If chlorine is so harmful, unhealthy and such a potentially dangerous chemical why is it added to our drinking waters?

Cost!! Chlorine is not used because its the most effective means of disinfecting H2O but because its the cheapest.  While chlorine, and its by-products, are known to have significant adverse health effects on humans, we choose it over H2O borne micro-organisms and bacterial disease outbreaks (like typhoid and cholera which effected most countries before the introduction of chlorine in the late 1800s). With all the technology we have today, we still pour bleach in our drinking waters to sterilise it. There are more healthy methods of disinfecting mains waters, some countries have turned to alternative methods because of recent findings about the many risks of chlorine. The tradeoff is that they are much more expensive, and therefore less practical especially when you consider that less than 1 percent of the H2O supplied to our homes is used for consumption so its really not practical to produce healthy H2O from a central supplier at these volumes. Most people do not want to pay the price for alternative disinfection methods, which would increase your H2O costs by more then threefold. The best solution is to keep chlorine in our mains waters systems, right up to the point-of-use and then remove it from consumption H2O with home aqua filtration, for you to ensure high quality aqua.

How much chlorine in drinking waters is alright?

Zero! Any chlorine in our drinking waters is too much.  We need the chlorine in the mains waters to kill bacteria and most micro-organisms, but you should definitely remove it prior to consumption.

What is the difference between an absolute and a nominal aqua filter cartridge?

A nominal 5 micron H2O filter can trap 85 percent of particles of five microns and larger in H2O as it flows through whereas an absolute 5 micron H2O filter traps 99.9 percent of particles larger then 5 microns. For most purposes nominal aqua filtration is fine but for high grade aqua purification an absolute-rated aqua filter is preferred.

What do sediment aqua filters do?

They are H2O filters designed to filter out particles like rust, silt, sand, clay, and decomposing organic material from H2O. Sediment aqua filters do not normally remove chemical contaminants unless they are a combination or dual filter.

Why are ceramic aqua filters said to be the best type of sediment H2O filters?

Ceramic aqua filters are very tight aqua filters whose absolute filtration rating is too tight to allow the passage of, cysts, bacteria or pathogens like cryptosporidium or giardia. Ceramic aqua filter cartridges purify water by straining out pathogens but they do not remove chemicals (unless accompanied by an additive, like carbon, that does). A very good combination is to combine a 1 micron absolute spun sediment aqua filter in the first housing with a combination T33 carbon and KDF media water filter with a ceramic water filter as the third and final stage on a package deal basis and offers a good filtration system.

What is the difference between activated carbon block water filters and granular activated carbon water filters (GAC)?

Granular activated carbon water filters are loose-fill water filters in which the carbon is essentially the consistency of coffee grounds.  These filters are usually inexpensive and you can sometimes fill these water filter cartridges yourself.  GAC water filters only remove chlorine from water and will not assist in the removal of most other forms of chemicals,giardia or cryptosporidium.  These water filters also have the tendency to channel the water which entails that not all the water passing through the water filters gets into contact with the activated carbon surface so you will therefore still have some chlorine passing through this water filter.  In an activated carbon block water filters the carbon is pressed or molded into a tight block-like structure. Generally speaking, carbon block water filters are more effective than GAC water filters. Carbon block water filters are radial flow filters.

What does CTO mean?

Chlorine, Taste and Odour reduction. Water filter manufacturers use this designation for water filters for which the maker only claims aesthetic improvement (although the water filter may do more).

How do I change or replace a water filter?

Please take a look at the videos below wherein we demonstrate how to:

Install a benchtop system | Change a benchtop filter |Change undersink filters | Change  a UV lamp