Since 1989 I have been researching, developing and marketing a drinking water system that filters your dirty water,
and transforms it into clear, safe and delicious drinking water.
Some users of very expensive systems even boast that their systems remove absolutely everything, leaving just H2O, two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, sterile laboratory water!
Since when were you and your family laboratory samples to be fed on a sterile laboratory diet?
WHY DOES YOUR FAMILY NEED A FILTER ANYWAY?
At this stage you are probably asking yourself why you need a filter system in any case?
Clear pure drinking water is fast becoming a scarce resource in much of our world. Whilst there is plenty of water on our planet, the availability of clean safe drinking water is shrinking rapidly.
Just look at what the experts are saying.......
"THE DISTRIBUTION OF SAFE WATER TO THE HOME CAN NO LONGER BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED, NOT EVEN IN WESTERN EUROPE."
From the report
"A GLOBAL DECLINE IN MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF WATER: A CALL FOR ACTION."
Published by the Academy of Microbiology.
Doctors, researchers, aid and relief organisations, health specialists and dieticians throughout the world are telling you:
"BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL OF THE WATER."
Your bodies are 70% water and your brain is 80+% water
What do YOU want to be made of....
Pure Water... or A Chemical Cocktail?
THE DANGEROUS THREATS TO YOUR DRINKING WATER.
In 1978/9 I was studying wind patterns around the UK & Ireland for turbines to generate electricity. Subtle changes in wind directions and in temperatures hinted at climate change.
In 1990, whilst working for a Certificate in Environmental Studies with The Open University, my research demonstrated that climate change was accelerating with potentially disastrous consequences for the sources and supplies of safe drinking water worldwide.
Droughts and storms destroy drinking water sources. Dangerous bacteria and parasites are spread throughout drinking water supply systems by floods sweeping across the countryside, widely dispersing the highly polluting contents of sewage and waste water plants.
More storms, floods, landslides, eruptions and earthquakes; not to mention water shortages, droughts, famine and forest fires.
According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, natural disasters were responsible for the overwhelming majority (201 million people - a 40 per cent increase compared to the previous year) of the 281 million people reported to be affected by all disasters in 2007.
Information from the United Nations Environment Programme shows that 118 million people are exposed each year to major earthquakes, 343.6 million are exposed to floods and 130 million to meteorological drought. Another 2.3 million people are exposed annually to landslides.
Data from the World Meteorological Organisation shows that the decade of 1998-2007 is the warmest on record, with January 2007 the warmest January in the global average temperature record. Other remarkable global climatic events for 2007 include record-low Arctic sea ice extent, the relatively small Antarctic Ozone Hole, the development of La Nina in the central and eastern Equatorial Pacific, and the severe heat waves in south-eastern Europe, Japan and across the southern United States.
World Health Organisation data shows that some 5 million illnesses and 150,000 deaths are now due to global climate change each year, and 150 million people globally experience financial catastrophe because of the cost of health care.
WHAT ARE THE WATER PROBLEMS AT HOME & ABROAD?
Poppy
Poppy is thirsty and asks for a glass of water.
You fill a glass with water from the kitchen tap and hand it to Poppy. You will probably be unaware that in most countries, if the water is municipally treated (town water), at best you have just handed Poppy a chemical cocktail!
Just take one chemical, chlorine.
The most common chemical added to drinking water because it is a very powerful killer of organisms -
LIVING ORGANISMS
(but, of course, we are living organisms too!)
It kills dangerous bacteria such as typhoid, dysentery, cholera and e coli etc.
Think of Poppy's stomach: an extremely delicate combination of organs, each awash in its own careful and precise balance of fluids. Consider the colonies of bacteria that flourish inside her - necessary for digestion.
Then one of this planet's strongest killers of living organisms is added!!
Doesn't this strike you as madness? Now you know why one of the fastest growing markets is that of yoghourt drinks and health drinks with added "friendly" bacteria.
BUT IT GETS WORSE
Chlorine isn't only an extremely effective killer of living organisms (chlorine gas was used to kill troops during the first world war) but it is also one of the most reactive chemicals in the world.
Imagine all the chemical reactions that can take place inside Poppy's stomach, destroying the fine balance and delicate relationship between organs and fluids so necessary for good health.
AND YET WORSE!
The World Journal of Urology published an article in Feb.2004 entitled "Environmental exposure,chlorinated drinking water and bladder cancer."
The University Hospital, Essen, Germany.
The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, in 2003, published an article which concluded "This meta-analysis of the best available epidemiological evidence indicates that long term consumption of drinking water is associated with bladder cancer."
The Municipal Institute of Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain.
The National Library of Medicine published an article entitled "Drinking Water Chlorination and Cancer" - a historical cohort study in Finland. It states a statistically significant excess risk was observed for women in cancers of the bladder. These results support the magnitude of excess risks for rectal and bladder cancers found in earlier epidemiological studies on chlorination by-products
The Finish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, Finland.
EUROPE INCREASINGLY WORRIED
Europe is increasingly worried by problems caused by chlorine and chlorinated compounds. Sweden prevents the use of most chlorinated solvents and several cities in the Netherlands and Germany are phasing out chlorine in drinking water. Research is being carried out in Norway about the effects of chlorine on foetuses.
AND EVEN IN THE SEAS
The 1992 Convention of the Oslo and Paris Commissions for the Prevention of Marine Pollution, representing thirteen North Atlantic nations, decided that chlorine, which accumulates in living tissue, must be phased out.
The 1993 Barcelona Convention on the Mediterranean sea, representing twenty-four Mediterranean nations, decided likewise.
IN YOUR HOME TOO
Chlorine really aggravates many allergies. In swimming pools, baths and showers it dries out the skin, causing it to become itchy and sore with a red rash.
It irritates the eyes, making them red and sensitive. It increases the severity of breathing conditions such as asthma and skin problems such as eczema.
AS IF ALL THAT WASN'T ENOUGH
In February 2003 I spoke with one of the main researchers in this field:
Per Magnus of the Institute of Public Health, Norway.
He told me how concerned he was about the implications of his findings:
"WATER CHLORINATION AND BIRTH DEFECTS."
By Per Magnus et al.
The Institute of Public Health, Norway.
This is a study of 141,077 newly born infants in Norway.
"Chlorination of drinking water that contains organic compounds
leads to the formation of by-products, some of which have been
shown to have mutagenic or carcinogenic effects.....This
study provides further evidence of the role of chlorination of humic
(organic matter) water as a potential cause of birth defects."
AND THERE IS MORE
"Recent findings suggest that exposure to chlorination by-products increases the risk of birth defects....The results of the present study suggest that prenatal exposure to chlorinated water containing elevated levels of natural organic matter increases the risk of birth defects."
from the Journal of Epidemiology, vol.156, no.4, 2002.
RESIDUES OF CHEMICAL PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES ON FRUIT AND VEGETABLES ARE REMOVED BY WASHING BEFORE CONSUMPTION.
SIMILARLY, CHLORINE SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM WATER BEFORE CONSUMPTION OR USE.
and after all that, we have only talked about
ONE CHEMICAL!
WHAT ELSE CAN BE IN YOUR WATER?
- harmful bacteria - especially in well, river and lake supplies.
- parasites such as cryptosporidium - NOT killed by chlorine.
- chemicals such as pesticides, solvents, phenols, oils etc.
- metals such as lead (old pipes, wells) and aluminium sulphate.
- rust, dirt and sediment.
- foul tastes and smells.
- discolouration.
WHY DON'T YOU
SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS FOREVER?
Just as Mrs.Lawlor of Dublin solved them:
"I have been using Simply Water's filters since March '92 and my family have found them to be very effective for improving the quality and the appearance of our drinking water.
No longer is there any taste or smell of chlorine nor any particles floating in the water. The filtered water is also a lot softer on the skin."
Just as Mrs.Lefroy of Killaloe solved her drinking water problems:
"Just a note to let you know how very pleased we are with the water filter recently supplied by your company.
The quality of our domestic water has undergone a quite remarkable transformation, both in clarity and taste, and we are most impressed with the results of having this filter installed."
And Mrs.McDermott of Dun Laoghaire:
"I am just delighted with the water filter. I drink only water and the difference in taste is amazing, also there are no foreign bodies floating around."
YOU KNOW YOU NEED A WATER FILTER
BUT.....WHICH ONE?
All my research got me thinking...if I'm fed up and frustrated, how frustrated are you?
The average householder does not have the time to wade through dozens of booklets, pamphlets, comparison charts (normally biased), sales leaflets, photographs, performance tests, pollution statistics and much more. All this information screams "buy me, buy me" with very little evidence as to why you should.
WHAT WORLDWIDE RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES
My research clearly showed that the ideal filter system MUST have the following six qualities:
- the filter system must be very effective
- the filter system must be extremely reliable
- the filter system must be simple
- the filter system must have the lowest environmental impact
- the filter system must be very low-cost in maintenance
- this filter system must be easy to install and easy to refit again and again on moving house.
Filter systems MUST NOT require a PhD in engineering to be installed.
THE SEARCH FOR PERFORMANCE, RELIABILITY AND SIMPLICITY
The research started in 1989. I tested over one hundred components in the search for quality manufactured parts for a really simple, effective and environmentally friendly filtration system for use worldwide.
Performance or effectiveness came first followed by quality of both raw materials and manufacture, then low environmental impact and, lastly simplicity. After all, if you want to move plants around your garden, you may need a wheelbarrow but not a 40 ton truck; although both will do the work effectively!
Entirely natural materials are used in the filtration process itself.
Finally, only after a part had passed all tests would I negotiate on price.
CONTINUOUS EVOLUTIONARY IMPROVEMENT
Whenever I find a better part, I incorporate it into the system only after it has been clearly demonstrated that it improves the system.
Although, on initial inspection, the current system appears very like the 1990 model, the only original parts are the three stainless steel screws and the heavy duty mounting bracket.