Riddle: When are purifier test results not actually test results?
Answer: When insufficient water has been used to run the test!
We occasionally get asked about our purifiers’ ability to remove specific contaminants – like arsenic, fluoride or fertiliser. And, when we say that we can’t currently remove them with any degree of certainty, we are asked why our competitors claim they can.
The answer is short. (Like some testing methods.)
When we run tests on our water purifiers, we don’t just filter a litre of tap water and call it quits. We add specific contaminants to thousands of litres of water and check that the amount removed when the filter is brand new is the same as when it approaches end-of-life.
It’s likely that if we assumed the first few hundred millilitres of water gave you a complete picture, then we too could claim to remove 99% Trichlorobenzene, Isopropyltoluene or Hexachlorobutadiene. But when we test something, we test it for the whole life of the filter. And we do it more than once.
Red Flags
- When you have to ask a supplier for test results, and when they arrive, they aren’t scanned original reports but smart ‘designed’ documents showing only what they want to share
- They don’t mention the volume of water used, the number of filters tested or the time frame
- They talk about ‘standard laboratory operating procedure’ but don’t list the NSF standards they are testing against.
Who to trust?
At LifeSaver, we never make a claim without proper independent testing to back it up, and all our test results and methodologies are available for anyone to look at online. When researching water purification options, make sure you examine the details of their results. And look for NSF P248 or P231 standards as a minimum.
Moving forward
We know there are chemicals and heavy metals in groundwater in some parts of the world that are cause for concern, and we are constantly seeking ways to safely and consistently remove them – or at least reduce them to safe levels. Our Graphene:Ultra technology has made great headway into this, and we are still testing it to see exactly what else it can do.
We’re exploring other ways of removing harmful contaminants all the time, and you can be sure that when we find solutions that are proven to work, we’ll make them as accessible as possible.
If you’d like to know more about how we test our filters, please get in touch.