds full]. So it lost 7 pounds, which is the equavalent of about a little more than 3/4 gallon. So…

How much water can you flow through a water ionizer before the pressure drops too much?

Ans.: About 3/4 gallon out of the 4.5 gallons in the tank.

That having been said, the tank will replenish that 3/4 gallon in a pretty short time. So, in about 20 minutes you should be able to get another 2 quarts of ionized water from your water ionizer.

As I stated earlier, I’m still learning. As I refine my skills and knowledge related to reverse osmosis systems I’ll share that knowledge here. I do have a feeling I could pressurize my tank better and that should help in getting more ionized water at a time.

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Water Ionizer owners look at this!

This Water Ionizer easy-to-do trick is something that you can use if you live in a hard water area…to keep your water ionizer squeaky clean. Or even if you don’t live in a hard water area, but your water ionizer seems to need periodic cleanings. This trick can help you not need those cleanings so often [or ever!] No matter what brand of water ionizer you use, even the best self-cleaning brand [such as the Athena Water Ionizers], may have problems [of your water ionizer clogging up with scale] in hard water areas. This trick can save you time and money…and help you understand the workings of your water ionizer better. Here’s the video:

The Water Ionizer trick shown in the above video could save you time and money…and all without wasting any of your great, filtered, ionized water. Here’s a re-cap of the steps shown in the video [just in case you're unable to see the video for some reason.]:

• About once a day do this:
  • Reverse the polls [by choosing an acid setting] of your water ionizer to get your alkaline [drinking level] water from the bottom hose. [the first time you do this use the pH drops to ensure you're getting the right drinking level of water from the bottom hose.
  • Collect your acid water [if desired] from the top spout at the same time.
• Doing this once a day will give your water ionizer extra cleaning without wasting the filtered ionized water or wasting any of your time.
• If you live in a really hard water area, you may see that doing this twice a day is needed.
• If you use your water ionizer a LOT, you may want to do this more than once a day.

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ORP stands for oxidation reduction potential. A water ionizer produces drinking water that is both good for you pH-wise [alkaline] and is good for you oxidation-wize [antioxidizes]. Many scientists in the field of water ionization are now saying [although both are very important] that…

the ORP of the ionized water is even more important in preventing diseases than the pH!

PH: People are very sensitive to pH and blood plasma, for instance, cannot exceed a very narrow range of 7.2 – 7.4 [healthiest at 7.365]. This is why balancing your body pH is so important! Your body will shut down digestion, alter temperature, and rob your bones of calcium to make sure the blood stays in this narrow range. Of course it does this, because the alternative is death. Anything that has the ability to bind with acids and neutralize them is called an alkaline buffer. You help your body tremendously by providing plenty of alkaline buffers [i.e. alkaline ionized water]!

ORP: All liquids have an Oxidation Reduction Potential [ORP]. This is the potential of that liquid to reduce/stop/slow-down oxidation. Oxidation can be seen when you cut an apple in half and leave it open to the air. The oxygen in the air reacts with the apple and oxidizes it [removes a negatively charged electron from it], turning it brown. If you set that apple into a solution with a negative ORP [in other words, a solution with a high antioxidant potential], it wouldn’t turn brown. Put some lemon juice on a cut apple. Lemon juice is full of antioxidants. See how it can stay white for days! Oxidation happening in your body [also can be called "free radical damage"] can be slowed down by adding lots of antioxidants. Only a negative ORP can reduce oxidation. ORP can be measured. Most water [tap & bottled alike] is measured at a positive ORP [+150 to +400]. A water ionizer will take that water, ionize it, and in the process add so many negatively charged electrons that it reduces the ORP to the negative range of -150 to -700 or so [depending on the level of your ionized water]. In other words it makes it contain a fantastic number of natural, easily absorbable antioxidants. Any liquid containing a negative ORP greater than -300 is considered a beneficial substance for your health. You can expect to have better resistance to infection, increased strength and energy, and be younger looking if you drink alkaline ionized water with a -300 or stronger ORP. The ORP of a liquid can be measured with an ORP meter.

Should every water ionizer owner get their own ORP meter?

Heck no! They are expensive and hard to maintain. The pH drops that come with your water ionizer are actually a much more reliable tool to use in measuring if your water ionizer is still ionizing well. Once your water ionizer has been designed and engineered, the ratio of pH to ORP ratio is pretty well set. The stronger the ORP of your ionized water per unit of pH, the healthier that ionized water is for your body. It is a test of the design and quality of the water ionizer to get a stronger [more negative] ORP per unit of pH. If your water ionizer has been tested for ORP levels, and it’s good at first, will probably remain good as long as your electrodes stay clean. You can test for electrode cleanliness by testing your pH at certain levels [i.e. lowest acid, highest alkaline, and level 3 drinking level].  You don’t need to constantly check your water ionizer’s ORP. You can do these pH tests every month [for instance] and record your results. If you start noticing the pH falling over time, then you can also safely assume your ORP is also falling, and it’s time to clean your water ionizer [&/or get an EOS device].

The reason I use both pH and ORP meters is in comparing water ionizers with each other. I do a LOT of comparing water ionizers! If one water ionizer at pH 9.5 gives an ORP of -400 and another at pH 9.5 gives an ORP of -350, then the second one is not as good as the first. I also compare the quality of water storage containers. If after several hours or a day the ORP has dropped more than the pH using one container vs another I will know that container is worse for storing ionized water. I do a lot of testing to see how long ionized water can be stored and still maintain the pH and ORP benefits. One thing I’ve learned from my many tests is that ORP drops more quickly than the pH toward neutral. [Note on water storage: Both pH and ORP drop toward neutral constantly, so for maximum benefits try not to store your ionized water for more hours than you need to. Eight hours is fine, but after 2-3 days your ionized water has dropped pretty close to neutral.]

If you want your own ORP meter, you should know how to clean and maintain it!

For anyone who wishes to have and use their own ORP meter you must know some general principles of how to clean and maintain an ORP meter! Without this understanding, your very expensive ORP meter will be worth exactly $0.00 to you in about a month [or less] after purchasing it. In the following video, we’ll take a look at a couple of ORP meters, and some of the ways that you can clean an ORP meter. Here are some of the ways mentioned in the video:

• Keep the probe from drying out
• Keep the probe in a very low pH [acidic] solution in between uses
• Most ORP meters have a cap that comes with the probe and you can fill the cap with the low acid solution before placing the probe into the cap. Store it in such a way that your liquid doesn’t drain out.
• If your probe dries out between testing, get ready for some heavy-duty cleaning [watch video for this]
• Use a dedicated toothbrush for light scrubbing of the probe
• Use a very, very fine sand paper [such as 220 grit] to get the scale off the probe. Do this only as needed and very lightly.
• Be ready to continue to store your probe in the low acid solution for days [then do repeat cleaning] as shown on the video…until your meter is restored to its correct operation range. Here’s the video:

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All quality water ionizers use platinum coated titanium plates.

Is titanium needed in a water ionizer electrode? And Why?

Titanium is a very hard, heat-resistant, non-magnetic, durable metal and it’s also abundant on this planet. So, it’s the perfect choice for use in a water ionizer.

Is the use of titanium electrodes in a water ionizer safe?

Yes, titanium is non-soluble and stable in water. It will last for many years [20, 30 or more] without corroding. Its durability, strength, and non-toxicity make it the choice of material to doctors and medical scientists use for their implanted medical devices such as artificial joints and pacemakers. Also, because it’s so durable and non-magnetic it makes it the best choice of metal to construct a water ionizer electrode with. And, as a side-benefit, it’s cheap.

What if a little gets into the water you drink?

It won’t, because it’s stable and insoluble, also the titanium plates are completely coated with platinum, but even in the odd event it did get into the water, the human body doesn’t react to Titanium as a poison. The body can tolerate high doses before any toxicity would occur and it doesn’t accumulate. Plus, remember, if people have titanium placed in their bodies by doctors [artificial joints, pins, rods, pacemakers] I’d say that indicates a high level of safety has been determined for this material.

For those wanting a more in-depth explanation of titanium’s properties here’s a good link: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/water/titanium/titanium-and-water.htm

If it’s safe, then why is platinum needed to coat the electrodes?

Platinum is a catalyst, and is needed to speed up the electrolysis. With the water ionizers changing [electrolyzing] the water so drastically just by passing the water over the electrodes, the ionization process wouldn’t occur without a “speeder-upper”. That’s platinum. 

Side Note:

Why are Enagic Dealers Saying that other Water Ionizers have titanium plates which will corrode, leach into your water and poison you?

They are misinformed. Plus they may find it convenient to scare people into thinking they have the only water ionizer that meets safety standards. It obviously works as a sales technique. Look at how many Enagic reps are saying this. They have been sold on this idea. This simply is not true though. It’s a sales technique which I find very suspicious, and I will continue to look into and debunk all the Enagic scare tactics that are unfair and untrue.

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Titanium and Platinum are both very strong metals. They both are highly resistant to heat, corrosion, chemical reactions, and oxidation. Titanium is so strong it’s used in making spacecraft, and its abundance makes it very inexpensive. So, for electrodes that will resist corrosion and oxidation over years and years of intense use in a water ionizer, it is the industry standard to use titanium plates coated with Platiinum.

In a water ionizer, the main use for Platinum is to electrolyze water. It has other properties, but the absolute most important use for Platinum in a water ionizer is that…

Water ionization wouldn’t happen without Platinum!

Without platinum the electrolysis of water would be very slow. The larger the surface area [of Platinum] that gets exposed to the water passing through the water ionizer the FASTER the water can be electrolyzed. The increase in titanium has a reverse effect on electrolysis. The more titanium contained in your electrode [in other words -- the larger the plate size] the more electricity you need to push through that electrode in order to ionize the water. Engineers need to juggle these two factors to come up with a design that electrolizes quick enough for today’s presto-chango instant water ionizers! The proof that the design is good is:

DOES THE WATER IONIZER GET A GOOD PH AND ORP CHANGE?

The ones I sell [see STORE above] do. It’s a simple question to answer, because I’ve tested them all.

Understanding Electrolysis: Electrolysis is the act of passing electricity through water to break the water [H20] down into oxygen [O2] and Hydrogen [H2]. During electrolysis…large water clusters split and form two streams. Hydrogen concentrates over on the negatively charged pole [or ALKALINE side of the water cell], and Oxygen concentrates over on the Acidic [positively charged] side of the water ionizer’s water cell. This whole complex process must happen very, very quickly, instantly,  if it is to create a significant change in the water.

Titanium plates are hard and resist corrosion, but they [by themselves -- without Platinum] cannot be used as electrodes. The reason is that the titanium plates by themselves wouldn’t be able to produce a good change in pH and ORP of your ionized water. Without platinum [the catalyst] the process to ionize water requires much more energy and time than a water ionizer has …to ionize water.

Platinum catalyzes [or speeds up] the electrolysis process and so allows ionization to occur in our modern day water ionizers where the water passes through the water cell and instantly ionizes the water.

Water ionizers of today produce ionized water right out of the top spout — instantly!

This is why the water ionizers of today are especially dependent on Platinum. 

Platinum is the one, single element on this planet that can do the job of SPEEDING UP ELECTROLYSIS!

I have one cautionary thing to say about water ionizer designs. The water ionizers with large plates are having to push a lot more electricity through their plates [by the laws of electricity -- the larger the electrode the more electricity is needed to go through it. This greater amount of electricity of course produces a lot more heat. It is the job of the engineer and research scientist to ensure that the design is not calling for too much heat. This is where trust in the company and the longevity of the water ionizer manufacturer comes in. Too much heat is the enemy of a platinum-coated electrode. The surface contact could break down and over time with lots of use I believe the water ionizers that use over 220 watts of power will wear out and might lose their platinum coating in places. I'm not saying it will happen...but it might. In 20 years I guess we'll find out.

How will you be able to tell if your water ionizer is losing its Platinum coating?

You'll notice it is no longer able to make a great change in the PH and ORP of your ionized water. But you might just have hard-water scaling that prevents the water from contacting the Platinum...so make sure you're using an EOS [Elimination of Scaling] device if you live in a hard water area.

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