Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the questions that other customers frequently ask.

1.

What about the minerals that Reverse Osmosis removes from water, doesn’t the body need these?

2.

Why choose Nimbus Reverse Osmosis System?

3.

Why do I need Water Purifier?

4.

What is the difference between purification and filtration?

5.

Is the water from home purification systems the same as bottled water?

6.

Will the bacteria stay in a home purification system and grow?

7.

Doesn't Reverse Osmosis waste a lot of water?

8.

What is KDF?

9.

Why would I want to remove the chlorine?



Answers

1.

What about the minerals that Reverse Osmosis removes from water, doesn’t the body need these?
A single glass of orange juice may contain more of these minerals than as much as 30 gallons of tap water.

 
 
2.

Why choose Nimbus Reverse Osmosis System?

Don Bray, the founder of Nimbus Water Systems Inc., is considered one of the "fathers of membrane technology". It was at General Atomic Division of General Dynamics Corp. where Don Bray began doing the research that led to the development of the first domestic reverse osmosis units. Today, Don Bray et al hold over 40 patents in the reverse osmosis field. Under his guidance: product research, development, and engineering have become a Nimbus Tradition. This means that anytime something new and more advanced is developed in point-of-use reverse osmosis technology, you will find it first in Nimbus products.


Amongst Mr. Bray's many breakthrough inventions was a special casting procedure that allows Nimbus to pre-test its membranes, drying them for storage and shipping, thereby increasing the durability of the membranes. This innovative-patented procedure has given Nimbus' membranes a substantially longer life compared to the wet membranes still used by some of its competitors.


Nimbus has been the leader in home reverse osmosis since 1968. Many that followed are no longer in business. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find replacements parts for obsolete equipment. Nimbus Water Systems look back over three decades of inventions, innovations, and advancements. With many patents and several still pending, they look forward to this millennium with a strong push into the future of reverse osmosis technology. Their superior product research and development continues to make them OFTEN IMITATED but NEVER DUPLICATED.

 
 
3.

Why do I need Water Purifier?

Most people obtain their water from the household tap. This water originates from lakes, rivers, streams, and underground sources. The majority of water goes through a system of cleansing at the local water treatment plant. However, because of the limited of funds to provide the necessary technology, many harmful pollutants and water borne diseases are still present in the finished treated water.


Our tap water is treated to only the minimum of standards: by filtration, chemical conditioning, and disinfections with chlorine. The toxic metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, residual chemicals from the water treatment itself, and the carcinogenic trihalomethanes from the chlorine by-products itself (known to cause liver and corectal cancers - Dr. Michael Colgan, Optimum Sports Nutrition) are all present in the water we drink.


According to the scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it has been estimated that between 60-80 percent of all cancer is caused by the chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and in the water we drink. Cancer will afflict one out of every four people. The NCI expressed concern over 20 years ago, that increases in carcinogens in our water, and our inability to remove them at the treatment plants would result in serious exposure of the general population.


Bacteria, viruses, synthetic compounds, metals, pesticides, herbicides, radio nuclides, and more are the contaminants that are present in our drinking water, and have the potential to cause health effects ranging from low grade sub clinical illnesses such as colds and flu to death from cancer (Canadian Nutrition Guide).


There are more than 60,000 chemical contaminants in water. Any municipal water supply is likely to have at least 1,000 of these. Water authorities do what they can, but the expense of ensuring our tap water is healthy enough for us to drink is too astronomical at such a large scale.


It then becomes imperative for the individual to purify their own drinking water: either by purchasing a purification unit, or purchasing purified water. The two means of purification available today is by distillation or reverse osmosis (desalination).

 
 
4.

What is the difference between purification and filtration?

Purification involves the process of physically separating the pure water molecules from the contaminants. This is a very slow process. The only 2 methods of water purification available today are distillation or reverse osmosis (desalination).


Filtration is primarily designed to filter out only one or two specific contaminants: iron filters to remove iron, carbon filters to remove chlorine, sediment filters to remove solids, etc. Many of your portable types of systems available from your drugstore, hardware, or dept. store are in fact only filters. The easiest way to determine which is a purification system and which is a filtration system is to determine how long it takes to collect the drinking water. If it requires only seconds or minutes, this is a filtration system. If it requires many hours, it is a purification system.

 
 
5.

Is the water from home purification systems the same as bottled water?

Yes, in fact in many cases, it can even be of better quality water. In a home system, the entire purification system is closed: once the system is installed, it is disinfected, and the system is kept closed to any exterior contact. The feed water line is the only entry into the system. In bottled water, the pure water is produced, but must then leave the closed purification cycle and is pumped into bottles. If the bottles are not completely disinfected, and/or exposed to bacteria even after disinfections, the bacteria may begin to breed in the pure water. Bottled water may also sit on the shelf for extended periods of time, allowing the bacteria to multiply in abundance.


In a home purification system, although the near pure water collects in a holding tank, the chlorine is still present within the holding tank. Once you draw the water from the holding tank, then and only then is the chlorine removed. Although any bacteria or microorganisms should have been removed from the water prior to collecting in the holding tank, the presence of the chlorine is an added protection. For people who are on unchlorinated water supplies, the very fact that the home purification system is a closed system is the most important factor to consider.

 
 
6.

Will the bacteria stay in a home purification system and grow?

No. In a reverse osmosis system, the rejected contaminants and any microorganisms do not stay within the system. The reverse osmosis membrane is continually flushed and all contaminants are flushed down the drain. In a distillation system, the boiling chamber can be drained and replenished with fresh feed water. It is necessary to periodically clean the boiling chamber to remove the sediments that can accumulate.


However, in a filtration system, the bacteria do remain on the exterior of the filter and can breed and multiply. Filtration is effective in removing specific problem contaminants such as iron, chlorine, sediments, sulfur, etc. but should not be used exclusively to produce pure drinking water. Only a distiller or a reverse osmosis system can produce pure drinking water that is free of bacteria, viruses, and any microorganisms.

 
 
7.

Doesn't Reverse Osmosis waste a lot of water?

The average person drinks 1 gallon of water per day. In a reverse osmosis system, there is a 4:1 ratio between waste water and pure water production (for every 4 gallons of waste water, 1 gallon of pure water is produced). This 4 gallons is equivalent to 1 flush of the toilet, or a 1-minute shower.


In comparison: 1) a person wastes 20 gallons of water a day based on 5 toilet flushes, 2) a person wastes 90 gallons of water taking a single 15 minute shower. A 4-gallon water consumption is therefore quite nominal in order to drink pure water.

 
 
8.

What is KDF?

KDF is a metallic compound consisting of high-purity copper-zinc formulations. The patented KDF media reduces the contaminants in water using oxidation-reduction (redox), or the electrochemical potential of purified dissimilar metals. The redox reaction means KDF media simply exchange electrons with contaminants. The exchange of electrons changes the contaminants into harmless components: e.g. changes chlorine to chloride.


Other contaminants such as aluminum, arsenic, iron, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals, bond to the KDF media. KDF process media also controls microorganisms in 2 ways. The first way is a by-product of redox: the exchange of electrons creates an electrolytic field that most organisms cannot survive. The second, the forming of hydroxyl radicals and peroxides (from the water molecules), interferes with the microorganism's ability to function.

 
 
9.

Why would I want to remove the chlorine?

Chlorine is universally used to control bacteria in most municipal water supplies in North America. In Europe, this antiquated form of disinfections has mostly been abandoned for the more environmentally friendly and more advanced method of disinfections called ozonation.


Chlorine is a toxic gas and should not be a part of your shower, or your drinking water! Externally, chlorine chemically attacks and bonds with proteins in the human body, causing eye irritation/redness, dry and brittle hair, itching and flaking skin, and a variety of other ailments. Chlorine ingested internally has been charged by researchers to be the "greatest crippler and killer of modern times" and "the cause of an unprecedented disease epidemic, which includes cancer, heart attacks, strokes, senility, premature aging, and sexual impotency.


The body absorbs chlorine from showering through the largest organ of your body-your skin! It absorbs chlorine from the water directly through your pores. Chlorine also vaporizes out of the water into the air. You not only absorb the chlorine through your skin, but you also inhale large amounts into your lungs where it is directly transferred into the blood stream. The longer and hotter the shower, the more toxic chemicals build up in the air. The American Chemical Society estimates that "Householders could receive from 6 to 100 times more of the chemicals by breathing the air around the showers, baths, etc..., that they would by drinking the water".