Learn more about the benefits of a water softener system and how they can help. Feel free to browse the posts at Vibrant Water’s Official Blog.

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Drinking Water Reverse Osmosis Systems

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Are you convinced yet? Drinking Water Reverse Osmosis Systems

We challenge you to go for a week without reading or hearing about a health-related issue involving the water you drink.  Everything from viruses to neurotoxins to endocrine disruptors to poisons to metals such as lead or mercury in the water is constantly being reported. The drinking water sources that report these problems can include municipalities, private wells in a particular area and even bottled water.  When you consider that less than 1% of all water coming into a home is used for drinking and cooking, it’s prohibitively expensive and unfair to assume that a municipality is able to guarantee testing for and removal of all potentially harmful things in your water especially when most exist in trace amounts.  If you’re on a private or small community well system, testing for the harmful items has probably never been done.  Bottled water safety is questionable in addition to the cost, inconvenience, and ecological issues that persist.

What can be done? Install a Vibrant Water, Inc. home reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water system.

How do Reverse Osmosis Systems work and what do they do? Read on.

The typical system consists of:

  1. An inlet 5-micron filter.  Made of pleated paper or extruded polyethylene.   Allow the technical staff at VIBRANT WATER, to suggest which is best for you.  This particle size produces a water significantly clearer than an indoor, well-maintained swimming pool where you can identify heads vs tails on a coin in 10 ft. of water. Technically it reduces turbidity which in-turn is expressed in Nephelometer Turbidity Units (NTU) and tested by light intensity penetration depth.  Its primary function is to take the filtration load off of the RO membrane thus preventing membrane plugging.  This filter needs replacement when accumulated dirt lowers the water pressure to the unit and the volume of treated water declines.
  2. Activated carbon filter.   This can be a compressed block of powdered carbon or a custom blend of special high-efficiency carbon and an incredible material called KDF.  Allow the technical staff at VIBRANT WATER, to suggest which is best for you. Its function is to remove chlorine, chloramines, and organics such as chemical spills and agricultural chemicals from your water.  These all have harmful health implications as well as being damaging to the membrane.  They need to be replaced when chlorine appears at the drain water if a city unit (normal life is 1 year) or after a year on well water sources.
  3. The membrane.  This is the multi-functional “heart” of the unit.  The actual functioning surface is a microscopically thin layer of material that is typically formulated from polyamide supported on a thicker layer of foam-like plastic.  This rejection material is wound like a window shade with a mesh-like water passage material between the various layers.  Water under pressure passes lengthwise through the assembly with the pressure forcing about 50% of the water through the membrane with most of everything dissolved or suspended in the water removed and left in the remaining 50% of the water which is diverted to drain.  Functionally the membrane:
    1. Removes (rejects) an aggregate 96% of everything dissolved in the water if the water pressure is 50 PSI or higher.  This includes salt,  sodium, potassium, hardness, calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, sulfates, arsenic, lead, chromium, fluoride, pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials, organics the activated carbon missed, and traces of everything else.  Notable exceptions to the 96% removal average are nitrates which are reduced by 70% and boron which is about 2%.   The items dissolved are measured as Total Dissolved Solids or TDS expressed in units of milligrams per liter (mg/l) or parts per million (PPM) which are essentially the same thing. As a frame of reference 0-10 PPM is referred to as pure drinking water, 150 PPM would be Great Lakes Water, 500 PPM would be a typical SoCal municipal water, 1500 PPM a typical Baja, Mexico water, and seawater is 32,000 PPM.
    2. Removes suspended items in the water down to 0.001 micron.  This is because of the porosity in the membrane which will filter out viruses, bacteria, cysts, asbestos, microfibers, and uranium particles.  To avoid plugging of the membrane by excess amounts of any of these materials, Vibrant Water engineers will often recommend special prefilters to avoid premature, costly replacement of membranes.
  4. Automatic shutoff valve (ASO).  When first introduced to the market place, drinking water RO units ran water to drain 24/7 and even worse, many units even to this day waste as much as 5 gallons of water to drain for each gallon treated (as opposed to 1 to 1 or better for all Vibrant Water systems).  The invention and use of a valve that stops all flow of water when the water pressure in the storage tank reaches 80% of the incoming water pressure reduces the discharged drain water by 90% or more.  As an example, with 50 PSI inlet pressure, the tank pressure of 40 PSI will stop all flow.  For a family of 4, this reduces daily drain water to as little as 3 gallons for some Vibrant Water, Inc. systems while some competitive units continue to waste 40 gallons for the same application.  With 78 million US people living West of the Mississippi river expected to be in drought areas in 2021 and beyond, these savings can have a huge impact on supplies.
  5. Storage Tank.  Drinking water home Reverse Osmosis systems produce water at 1/100 to 1/10 GPM which would try people’s patience when trying to fill a cup or glass with treated water.  To overcome this issue, a tank with a bladder is included. Water is stored in a sterile polyurethane bladder and air between the bladder and the tank compresses which provides the force to discharge the water at the faucet at a reasonable rate for use.  The only issue with this involves the back pressure from the tank as it fills.  This pressure subtracts from the inlet water pressure causing a net lower pressure across the membrane.  The lower net pressure lowers the output rate of the RO while simultaneously increasing the TDS of the product water.  The last water in a vertical tank will be the first discharged and have a higher TDS than the balance of the water in the tank.  This is referred to as “TDS CREEP”.   Discarding a few ounces of water when first opening the faucet will ensure the best quality.  Vibrant Water engineers can offer equipment suggestions to eliminate the creep.  Do not consider water over water or tankless Reverse Osmosis systems for a variety of technical reasons.
  6. Optional Designs.  Here’s where Vibrant Water, Inc. with its technical staff can be extremely helpful in providing exactly what is best for your needs.  Some examples are:
    1. Pressure booster pump for well systems that have relatively low pressure, high TDS, high nitrates, etc.  Fully automatic on/off.
    2. Delivery booster pumps to service multiple outlets such as stand-alone ice makers, pot fillers, etc.  Fully automatic on/off.
    3. Oversize or smaller storage tanks.
    4. Electrolyte/mineral addition to treated water.
    5. Alkalinity addition to treated water.  Adjustable to achieve the proper form and level of bioavailable alkalinity.
    6. Magnetic fields for lower surface tension.  With or without Fibonacci (Golden) ratio.
    7. Crystals to impart healthful frequencies (vibrations) to treated water.
    8. Structured water as laboratory-verified at the University of Washington and published in The Fourth Stage of Water. Increased density.
    9. Non-electric permeate pump for an increase in treated water quality and quantity.  TDS creep eliminated.
    10. Let your imagination roam and work with Vibrant Water’s technical staff to develop a custom system.
plastic water bottle

Is a new drinking water bottle material a great idea?

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Late the week of 10-11-20, a San Diego, CA company announced it has obtained FDA approval (underwhelming — remember Thalidomide?) for a biodegradable beverage bottle. In particular, a water bottle to replace the plastic version. Their press release obviously included all of the horror stories about the waste issues of ocean islands of plastic trash and the all-encompassing presence of potentially lethal plastic microparticles in our water, air, and food. In the release they stated a probable consumer product objection being the fact that their bottle is opaque so the water isn’t visible. Further, they tout the use of a new polymer (Greek for many things) material they developed as the biodegradable substitute for clear plastics. Some thoughts.

First, just what is meant by degradable? After a period of time will such a bottle be reduced to natures building blocks of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen or into some particles that replace plastic particles but inadvertently maybe just as environmentally dangerous. If the material is designed to decay, will the process begin after a period of total stability, or does it begin immediately thus imparting some of its constituents to the water?

Secondly, public awareness of the health and environmental issues caused by water bottle waste has been here for over a decade and doesn’t seem to be moving the needle on consumption numbers. Apparently lobbying at a variety of levels has prevented serious legislative action against the bottles from taking place. Could taxing the bejabbers out of the empty bottle sales with proceeds going to a national reelection fund negate the lobbying effort?

Finally, last month’s Consumers Report took quite a swipe at the dangerous chemicals existing in some bottled waters. With the technology available since the late 1960s and process efficacy demonstrated in tens of thousands of installations, home reverse osmosis systems simply obsolete the bottled water concept and eliminate the surprising chemicals detailed by Consumers Report. Most are easily installed under a kitchen sink and there are also countertop and portable units adaptable to all lifestyles. Along with purchasing, there rental and rent-to-purchase plans that appeal to all income levels. Safer, less costly, and environmentally friendly water is available.

Water Purification

Are salt based water softeners truly necessary?

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Are salt based water softeners truly necessary?

auqafer water conditioner installationBecause of water use costs and the growing public awareness of pollution, it may be wise to think deeply before specifying, purchasing, or even repairing water softeners that rely on salt and wasted water to soften water.

The first thing is to consider why certain waters need softening. The common rationale is because the water measures hard. The real culprit in the water is the bicarbonates and sulfates of calcium with the bicarbonate form being by far the most prevalent. When water containing calcium bicarbonate is heated even a little bit, counter intuitively the hardness becomes less soluble and drops out of the water as calcium carbonate which is limestone. This stone-like material coats the inside of pipes restricting the flow lines water heaters and boilers shortening their life and creates the ugly scale on fixtures that needs to be chipped off or dissolved with acid. Additionally, prior to becoming limestone, the calcium interferes with soaps and detergents causing soap scum and poor rinsing of laundry.

Once total hardness is identified, a professional should measure both the calcium and the harmless magnesium hardness which does not cause scale nor does it have a negative effect on laundry or bathing. The calcium portion of the hardness may be low enough to eliminate the need for softening altogether. To determine this, a properly trained technician will test the water for bicarbonate alkalinity and pH. These values along with water temperature are then used to create number without units called the Langeliers Saturation Index (LSI). A positive LSI number indicates the presence of scaling potential and necessary treatment and a 0 or negative number will indicate no treatment necessary. By generating two LSI numbers with one for room temperature water and one for heated water, it’s often possible to provide treatment to the line feeding the water heater with no treatment for the balance of the facility. This ultimately saves hundreds of dollars for a residential application and thousands of dollars for large water users such as hotels, motels, schools, hospitals, dormitories, etc.

Because of the aforementioned water costs and municipal concerns about salt discharge into sewers, Vibrant Water offers residential, commercial and industrial products designed to address the calcium hardness without the use of salt or chemicals, zero waste to drain, no electricity and a historically validated no service or repairs life in excess of 15 years. These include our Enviro Scale Free ESF and Aquafer AWS systems.

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The Need For At Home Water Treatment in San Diego

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There is a need for at-home water treatment in San Diego and all of Southern California.  Though treated by the municipalities to meet EPA requirements in most cases, there are things that should be done to the water at home that offer numerous benefits to the consumer. They are:

1. Taste and odor removal. As received the water contains residual chlorine and chloramines which are used for bacterial control. Many people find the resulting taste and odor objectionable. There are numerous filters to remove these compounds. We suggest our AQUAFER system that does this, lasts 13+ years with zero services, uses no salt or chemicals, discharges zero water to drain, has no moving parts and uses no electricity.

aquafer, at home water treatment

2. Hard water scale prevention. Scale shortens water heater life, plugs pipes and ruins fixtures. It too can be prevented by the AQUAFER.

3. Prevent hard water interference with soaps, detergents, and shampoos. By altering the form of hardness with a patented process this is done without salt by the AQUAFER.

4. Remove trace heavy metals from water. Although in concentrations below EPA federal limits they often exist and should be avoided. The special filter media within the AQUAFER does the removal. Check it out at www.kdfft.com.  

5. Establish a final bacteria barrier to your facility. There are often non-harmful nuisance bacteria surviving in treated water that cause odors or slime. The media in the AQUAFER is classified as a biocide to kill the bacteria. Info. can be found on http://www.kdfft.com

6. Overall health and environmental concerns. Today’s published limits on contaminating items in the water can change and the list will probably grow. Many (not all) bottled waters can protect you but at a terrible environmental cost because of the plastic waste. The answer is a home drinking water reverse osmosis unit such as our DRO-100 WATER SAVER unit.

7. Looking for dangers lurking in your water. Check out by opening www.ewg.org and listing your zip code.

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Vibrant Crystal Water System

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Note: This item has been discontinued.
Click here to see the replacement system; Structured Water Reveres Osmosis. 
The “best” drinking water is often asked for. We spent extensive time developing what we’re convinced is a water system product that produces perfect drinking water which we define as

   – Safe

   – Provides maximum hydration

  – Tastes great

Let’s take a look at the steps it takes to create perfect drinking water as offered in the Vibrant Crystal reverse osmosis treatment system.

First water is filtered down to a 5 micron level. 5 micron size is 1/15 the diameter of a human hair

Second the water goes through multiple filter media that kills residual bacteria, removes chlorine , removes chloramines, removes heavy metals and removes organic compounds

Third water is forced through a membrane with a pore size of .0001 to .002 micron which prevents passage of bacteria , viruses, and cysts while simultaneously removes on average 96.5 % of everything dissolved in the water including pharmaceuticals, uranium and hundreds of other elements and compounds.

Fourth  a water driven pump is employed that maximizes water use efficiency and improves stored water quality

Fifth water passes through a special no odor resin that further reduces any post membrane dissolved solids and adds electrolytes, alkalinity and molecular hydrogen while adjustably increasing the pH.

Sixth water passes through multiple magnetic fields to synthesize water in a stream cutting through the Earth’s magnetic lines

Seventh water goes through a vortex to erase negative messages

Eighth water passes over hematite and quartz crystals to impart natural frequencies

Finally, water runs through coconut based activated carbon to ensure a polished, sophisticated taste

Learn more here.

Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier

The RO Water Purifier

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Everyone wants pure water and will go to great lengths to get it. After all, water purifiers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and applications. What most people don’t realize is the power of reverse osmosis water purification. A quality reverse osmosis system has the ability to filter out toxins down to the smallest micron.

In many cases, reverse osmosis is reduced to; “RO Water Purifier.” Often, interested parties submit written and verbal requests from for their homes and businesses. These individuals know the value and quality of a reverse osmosis water filter system. This is the perfect place to start investigating just what these systems can do. RO systems can:

  • Filter water down to a particulate size of 0.002 microns or smaller. This is 1/38,000th of a human hair.
  • RO systems can prevent passage and filter out bacteria, viruses and cysts.
  • Remove up to 99.9% of dissolved minerals, metals, radioactive materials and pharmaceuticals.

This creates water that is clean and on its way to becoming completely pure.

Many designated RO filtration systems incorporate further filtration methods to continue the purification process. These extra filtration steps protect the RO membrane and remove gas phase items like chlorine and chloramines—chemicals found in tap water that can have detrimental effects on the body. These filters also remove volatile organics such as insecticides and pesticides. As an added layer of filtration, ultraviolet light is added to complete the process.

The word pure on its own has a broad definition. When it comes to water, it can refer to water that leaves no residue behind as it dries to water that is fit for medical or lab usage. An RO water purifier can provide for the full spectrum of pure water needs. As clients state their needs, each RO system can evolve with added filtration steps to provide the ideal water.

Whether for the office, the home of the medical lab, starting with a reverse osmosis water purifier will help meet the water needs across a wide variety of specific applications

Water Purification

The Dirty on Clean Water

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Having a water filtration system for domestic or commercial use provides a way to have the cleanest water for a variety of applications. However, water filtration is an all-inclusive term that may include dozens of processes and hundreds of process combinations. The best method for purified water isn’t always a straight answer, and when considering water needs, it’s important to consider what the actual needs are. To help you decide we encourage you to first consider:

1. How much water will be treated? For less than 200 gallons daily and/or for flow rates less than 5 GPM, a cartridge system may be the best choice compared to backwashing filters.

2. Utilities available? If considering a filtration system, proximity is key. Will there be an electrical power source and adequate drainage close to the installation point? This can be a deciding factor when choosing. Also, be aware of sewer discharge regulations and costs before buying a new system.

3. Chemical handling? Can the facility handle the weight of regenerating chemicals? Chemical weight and if the treatment location does not favor chemical use your options may be limited. Toxicity and corrosivity should also be considered.

4. Physical size and clearances? Will there be enough room to properly operate and maintain the system? Cartridge replacement requires easy access and clearance for removal. UV lamp replacement also needs adequate clearance for annual lamp replacement.

5. Maintenance cost? The more complex the system, the more money it will cost to maintain. Automatic valves, for instance, have parts that wear down and break. The more moving parts there are, the more that will have to be maintained.

After considering what the actual needs are, it’s time to do some research to find the best water purifier. Visiting the Process Selection Guide at www.vibranth2o.com is a good place to start. If you have questions about these products and services, feel free to call and talk to our engineers at 760-734-5755 or contact us. Vibrant Water builds all types and sizes of water filtration equipment and is committed to creating the best systems for our customers.

Reverse Osmosis system San Diego

The Amazing Results of Reverse Osmosis

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Clean water for drinking, commercial or industrial purposes can be achieved in a variety of ways. One way in particular is to utilize reverse osmosis to create purified water. Local reverse osmosis water treatment San Diego systems provide clean water that has a variety of applications, but the main job of the RO process, with its very important associated pretreatment, is to:

  • Remove chlorine, chloramines, insecticides, and pesticides
  • Remove 99% of everything dissolved in the water including minerals, metals, salts, and compounds. This includes, but not limited to, hardness, iron, manganese, sodium, arsenic, lead, fluoride, sulfate, alkalinity, and pharmaceuticals.
  • Filter suspended solids to 0.002 microns for the removal of silt, bacteria, viruses, and cysts. This is augmented with ultraviolet light after storage to be certain that all microorganisms are dead or unable to reproduce.

The net result is water quality superior to distilled water done in an efficient and cost-effective way.

After the water is purified it is reconstituted within the whole house system. This reconstituted water is clean and pure making it “better” for the human body. With the whole house system, the purest water is available on-tap for drinking, washing and food preparation. Some of the added benefits of the whole house reverse osmosis system include:

  • Adding bicarbonate alkalinity to the water, increasing the pH to produce an alkaline water
  • Adding magnesium to the water with trace calcium. Essential electrolytes that support health at a cellular level. Magnesium is also helpful for the GI and endocrine systems
  • Adding a small amount of molecular hydrogen to the water which acts as an antioxidant as the ORP becomes negative.
  • The elevated pH and calcium decrease the corrosiveness of the water to protect household plumbing and fixtures.

The water produced by the whole house system isn’t just cleaner, it is also superior to more mainstream water filtration systems. The pure water has the right amount of beneficial minerals added to help increase the health of all who use it.

Reverse osmosis may not be as common as more mainstream filtration systems. The plain fact is, RO systems provide exceptional water quality, far superior to more popular models. The Dime Water whole house reverse osmosis system doesn’t simply create pure water, it creates superior water.

office water cooler san diego

The Office Water Cooler

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Seldom is a business able to provide something to all employees that is appreciated and healthy while simultaneously saving the business money and helping the environment. Office water coolers rented or purchased from VibrantH2O offer a business this opportunity, our cooler does the water filtration for you and never have to buy a refill bottle.

Having a dedicated water cooler tells employees that the boss cares about their health.

Providing fresh, purified drinking water for employees means upper management wants their employees to have access to refreshing, healthy hydration. Office water coolers also cut down on unwanted wandering around the building looking for a water source or heading out to find a drinking fountain. Water coolers add health and efficiency.

Never need a water bottle refill service again.

Unlike other local commercial reverse osmosis water systems, the office water coolers VibrantH2O provides have built-in state of the art Reverse Osmosis filtration systems that produce refreshing, healthful drinking water. The water is chilled to the perfect beverage temperature PLUS a hot water dispenser for making that perfect cup of tea with the same fantastic water.

Another perk of having an office water cooler is the location.

Employees and employers will find the social aspect of a water cooler an appealing break to the sometimes-monotonous work day. While idle chatter shouldn’t be the only reason to have a water cooler, having a space to meet and take a short break will lead to happier employees. If they know they have an unofficial meeting place where they can take a few minutes off, get hydrated and chat with fellow employees or even management, the work staff will be much happier and much more productive.

Whether purchasing or renting an office water cooler, it is less costly than the delivery of huge bottles. With the large bottle system, the finished bottles sit empty, collecting dirt and littering the office. Not the best look for a busy office.

The VibrantH2O office water cooler is also better than bringing in cases of small bottles that are served warm. The quality of the water is often marginal at best and the taste is lacking.

Equally important, the office water coolers eliminate the environmental mess of discarded plastic bottles and the fuel consumed by the huge trucks delivering the large bottles.

No mess, no waste and happy employees all at a cost saving!

in home reverse osmosis

Yet Another Bottled Water Concern

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Bottled WaterRegarding bottled water, the BPA issue has been put to bed — or at least that’s what has been written– and now a new problem has presented itself. According to researchers at the University of New York at Fredonia plastic microfibers are appearing in bottled water. Not so good.

250 samples from a list of who’s who in bottled water were tested. Samples from 9 countries and representing 11 brands were included and 90% had an average of 10.4 of these fibers per liter of water. This is twice what was found in tap water based on an earlier test. Bottled water is more expensive than tap water and now you know you’re possibly getting something more for the money — wanted or not.

The unknowns at this time are the composition of the plastic, its source, and the adverse health effects. Drink up— someday the study will wind its way through layers of bureaucracy and we’ll know if plastic microfibers are a viable dietary supplement. Or you can take charge, eliminate this whoops and other unknowns in bottled water, save money and help the environment by installing a VibrantH2o Water Reverse Osmosis unit in your home. It will:

– Filter your drinking water to 0.001 microns 1/75000 of a human hair. Plastic microfibers be damned.

– Remove 90%+ of dissolved solids from your water along with chlorine and chloramines

– Reduce bacteria, viruses and cysts to virtually zero

– Protect you from pharmaceuticals, insecticides, pesticides, radioactive materials

Enjoy great water and stay healthy!