How The AquaRain
System Works...
The AquaRain®
system filters water in a very
natural way using gravity to gently draw water down through our
"cultured"
ceramic stone
in much the same manner as nature processes ground water through the
earth.
The microfine pore structure of our ceramic media
will remove dangerous
organisms
such as protozoan cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia lamblia)
and microscopic bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium,
etc...).
Enclosed within the hard ceramic shell we have incorporated a
concentrated bed of
Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) that contains a self-sterilizing
metallic
silver. The high performance silvered GAC bed will adsorb various
organic chemicals such as MTBE and pesticides, remove chlorine
compounds
including carcinogenic halogens, and improve the taste and odor of the
water.
To
the benefit of good health, our system will also leave unchanged the
naturally occurring electrolytes and minerals found in
your water.
How Ceramics
Work...
Ceramic water filters work in
three ways. First, surface sieving, much like a screen door, does not
allow
larger particles to pass through the outer surface of the filter.
Second,
ceramic filters operate as a depth media, providing a twisting,
tortuous path
like a maze, trapping contaminants within the walls (usually in the top
.005" below the surface). Third, surface charge or adhesion, whereby
contaminants that are small enough to penetrate the walls of the
ceramic may
cling to the walls like opposite polarity magnets attract each other.
This
surface charge is often greater than the force of the water flow that
might
otherwise dislodge the contaminant. This is particularly true with
gravity or
siphon-fed ceramic applications.
Wall
thickness is particularly important with
regard to a ceramic’s performance as a depth media. The
maze-like, tortuous
path allows for filtration performance at an effective pore size that
is much
less than the actual median pore diameter of the diatomes from which
the filter
is made. As clogged filters are cleaned to restore flow, contaminants
in the top
.005" of surface material are removed. Gentle abrasive cleaning will
gradually reduce wall thickness, making a reliable end-of-life
indicator or
gauge absolutely essential for easy determination of expended ceramics.