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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