Clean water is a basic necessity, you need safe water to drink. The water you drink may be crystal clear with no discoloration or visible particles, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated [1]. So how do you ensure your water is as pristine as it can be? Let’s take a look at some of the water purification technologies that help keep your water safe.
UV
You might have seen UV technology in a lot of water purifiers without knowing exactly what it entails. This is an age old technology for getting microbiologically safe water. UV light is a powerful bacteria deterrent, and this helps your purifier inactivate nasty disease-spreading microorganisms in your water. This leaves you with a microbe-free supply of drinking water, but doesn’t remove any other impurities like physical and chemical [2].
UF
Ultrafiltration or UF is a membrane technology that helps get rid of more physical impurities. By forcing your water through a semipermeable membrane, your purifier gets rid of tiny particles in the water [3]. Think of it as a strainer for your water; getting rid of larger particles and bacteria while retaining healthy minerals.
RO
Reverse Osmosis or RO is a membrane technology, which is considered to be the heart of water purifiers. Similar to UF, it works with a semi-permeable membrane, along with a high-pressure pump to completely remove both physical chemical and microbiological in your water, leaving you with water cleaner than any of the previous methods we’ve mentioned [4].
SCMT
Silver Charged Membrane Technology (SCMT) is the most potent water purification technology we’ve seen yet. Using a filter media with a high electropositive charge on its nano-fibres, this technology not only takes out viruses and bacteria but also takes out some of the chemical impurities like phosphates, colloids etc. [5]
While all these different methods of purification are powerful on their own, they work best in tandem. Most water purifiers use RO + UV or RO + UV + UF combinations, but to obtain water that can be considered even baby safe, you need to look further at RO + SCMT [5]. Getting rid of the most contaminants, your water is significantly cleaner as compared to any of the previous combinations.
With A. O. Smith water purifiers, we use all of these technologies in conjunction with an 8 stage purification process, providing you with purified water to take care of yours & your family’s health. You can check out our line of water purifiers here.
1 – Human perception of water appearance
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00288330.1995.9516637
2 – Ultraviolet radiation and its germicidal effect in drinking water purification.
https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20113034661
3 – Hybrid forward osmosis/ultrafiltration membrane bag for water purification
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001191641930579X
4 – A Review on Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membranes for Water Purification
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/11/8/1252
5 – Disruptor® for Residential Use
https://www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com/products/filter-media/water-filtration/residential-use/
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