Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What advantages does softened water have?
Food and beverages that have been prepared with softened drinking water can develop their full aroma. Scale does not affect household machines as much and they need not be de-scaled so frequently. The machines have a longer life expectancy and new ones need not be bought so soon.

What can I use Aqua Select Plus® filtered water for?
For whatever you would use drinking water for, for example to prepare tea or coffee, to water your plants, for your pets, when cooking, for the iron….Please follow the manufacturers’ advice and directions of use.

Is Aqua Select Plus® filtered water really cleaner than normal drinking water?
Yes. The chlorine taste and organic contamination is greatly reduced. Also, the temporary hardness of water decreases.

How is the water hardness reduced?
The carbon content and hardness of water is reduced by ion exchange. Calcium and magnesium ions contained in the water are removed for the most part and substituted by hydrogen.

What is an ion exchanger?
An ion exchanger is a natural or artificially manufactured organic or non-organic material. An example for a natural ion exchanger is clay minerals. An artificial one is the green colour agent chlorophyll, that the food industry applies to make peas and beans appear greener. Ion exchangers can absorb ions from drinking water, exchanging them for other ions of equal electric charge, for example Ca++ (calcium) against H+ or Pb+ (lead) against H+.

What materials are Aqua SelectPlus® filter cartridges made of?
The filter cartridge is made of polypropylene and contains a mixture composed of ion exchanger-granulate and activated carbon. Both materials have been especially developed to remove carbon from drinking-water.

What is activated carbon?
Activated carbon is a close grained type of carbon with a large surface. It is used as an absorbing material in water and sewage treatment as well as to clean air and in medical contexts.
Activated carbon is made of organic material, for example wood, peat and coconut shells. It is usually activated at 850-950°C using steam.

What is adsorption?
The accumulation of ions or molecules on a substance’s inner surface due to certain physical reactions.

How does activated carbon work?
Activated carbon is of a sponge-like structure. Organic substances are absorbed from the air and water by activated carbon. Contaminated air and water can be cleaned

Is activated carbon harmful?
No. It is applied against gastrointestinal discomforts in humans. In sugar production, activated carbon is used to make originally brown sugar white.

Are the ion exchanger and activated carbon in Aqua Select Plus filter® cartridge empty at the same time?
No. The ion exchanger is what determines an Aqua Select Plus® filter cartridges life expectancy. The activated carbon works for a lot longer.

Why should I discard the first two litres of filtered water?
During transport, the two elements in the filter cartridge rub against each other, producing fine dust. Latter causes the first two litres of water to cloud – yet they aren’t harmful to drink! We recommend you use them to water your plants.

The filter is in constant contact with water. What happens if it dries out?
The patented Aqua Select Plus® overflow filter system makes sure that the cartridge is constantly moist during daily usage. If the filter dries out, re-activate the cartridge by laying it in drinking water for 15 minutes. Then treat it like a new filter, using the first two litres of water to water your plants, e.g..

Two years ago, I bought an Aqua Select Plus® filter cartridge. Can I still use it?
Of course. Even after such a long time, the Aqua Select Plus® filter can be used. Just lay it in drinking water for approx. an hour, then treat it like a normal, new filter.

I was on holiday for a while (e.g. 3-4 weeks). Can I still use my Aqua Select Plus® filter cartridge?
Yes, if the cartridge was stored in water in a cool, dark place and had only been used shortly (for approx. a week) before your trip. Remove the Aqua SelectPlus® filter cartridge, wash the filter system with washing up liquid, rinse thoroughly with tap water and proceed as usual when changing cartridges.  

How much water can I filter in one day?
You can filter between 5 and 10 litres of water per day. Filter a maximum of 3 litres of drinking-water after each other.

How long can I use my Aqua Select Plus® filter cartridge and how much water can I filter with it?
Depending on the hardness of the water in your area, you can filter different amounts of water. When filtering a maximum of 3 litres per day, you can filter 100 litres of hard water with one cartridge. In general, the cartridge should be changed every 4-6 weeks.

Can I filter hot water?
No. Hot water would damage the ion exchanger and encourage bacteria and germ growth.

How can I tell when to change my water filter cartridge?
By using the date indicator on Aqua Select Plus® water filter systems. The water filter „Seal Aqual sensor” with a digital usage measure and capacity indicator offers the securest control. Or, when a layer starts to form on prepared tea or coffee or when the flavour changes. After using it for a while, you will realise that the time that water takes to be filtered increases.

Wouldn’t it be easier if the filter material would change colour when the cartridge needs to be changed?
The Aqua Select Plus® System is made to filter drinking water, so no material can be used that could contaminate the water or harm the consumer’s health. As of yet, no colour indicators are known that can be used in connection with drinking water.

Can I prepare baby food with water from Aqua Select Plus ®filters?
Yes, of course. Follow the directions for use strictly.

If I only drink water filtered by Aqua Select Plus®, how can I obtain my daily dose of calcium and magnesium?
The Aqua SelectPlus® filter does not remove ALL calcium and magnesium from drinking-water. The water would taste stale otherwise. Still, drinking-water is not a vital source of calcium and magnesium. A cheese sandwich contains as much of both as a weeks ration of drinking-water would.

The water in our area is very soft so we don’t need an Aqua Select Plus® filter system.
Not quite. Soft water is often more aggressive than hard water, loosening copper and lead from old water pipes.

Can Aqua Select Plus® water substitute distilled water?
No. Distilled water contains absolutely no minerals and salts. Aqua Select Plus® filtered water still contains trace elements, mineral and salts that are very important when preparing an excellent tea or coffee.

Is our drinking water so bad, that we have to filter it?
No. Drinking water is generally of very high quality. Still, in many regions a chlorine taste in prepared tea or coffee or calcification of household appliances prove to be problems. Aqua Select Plus® were especially developed to fight or at least minimise these problems. The high quality of drinking-water is only ensured until the water enters a household. Depending on the age and condition of the household piping, contaminants can be dissolved from the piping.

Why don’t tap water providers use huge Aqua Select Plus® filters?
Only a small amount of the tap water used daily is actually used to drink. Our tap water would become a lot more expensive if all the water – that is also used for washing machines, showers, dish washers etc. – were filtered.

Why does water contain chlorine?
Chlorine is added to water to kill germs and bacteria. It is harmless and useful, but influences the flavour and smell of drinking water immensely.

Can the Aqua Select® Plus System remove chlorine?
Yes. It can remove up to 90% of pure chlorine from drinking water and up to 50% of organic chlorine-hydrogen compounds and pesticides.

Can an Aqua Select Plus® system remove lead and possible other heavy metals from my drinking water?
The Aqua Select Plus® filter system can remove up to 90% of lead and 50% of copper, cadmium and aluminium. The heavy metals must be in form of ions and can be withheld to a size of 0.018 cm.

Why can’t I attach an Aqua Select Plus® system directly to my tap?
A filter that is attached directly to a tap would have to resist great pressure. That would mean disproportional increase in production costs and an expensive end product. Anyway, it’s not necessary to filter all tap water as only a small proportion of it is actually drunk. One would be filtering washing up water unnecessarily, for example.

What are deposits in household appliances? How can I prevent them?
Alkaline earths contained in tap water are responsible for deposits. When hard water is cooked, they produce heat resistant calcium carbonate that can damage domestic appliances greatly. Using
an Aqua Select Plus® water filtering system you can save a lot of money usually spent on expensive de-scaling products.

Why does tea prepared with Aqua Select Plus® filtered water look so much better than tea prepared with normal tap water? Why does tea and coffee prepared with Aqua Select Plus® filtered water taste better?
Tea or coffee that is prepared with hard, unfiltered water tends to look unappetizing due to deposits and the film that forms on the surface. When using Aqua Select Plus® filtered water, you can avoid those unattractive aspects. By removing the contaminants and elements like chlorine that influence the flavour negatively, the taste is improved. Depending on the water quality, coffee tastes less bitter.

Can I use Aqua Select Plus® filtered water to water my plants?
Water hardness can block plant cells in plants. By watering pot plants with filtered water, they flourish better. Cut flowers stay fresh for longer.

Can I use Aqua Select Plus® filtered water for my aquarium?
Yes. Aqua Select Plus® filtered water is agreeable for fish. But do not forget: your fish will need to adapt to the cleaner water with a lower pH value, so exchange the water from the fish tank for Aqua Select Plus® filtered water bit for bit.

Can I give my pets Aqua Select Plus® filtered water?
Yes, of course.

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