Prevent Ice Machine Slime and Bacteria

It is a common, but nasty problem for restaurant, bar, hotel and hospitals: bacteria and slime growing inside a commercial ice machine. Beyond the apparent issues associated with bacteria, the slimy build up inside of ice machines causes poor taste and odor in the beverages. Another huge problem when slime starts building in commercial ice machines is it’s one of the leading causes for low ice production and machine failure. *Note if you have issues with water scale see Everpure EV9799-02 filter.

To combat this problem for commercial ice bagging companies and hotels, hospitals, and restaurants with ice machines the Ice Wand easy an easy to use solution. Simply place the Ice wand in your ice machine and the patented anti-microbial filter media it will control the growth of bacteria that is responsible for ice machine bio-film (slime) build-up.

How the Ice Wand Prevents Ice Machine Slime

After nearly a year of field test the Ice Wand’s ability to control ice machine bio-film build up is remarkable. Traditionally, restaurants, hotels, bar, casinos, and any other establishment operating commercial ice machines are forced to shut down their ice makers to do regular mechanical cleaning and disinfection. The Ice Wand however inhibits the growth of the disease and slime causing organisms with patented, nontoxic, mineral based, time released filter media pellets.

The secret of the Ice Wand ice machine filter success lies in this patented EPA-registered advanced antimicrobial MB2050 media. This innovative technology utilizes the antimicrobial properties of various minerals, along with metal oxides to interfere with microorganism’s cell replication, electron transport and overall organism function. With this new technology the Ice Wand allows members of the food service industry to meet sanitation regulations easily and to improve the quality of beverages for their customers. The installation of the Ice wand is simple and requires no tools and is done with one step, simply place the ice wand into your commercial ice machines water sump and you are done. The Ice Wand works with commercial ice machines such as Scotsman, Manitowoc, Hoshizaki, Ice-O-Matic, and virtually any ice machine that uses a sump.

 

The Ice Wand Can Save Your Ice Making Business Money

Not only does the ice wand provide better quality ice and helps increase the life of your commercial ice machine, it save your business money. The ice wand helps eliminate the burden of having to clean your ice machine manually. In the past business operating commercial ice machines have to devote resources or pay an outside contractor to clean bacteria and bio-film (slime) about once every 2-3 months. Just having your commercial ice machine professional cleaned 3 times a year, can be more often in restaurants and bars with high yeast present, can cost owners over a $1000 a year. By using the Ice Wand, commercial ice machine filter, cuts your cleanings at least in half, in some cases completely eradicating the need for cleaning, saving you hundreds of dollars a year! Below is an over view of the features and benefits of the Ice Wand bio-film prevention filter.

• Dramatically reduced cleaning and maintenance requirements and costs

• Improved overall beverage and bagged ice quality

• Reduces taste and odor concerns

• Extends life of commercial ice cube machine

• Compatible with almost all commercial ice cube machines

• Long shelf life

• No chlorine additives, carcinogenic chemicals, or toxic by-products

• Safe to handle; easy 5-minute installation

• Oxidation resistant – safe for ice machine parts

• Yearly Commercial Ice Machine Cleaning Cost $1000 and Up (3 cleanings)

• Yearly Cost Of Ice Wand Less Than $150 (changed every 3 months)

• Made in the USA

Water Ultrafiltration Systems: #1 Water Holiday Idea and Peeking into 2012

Well, our number one water holiday idea might also be a preview of the best new water filtration technology of 2012. Many believe that water Ultrafiltration represents the next generation of affordable residential and commercial water treatment products by providing a “Green” approach in the water treatment marketplace, when compared to other competitive technologies such as reverse osmosis and ultraviolet sterilization.

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NEW Learn About ultrafiltration water treatment and compare it to reverse osmosis systems

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What is water Ultrafiltration? Historically, the process of water Ultrafiltration has been used in large municipal water treatment plants and hospitals. Thanks to advances in technology, it is now available to you as a powerful under-sink water filtration system in your home. The system works by using a membrane type filtration process with standard home water pressure to push water through its semi-permeable hollow fiber membrane element. Particles and materials of high molecular weight that are suspended in the water are unable to pass through the 0.02 micron UF membrane, thus reducing a wide array of contaminates such cysts, viruses, bacteria, lead, chlorine, and more. Only fresh clean water and dissolved beneficial minerals are allowed to pass through your faucet.

Unlike other technologies that use electricity or waste gallons of water to produce small amounts of clean water, ultra water filtration system will constantly provide a continuous supply of water no matter the occasion. Additional proven filtration medias are incorporated in an Ultrafiltration water systems to aid in the removal of sediment, bad taste, foul odors, undesirable chemicals and metals, and even unwanted additives like *fluoride (*AquaCera CeraGuard Details).

The Watts Ultrafiltration (UF) 3 Stage Kwick-Change, and the AquaCera CeraGuard UF drinking water systems both feature a small foot print size and are as simple as attaching them to the water line under your sink. Both of these Ultrafiltration systems have been designed for quick and easy filter changes along with considerable cost savings over replacing the lamps in a UV water system, or the membrane elements in a reverse osmosis system. This, in part, is why many think that water ultra-filtration with hollow fiber membrane technology means better drinking water for less.

FreshWaterSystems.com wishes everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday season!

Pentek 2500 4 Stage Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System: 2nd Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

We use water every day for many different things. We drink it, cook with it, some people use it to home brew beer or fill their aquariums. For any of these uses you want the water to be as pure as possible and the most effective way to accomplish this at home is with a reverse osmosis system.
Fresh Water Systems currently offers the Pentek RO-2500 4 stage reverse osmosis drinking water system starting at $139.99. The RO-2500 is available with add-ons such as a permeate pump or alkaline water filter.

The non-electric permeate pump add-on will reduce the volume of rinse water “wasted” by up to 80% and decrease the time it takes to fill the storage tank by as much as 65%. Installing the permeate pump isolates the RO membrane from the back pressure of the storage tank which dramatically improves the efficiency of the membrane. This means that adding the permeate pump to your system will improve your water quality while wasting less water, all without using any electricity.

The alkaline ionized ro water filter add-on is a great option for customers looking for a less expensive alternative to water ionizers or alkaline water systems. Many of these systems can cost thousands of dollars and while they may give you the pH or ORP results you are looking for, most of them do not purify the water. The alkaline filter uses a 10 stage process to raise the pH, lower the ORP and give your water a refreshing mineral flavor. Using the RO-2500 with the alkaline filter add-on gives you the benefit of the purification from the reverse osmosis system as well as the increased pH and lowered ORP from the alkaline water filter.

Nautilus Countertop Water Distiller: 4th Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

Are you or someone on your holiday gift list extremely conscious of what they put in their body? Are they constantly reading nutrition labels and giving advice on what you should or should not eat and drink? Then they will probably appreciate a Nautilus Countertop Distiller.

The Nautilus Distiller purifies the water through steam distillation. The water is boiled, causing the steam to rise, leaving behind the contaminants and impurities, into the condensing coil where it is cooled and condensed back to water, then drips through the carbon postfilter for a final polishing before collecting in the BPA free reservoir. This process is based on the hydrologic cycle, which is nature’s way of purifying water.

A countertop water distiller system is great for anyone that doesn’t want to deal with the installation of a reverse osmosis system, or is living in an apartment, dorm room or rental and are not able to install a system. You just set the Nautilus on the counter, plug it in, fill the boiling chamber with water and turn it on. Even if you don’t want to use the distiller for drinking water, there are plenty of other uses for distilled water. Vaporizers, humidifies, steam irons, lead-acid batteries, CPAP machines, waterfalls/water features, aquariums and engine cooling systems are some other applications for the use of distilled water.

Right now, Fresh Water Systems is offering the Nautilus Counter Distiller with a promo pack that includes the distiller, one 20 oz jar of Still Clean distiller cleaner/descaler, one 6 pack of carbon postfilters and an 18 oz Neo-Vas stainless steel water bottle for $379.00. Ground shipping is only $1.99!

Steripen UV Water Purifier: 5th Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

We have the perfect gift idea for anyone you know that travels out of the country, enjoys camping, and likes to be prepared in case of emergency situations. Let’s start off with a practical story, where I really wish I would have owned a UV water filter myself.

A few years ago I went on a Caribbean cruise, which stopped at several ports of call. At one of our scheduled stops, one of the attractions was exploring the city’s history and culture on foot. To add to the authentic experience, we decided to pass on the typical American restaurants and get lunch in an authentic island café. We sat down, were greeted by our waiter with glasses of water, which was a very welcome site after our 2 hour trek in the heat. But things went downhill very quickly from there, the experience ending with the receipt of my ant-covered sandwich. Needless to say we quickly left, but the worst was yet to come. Let’s just say that those glasses of water came back to haunt us a few hours later, with all four of us sick and fighting for turns in the bathroom. Not the memories anyone would want to bring home from a vacation. I only wish that I would have known about the Steripen handheld UV water purifier.

The Steripen UV water purifier uses ultraviolet light to disinfect drinking water. In as little as 48 seconds, 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts such as giardia and cryptosporidia, are destroyed. And all of this safety can be found in a small, compact, and stylish package that fits right into your pocket! But this technological wonder is not just for the ten million international travelers that the CDC estimates will develop diarrhea from contaminated water; it’s a great idea for everyone who enjoys the outdoors, and it’s even handy in case of a water emergency.

 

For Campers and Hikers: If you know someone who likes camping or hiking, they know that contaminated water cannot be visually detected. Just because water looks clean, it might not be. There are several types of microorganisms which most often come from animal and human waste and are spread by water run-off. The Steripen water purifier protects your most precious thing when you’re camping or hiking, your water.

For Emergency Situations: Many of us live, or know someone who lives, in an area that is prone to natural disasters. Whether it be hurricanes, floods, tornadoes or earthquakes , all natural disasters can disrupt safe drinking water supplies in a number of ways, and that has the potential to create ideal environments for microbial growth. And Steripen should be an essential part of your emergency preparation.

Remember, if you need a cool, last minute gift idea for the traveler, adventure, the preparer, or the techie in your family; consider one of the Steripen UV water purifier products. You can easily see why the Steripen was named on Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Gadgets, and recently name in Fox News Hottest Tech Toys.

Crystal Bath Ball Filters: 6th Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

If the stress of the holiday season is wearing you down, taking a relaxing bath can be a great stress reducer. For most people, once your eyes open in the morning the day begins in a frantic rush and carries through the rest of the day, leaving us tired and stressed. As many of us know, taking a bath can be a great way to help the body unwind and relieve the built-up stress. It has been shown that the combination of warmth and water helps the body relax. The buoyancy of the water in a bathtub helps create a feeling of zero gravity, in turn allowing your body’s muscles to release tension. Baths can be very therapeutic for our bodies, but there are some small side effects that we all would like to do without.

Here is an actual question from a customer of ours. “I take baths because I have really long hair that takes a long time to wash if I take a shower. My problem is that my bathtub water has such a bad chlorine smell, it smells almost like a pool! My bath water makes my skin really dry and itchy too. I have been told a water softener can help, but it is way too costly. How can I get clean bathtub water with no chlorine?”

The Rainshowr Crystal Bath Ball chlorine filter is the perfect solution! The Rainshowr bath filter works through the water coming in direct contact with the media filaments inside the fabric pouch, where the chlorine ions in the water are converted into a harmless chloride. The toxic effects of chlorine, chloramine and chlorine gas, are eliminated with the aid of Rainshowr’s specially designed KDF®-55 Formula 73. But this bath water filter does not stop there: inside the filter are a mix of Quartz crystals that reduce the molecular structure of the water into smaller clusters, thereby allowing enhanced sudsing and lathering of soap.

Unlike other gifts that are never used or returned, the Rainshowr Bath Filter is a practical, useful gift that is sure to provide months of benefits. So if you need a last minute gift and or stocking stuffer idea for your mom, sister or best friend, consider giving her the perfect bath.

Dechlorinating Shower Filters: 7th Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

Water is a major ingredient used in everyday life, but it plays an even more important role during the holiday season. Just think about all of the water that will be used in preparing all of the holiday food and drinks! Or another often overlooked usage of the household water: showering! Did you know that showers typically account for one-third of a home’s water consumption? (Toilets and clothes washers came in first and second, respectively). According to the AWWA Residential End Uses of Water study, the average American shower last a little over 8 minutes, and uses about 17 gallons of water. And even though we are ‘cleaning’ our bodies, shower water can contribute to some very common nagging health issues such as dry skin and others.

A shower filter can improve the health and look of your skin and hair by reducing the amount of scale, sulfur, and odor that comes in contact with us. A shower filter most of all also helps to reduce the amount of chlorine we are being exposed to, as many municipal water systems utilize chlorine as a disinfectant to kill bacteria in the water. And chlorinated shower water can have additional adverse effect on our bodies, such as the inhalation of chlorine gas vapors. Chlorine vaporizes very quickly in a hot, steamy shower, so you end up breathing in this gas which could potentially have a major impact on people with asthma or other breathing concerns.

FreshWaterSystems.com offers two brands of shower water filters, each of them offering unique styling options and different filter media material. The Culligan shower filters use granular activated carbon (GAC) to reduce the chlorine from shower water. Rainshowr shower filters use KDF Media, a more long lasting and advanced method of chlorine removal. But choosing what brand and style of shower filter might the most difficult part, because installing one is easy! Simply unscrew your existing shower head, wrap a small piece of Teflon tape around the end of the pipe, and then twist the new shower filter head on. Then the only left to do is periodically replace the showerhead filters, about every 6 months, to ensure that you maintain maximum water flow and chlorine reduction.

It’s easy to see how the benefits of filtering your shower water are worth far more than the cost of the filter. It's a fact that filtering your shower water has a positive effect on your health. You'll breathe easier when you're not inhaling concentrated chlorine gases in every shower. You'll see improved skin health and more overall energy.

Everpure H-300 Undersink Drinking Water System: 8th Day Before Christmas Holiday Water Ideas

Do you know someone that constantly complains about the taste of their water? Are they always buying bottled water? A great gift idea for them this year is the Everpure EV9270-76 H-300 Drinking Water System. The H-300 is one of our most popular filtration systems and for good reason, the operating cost is lower than the price of bottled water and Everpure is a leading name in water treatment for the residential, commercial and food service markets. Filtering your water will improve the taste of your coffee, tea, juice, soups and sauces.

The H-300 is a single cartridge, sanitary quick change filtration system. The cartridge is encapsulated and removes from the system with just a quarter turn. This means that replacing the H-300 filter cartridge is sanitary and as easy as changing a light bulb, in fact it’s even easier than changing a light bulb and there is almost no chance you will get electrocuted.

Designed with Everpure’s Micro-Pure technology, the H-300 delivers great tasting water every time, while reducing the following contaminants:

• Lead
• Cysts (such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium)
• Volatile organic compounds (VOC) including trihalomethanes (THM)
• Chlorine, taste and odor
• Dirt and Cloudiness
• Mold and algae
• Oxidized iron, manganese and sulfides
• Particles 0.5 micron and larger in size

The cartridge contains a bacteriostatic agent to combat the growth and reproduction of bacteria in the cartridge which could cause premature failure due to clogging. The H-300 also contains a scale inhibitor to reduce lime and scale build-up on appliances that use water, so you can install this system with an ice maker, instant hot water dispenser, point of use water cooler or to a drinking water faucet installed next to your kitchen sink.

The Everpure H-300 Drinking Water Filter System EV9270-76 includes the QL3 filter head, H-300 cartridge, 15’ of ¼” tubing and the needed installation components. A drinking water faucet is NOT included. Fresh Water Systems carries an extensive selection of drinking water faucets all styles and finishes to match your kitchen décor.

Backup Sump Pumps, Affordable and Instant Flood Insurance

Winter 2011 was one of the countries snowiest and coldest in our countries history, and some cities such as New York City had such large snowfall amounts some people were saying that it would be mid Spring time before the snow melted. Snow now is melting or has melted, and that coupled with the usual spring time rain brings a very common problem for home owners, flooding.

In the United States their are locations, which on an annual bases experience major water flooding issues. The problem is often exacerbated by homes with a basement since this home space is used for a wide variety of things for your home such as appliance, play rooms, bedrooms, storage, and more. If you are luck when getting you home owner insurance policies you might added on to include flood insurance. Unfortunately, the fact is the vast majority of standard home owners’ policies Do Not include flood insurance.

All natural disasters that effects our homes are emotionally, physically, and financially difficult to deal with but flooding is one of the most difficult ones. Not only hard on a family to recover from, according to recently published numbers about 80 percent of recent federally declared disaster areas involve flooding. The government has developed a website to help people understand the issues with flooding, and the damage that it can cause. The FloodSmart web site has several tools people can use to see how vulnerable they are to floods, how much a flood costs and approximately how much it will cost to buy flood insurance. In places that are not at high risk, flood insurance is usually inexpensive, but it can become quite expensive in high risk zones. Flood insurance is required in high risk areas for any federally-back mortgage. The biggest issue with Home owners that do not have flood insurance is that it takes 30 days to go into effect. “It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.” (floodsmart.gov)

Although never too late to Flood insurance to your home owners policy, you need to remember that it will take 30 days after purchase to go into effect which puts us towards the end of the flood season. There is an alternative and what could be called a small insurance policy against flood damage to your home and that is to use a basement sump pump. FreshWaterSystems.com is now offering the most durable, long lasting home basement sump pumps on the market the New Duro Titan submersible pumps. We researched for over 6 months all the sump pumps on the market including Little Giant, Zoeller, Wayne, and many others to determine the best performance, durability, and value. Below are a few specifications and features of the Titan pumps.

• Aluminum die-casting and engineered thermoplastic for impact and corrosion resistance.
• Stainless steel hardware for long lasting durability.
• Thermoplastic vortex impeller designed for high lift and flow capacity.
• Titan Sump pumps are offered with either a Vertical or Tethered float and with either 1/3 or ½ hp.

To learn more, compare specs, see applications, and more about these home basement submersible sump visit FreshWaterSystems.com

World Initiative for Clean Water and Toilets for All by 2015

There are a few natural resources that are obviously vital to our survival. These vital resources at the most basic level include food, water, and air. Air is the direst being that humans can only approximately 3-6 minutes. The longest thing we can go without is food and it is estimated that we can survive without eating something for 3 weeks. Water is in the middle and it is estimated we can survive 3 days without it.

As we all know we are far from “clean drinking water equality” and there are many regions of our planet. World leaders, a few years back signed a pledge of clean water and toilets for all by 2015. Here are a few facts about the current state of clean water access for people.

- In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 1 billion people in rural areas have no access to improved water supplies.
- Polluted water is estimated to affect the health of more than 1.2 billion people, and to contribute to the death of an average 15 million children every year.
- In 1994, WHO estimated the number of people without access to clean drinking water at 1.3 billion. By 2000, nearly 1.2 billion people lacked access to clean water, while 2.4 billion lacked access to adequate sanitation services.
- To achieve 2015 sanitation targets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, an additional 2.2 billion people will have to be provided with sanitation facilities.

Below is a video from wateraid.org using a cleave method to make others think about this global issue and get involved.


There are small steps that are being made with the use of charitable donations and a emerging water filter technology. Ceramic water filters have proven equally effective, and the choice must be made on other factors which include, for example, effectiveness, availability of materials, costs, ease of transportation, longevity, and preferences of the beneficiaries.

If interested in helping in this global initiative, below are a few organizations that are dedicated to helping solve this possible looming world crisis.
http://watercharity.org
http://www.wateraid.org