Superclean: how to find the balance between “good” clean and “bad” clean.

Water is the first step

Sort out your water quality sooner rather than later.

Clean is the new green.

In a pre-pandemic life, very few people had a favourite hand-sanitizer and Dettol’s “kills 99.9% of all germs” promise was accepted as a jingle, not relied on as a life saver…Post pandemic, we place much more value on what “clean” means and how de-germ our spaces.

Is there such a thing as too clean?

Yes – there is. Humans have a certain amount of beneficial and necessary bacteria in and on our bodies that help us function and life our lives. If we go overboard and completely kill off these good bugs, we end up with bodies and immune systems that cannot cope with even the smallest outside pathogen, or simply cannot function properly. Think about the havoc that a course of antibiotics wreck on your tummy – blindly killing off everything is not the way to go.

This doesn’t mean that we need to live a dirty life.

Although a bit of dirt and mess is important, particularly for kids, in order to build good immune systems, we can still keep a high standard when it comes to things like viruses and parasites.

One way to protect our loved ones from unwanted pathogens, is to sort out the water we drink.

Worldwide there is increased pressure on freshwater systems and in South Africa many of our big cities regularly struggle with water-system failures. We have had to be creative to ensure the reliable flow of water to our homes. Whether you have borehole, municipal or harvested water the responsibility to ensure the quality of your water lies with you. For this reason, a thriving water purification industry has popped up and it might feel like we are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting pure water.

More fluff than filter

Not all water filters are similar, and some don’t even deliver on what they promise. Don’t be fooled by water filters that promise amazing things but do not have the science and expertise to back it.

There are a few basic ways to filter and purify your water.

These include boiling, filtration, chemical treatment and reverse osmosis.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the different processes:

Boiling: Many viruses and bacteria/parasites will die when they reach a certain temperature. This means that boiling water can at least remove the worst pathogens although it won’t help with insoluble materials in the water or necessarily improve the tase.

Filtration: This can be a sensible next step, as its one of the most common processes and based on the filters you use, how fine they are and how many times the water flows through the system, this can remove insoluble matter and even improve he taste. This method does not remove dissolved salts and wont do much to purify hard or brackish water.

Chemical treatment: This is how most municipalities ensure fresh water for their customers. Chemicals like chlorine are added to water, which ensures that most pathogens are neutralized. We wont comment on the taste here, but summer pool parties come to mind.

Reverse osmosis: By far our favourite. This process is easily scalable and is the perfect final step for household water purification. This system gives the best tasting water, and it guarantees exceptional purity. It uses a semi-permeable membrane to remove impurities and pollutants from water. It is highly effective in removing impurities, dissolved salts, heavy metals, and other harmful substances from water.

The world of water purification can be murky (pun intended) and it’s best to get an expert your trust to navigate you through the doldrums.

Fortunately, there are a couple of local waterwise guys we know and trust.

First up is Theunis Huisman and his company, Group W Consultants, who have been in the water game since 2002. They provide a wide range of water purification solutions, regardless of the scale of the project and their after-sales service is excellent.

Aquatech SA also provides residential as well as commercial and large-scale water purification solutions. Their wide range of filter options as well as the scalable nature of their products mean that you’ll be sure to get exactly what you need.

One thing to take into consideration is that even with water there is such a thing as too pure.

Completely purified and sterile water may sound good, but it loses all the benefits of water as we know it. You might be hydrated but pretty soon you’ll be lacking many of the essential life sustaining and immune boosting elements that we are used to getting with our 8 glasses a day.

Although so called “distilled water” is fine to drink (it just doesn’t taste great) you should ensure that you have an additional source of minerals, seeing as your water won’t contain any. There is also a type of water called “sterile water” which is not potable and mainly intended for wound washing and other medical procedures.