The biggest enemy of a water ionizer [or any water related device is hard water.

Hard water can deposit anywhere from a whitish film to full-blown scaling and clogging, depending on your water hardness, the water ionizer model you purchase, the prefiltration you set up, the hardness reduction devices you use and the everyday care you give it.

There is a fairly simple method of cleaning your water ionizer of its scale build-up that I'm going to teach you about in this post. In high school I once did an experiment where I took a hardboiled egg and placed it in vinegar over night. I was amazed that the next day I could bounce that egg like a rubber ball. What happened was the calcium, which made the egg shell hard, was eaten away by the vinegar. Vinegar [soaked overnight] will react with the calcium clogging up your water ionizer and will loosen it up and allow you to then flush it away.

Water Ionizer Owners: How do you know it’s time to clean your water ionizer?

• If your water ionizer’s pH is dropping over time it’s time to clean.
• If your water ionizer’s flow-rate is slowing down it’s either time to change to a new filter, time to clean [vinegar wash] your water ionizer or both.
• If you see a whitish film forming around your alkaline spout [flexi-hose] it’s a sign that it’s close to time to clean.
• If it’s been a year, and/or you’re getting ready to change your filters [and you've not given your water ionizer a good cleaning yet], it could be a good time to clean it just for good measure! [Please Note: Using products such as the EOS (Elimination of Scaling) device and/or the hard water buster http://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/product/HardWaterBuster may prolong or even eliminate the necessity for the cleaning that is described below.]

Why Would a Water Ionizer Need a Vinegar Wash?

• Water ionizers do a good job of cleaning themselves with their acid washes, especially the Jupiter models, with their continuous cleaning methods. So, inside the water cell your electrodes would or should be squeaky clean, but there are lots of hoses & connectors inside a water ionizer that may get clogged. Calcium is a good mineral, and you need it for ionization, but at times you can have too much calcium in your water. The problem with calcium is, because of its crystal shape — it collects, sticks & clogs. That’s what calcium does. You need calcium though, because you can’t ionize water that’s too soft.
• Even if you don’t live in a hard water area, with extra calcium in your water, you may need to do these periodic cleanings to keep your water ionizer clean inside. But, particularly if you know your water is hard, plan on doing periodic cleanings or get yourself a device or two to prevent hard water build-up. You can find out the hardness [TDS & Calcium levels in your water] by calling the number on your water bill.
  • If you’re noticing the need to do these periodic cleanings more than twice a year, you may want to consider purchasing an EOS http://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/product/EOS or “hard water buster” http://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/product/HardWaterBuster or just do more acid washes [push the acid water button more often].
  • If you have a programmable water ionizer, it can hopefully be programmed to your water hardness to increase the frequency of acid washes.
  • You can pro-actively increase the frequency of acid washes in a way that doesn’t waste the water with this idea: Let’s say you drink your alkaline water at 9.5 pH (or Level 3), there is absolutely no reason why you couldn’t push the acid water level 3 button and get your drinking water out of the bottom hose once a day. This may be a smart thing to do if you’re finding your hard water build-up to be too frequent.
• If your TDS is way too high [over 625ppm] you may even be smart to consider hooking in a reverse-osmosis-remineralizer which would then bring your TDS down to the proper range for ionization without the over-kill of too much hardness. 
• Another possibility for handling TDS that is way-out above the “appliance kill range” is a whole house [natural-sodium-free] water filter & softener, such as the Water Dove System which I sell on my site.
• I suggest not to use a sodium exchange water softener, because it’s unhealthy for you [too much sodium], sodium is not good for the water ionizer [tends to corrode], and it’s bad for the environment [where does all that salt-water go?] However I was in Lowes the other day and noticed they have come out with sodium reduced water softeners. So that may be a way to go. Then if it was me, I’d get rid of that little bit of extra sodium with an Omni-Pur sodium reduction cartridge http://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/product/Sodium-Reducer .

It’s up to you to take care of your water ionizer and keep it safe and protected against scaling.

How to do a Vinegar Wash

What you will need:

• You should save your old used-up filters in the refrigerator in a plastic zip-lock bag to put into your filter port during your vinegar washes. This procedure will ruin your filter for anything but another vinegar wash. Or if you have a Chanson water ionizer, just remove the filter from its container and close it back up again and you’ll be good to go.
• 1 bottle white vinegar.
• Tape [masking or duct]
• funnel

Beginning Your Water Ionizers Vinegar Wash:

1. Unplug the water ionizer.
2. Place water ionizer on its back or side [on a folded towel -- for a cushion]
3. Take the acid hose and raise it to a position higher than the water ionizer. Tape it there, temporarily for the Wash.
4. Make sure your water ionizer has the old [used up] and drained filters in it.
5. Remove the calcium basket and tighten back on the lid. 
6. Curve the flex-spout upwards and using a funnel pour vinegar down the spout [or hose], either one, until it starts pouring out the other [spout or hose]. [If spout is clogged, remove it and let it sit immersed in vinegar for a few hours before you get to this step.
7. Let sit overnight.
8. Using the flex-spout as a straw, blow into it and suck [suction it] to agitate the vinegar inside the ionizer. Try not to spill too much vinegar out the hose. 
9. Over the course of several hours or a day, keep the ionizer in this position and do the agitation described in step 8 as frequently as you can.
10. When you think you’ve done enough, return the water ionizer to its normal position.
11. Run water through the ionizer, and if it’s not clogged anymore test the pH at the highest level [both acid and alkaline]. If all looks good, you’re done.
12. Repeat process [steps 1-11] if the ionizer is still clogged or if the pH ranges are not satisfactory yet.

[Note: If you have a very clogged water ionizer...don't worry if it is very slow-flowing or a trickle at first. The calcium build-up will eventually dissolve with this technique. I have nursed an almost unworking water ionizer back to like-new using this technique over a 3-day period.]

Also Note:

The steps outlined in this blog are steps you can use with any water ionizer to clean it. However, some water ionizer companies have their own cleaning cartridge they sell you to clean your water ionizer annually or semi-annually [as needed]. If this is the case, I would suggest to do the periodic cleaning according to your water ionizer manufacturer’s instructions. If you’re not sure if your water ionizer company has a cleaning cartridge or not, call 1-888-MY-ALKALINE [Cathie] and I’ll let you know.

After over 16 years of drinking alkaline ionized water, I can say with conviction that the very best thing I could give to myself or a loved one is a WATER IONIZER!  Even though Christmas is over, give yourself and your family the gift of health this year! And…  

Have a safe and happy winter!

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Any Water Ionizer may be able to ionize well in St. Louis, where I live, but the same water ionizer may not ionize well in your municipality.

Why? Because the hardness and total dissolved solids from place to place are so different! If you look at the hardness map, above, you can get a general idea of the wide differences in water hardness around the USA. Keep in mind that these are general ground water conditions and do not take into account the other sources [lakes, rivers, springs and fresh water runoff collected when it rains]. If you live in an area that is …

• Temperate and moist, but very hard [i.e., the red areas on the map], your municipal water company may get their water from a variety of places [wells and rivers for instance] and so you may look hard according to the map, above, but not be too bad when it gets to your tap.
• Hot and dry,  your municipal water company probably gets most of your water from wells. In this case with the map, above, it shows probably a good picture of your water hardness. If you live in a hot and dry [all year long] location, and you have very hard ground water, I’m going to guess you also have a very high TDS [total dissolved solids].
• If you live in a region with very soft water it is possible that your municipal water company adds calcium [lime] to your water to buffer it. Water that is too soft may corrode pipes and so it is for the protection of the pipes that the water treatment companies do this.
• If you have a well, on the other hand, then your source of water is only the ground water, and so the map would more likely be showing a pretty good representation of the water you are getting.

The actual hardness of municipal water should be looked up, and if it’s your own well it should be tested.

The parts per million [ppm] of hardness is a very important number to a water ionizer owner. It means you are either going to probably get good, better or best ionization….or possibly not so good, and you should know something about this ahead of time, so you’re prepared in the event you need to do some prefiltration [in line with your water ionizer].

Your municipal water company has a responsibility to report to you what your water quality is. They file an annual water quality report online usually, and this can be located and looked at. The report usually tells you the levels detected of certain contaminants deemed to be regulated by the EPA. The report doesn’t have to tell you your water hardness, but sometimes you can find it in there. It’s a good thing to look at your water quality report from time to time, and if you can’t find it or if they don’t say what your hardness is you can call the phone number on your water bill [or your landlord's bill]. They will usually be very good about answering your questions.

What does this mean for your water ionizer purchase?

Very Hard Water: This water is possibly some of the hardest water to ionize. Many, many people in this situation are already using a whole house water softener and reverse osmosis. If this is you…you can simply add a Remineralizer in the line and you should be able to ionize just fine. [The best water ionizers to put in-line with a reverse-osmosis-remineralizer set up are the slower-flowing counter-top water ionizers, like the Jupiter models or the Chanson Eden. If you have a faster flowing water ionizer, then you could have difficulty with getting sufficient pressure and may need a water flow-rate booster pump to put in-line with the ionizer.]

Very Soft Water: This water isn’t too troublesome. If your water is too soft all you need to do is get a Remineralizer to put in-line with your water ionizer. Some ionizers have a mineral port for adding some calcium to the water. If all you need is a little boost, then this may be enough. [Note: Only use chunk calcium in the mineral port]

Medium Waters: The best water to ionize is between 80 and 180 ppm of hardness. Below that you may want to use a Remineralizer or mineral port. Harder than 180 you should still be able to ionize well all the way up to about 250 ppm, but you would need something to keep scale from damaging your water ionizer, [such as one or two Ionizer Armors or an EOS Device ].

Related Blog Posts:

Here are some articles I wrote that are of importance to the use of water ionizers with various types of water around the country. Rather than re-write the articles, I’m listing them here.

A New Hard Water Solution for Water Ionizer Owners

Water Ionizers: Where, When and Why Prefilter or Use Extra Devices?

The Melody Water Ionizer Works Great with the Soft Water of Tacoma, WA

Can You Hook Up a Water Ionizer When You Have a Whole-House Water Softener?

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The new Scalewatcher for Hard Water Treatment is not new in Europe! It’s been researched, tested and is tried-and-true there for many years. I often talk to people all over the USA with very hard water. My water engineer can give testimony to the fact that many of these people with hard water are in a real dilema.

If you soften your water with the traditional sodium-ion-exchange methods, you lose all your good minerals [calcium and magnesium] and you gain way too much sodium! Sodium is not only bad for your health [if you consume too much], but it is also harmful to a water ionizer. The reason is that sodium is electrically conductive and can interfere with proper ionization and proper operations in any water ionzer. Often times people with this kind of softener has to do drastic things in order to ionize their water [such as reverse osmosis]. This new system virtually eliminates the need to go that drastic! If you still insisted on having the whole house softener, you could cut down on the sodium with this system installed [and perhaps get rid of the sodium altogether someday].

Sodium [in excess] is also harmful to the environment. It’s definitely not “green” to dump salt into the the land masses where that salt will be likely to make its way to fresh-water streams and rivers and harm animals…not to mention interfering with plant growth in the area.

It’s hard to believe that an inexpensive and easy-to-use system, such as the Scalewatcher can handle up to 100 grains per gallon of hardness! This is wonderful! Even the smallest Scalewatcher Model will handle up to 20 grains of hardness…and it’s only $179.00! The Scalewatcher company does not want to have people just abandon their sodium-based softeners though. The problem with scale is that it takes a long time to build up and will probably take a long time [months] to disolve and be flushed out of your pipes. During the interim, consumers should slowly reduce your use of sodium. Don’t stop cold. L Take your time easing off of your present softeners.

What happens is an electromagnetic coil wraps around the main water pipe. Then over time the scale softens, and it slowly erodes away and flushes out as your water pipes are used.

The Scalewatcher Natural Solution for Hard Water is now selling at Alkaline Water Plus: Mention this article and get a $10.00 introductory discount on your Scalewatcher order  http://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/scalewatcher

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There are several things you can do to extend the life of your water ionizer.

• You can purchase a gadget called “Protection Plus Ionized Armor” @ $82.00 (& never needs replacement) which magnetically causes the water to become negatively charged BEFORE it enters your water ionizer. This inhibits the elements in the water from sticking to the internal tubes, channels, electrodes, and spouts of the water ionizer. Negatively charging the water is also going help the water ionization process without adding any elements or chemicals into the water, so it’s a win-win-win situation.
• You can purchase what’s called an “EOS Anti-Scaling Device” @ $160.00 (to be replaced about every 2000 – 3000 gallons). EOS stands for “Environmentally-Friendly + Omits + Scaling”. This is perfect if you have any kind of hard water that you’re concerned about. Hard water is HARD on water ionizers, because the water ionizer concentrates the alkaline minerals (i.e. calcium) into one stream inside the water cell, and this concentration of calcium tends to cause a calcium build-up (otherwise known as lime) which if it coats the plates (electrodes) even a small amount, you can lose some of your pH and ORP values. The EOS is an environmentally friendly way to reduce the amount of scale in your water ionizer! Calcium normally occurs in a crystalline structure which makes it adhere to virtually any surface creating a hard scale deposit that can accumulate as time goes on.  The EOS works by using a process to dramatically change the crystalline structure of calcium to a smooth, soft, spherical structure that does not create damaging scale build-up in your water ionizer. If you already have scale, guess what? It will dissolve the existing calcium carbonate scale build up (de-scaling effect!).
• I also sell two specific prefilters for water hardness on my website, but honestly you don’t need this if you have the two devices I’ve described above! That’s great news, because these devices don’t take up any extra room and are not unsightly on your counter-top!

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Can Calcium Build-Up Affect a Water Ionizer’s Performance? Yes! It absolutely can. And, here’s why…

A water ionizer creates two streams of electrolyzed water: alkaline and acid. The alkaline water is rich in Calcium. Calcium is good for you and contributes to creating alkalinity in the water, but is also a naturally occurring crystalline mineral which creates lime. Lime is another name for Calcium Oxide [formed from a reaction with calcium and the oxygen in the water]. Because of its crystalline structure, Lime tends to scale up on the inside of pipes…and will clog up the inside of your water ionizer if you don’t have a good method of cleaning the plates and pipe works on a regular basis. Even with a good cleaning method, people in “hard-water” areas have reported lime-build-up problems with their water ionizers from time to time.

Here are some ways you can prevent the problem from plaguing you:

• If you live in a hard-water region, get a “hard-water” pre-filter to use in conjunction with your water ionizer. Some appropriate pre-filters to protect your water ionizers are: “Scale-Block prefilter” [$85.00]. It doesn’t matter what water ionizer brand you use, any pre-filter will work.
• Here’s another devise that can really help. It lasts for 2 – 3 years too! It’s called an EOS [Elimination of Scale] Anti-Scaling Device and sells for $160.00. This device transforms the Calcium crystals into a spherical shape which will not cake or scale up, and so it makes it impossible for the scale build-up to occur. How it does this is by adding carbonate ions to the water, it turns the Calcium ion into a Calcium Carbonate ion. Calcium Carbonate crystals are spherical shaped to be harmless & anti-scaling for your water ionizer, and Calcium Carbonate is a healthy mineral for you to consume. It’s also environmentally friendly.  This device is as easy as 1-2-3 to install as well, and doesn’t take up any room on or under your counter.

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