How much water will the AquaRain® Natural Water Filter produce?

You can expect approximately 1 gallon an hour if you are right there monitoring the water, and continue to fill and empty as it filters. Most people will not use it in that fashion. One would fill the AquaRain Natural Filter to the top of the rim of the upper stainless steel vessel and can expect approximately 1 ½ gallons available for their use in the morning.

How long do the filter elements last?

How long the ceramic filter elements will last depends on the quality of the water you are filtering. We actually have some customers who purchased their AquaRain system in 1999 and use it daily that still have the same filters! Obviously their water is pretty clean. One customer's example is this: on a personal well with iron, sulfur, and other bacteria they have to clean their filters about every 4 months. They get approximately 5 years out of a set of filters. Another person on municipal water used her same filters for 10 years before she had to replace them.

The AquaRain ceramics will eventually need to be replaced. The unique aspect of our patented ceramic system is that the end of life can be MEASURED! So there is no guessing, just clean the ceramic with the green abrasive pad, and when the measuring gauge we send with the unit can fit around the ceramic, it is time to throw it away. No guessing. The ceramics can be cleaned over 50 times, or more. In an unheard of procedure, we sent 10 test articles for EPA purifier testing that were abraded 10% below our measured end of life, then ran contaminated water through them BEFORE testing to prove our ceramics were fully safe to use until the end of their useful life. We have never heard of another manufacturer doing such a thing.

How do you clean the ceramic elements?

The Aqua Rain water purifier filters only need to be cleaned every 4- 12 months depending on your water source. You know it's time to clean when the flow of your water is starting to slow down. This means contaminants are clogging the outer most layer of the ceramic. Simply use the included green scrub pad to gently brush the filters while running it under water/ The ceramic filters can take up to 50 cleanings or more if moderate care is taken and light pressure is used with the included green scrub pad. For the stainless steel housing, simply wash with some mild dish soap and water.

The AquaRain system is designed to provide safe drinking water from a variety of sources and will filter out harmful bacteria. It is used in many developing countries for this purpose. Sometimes taste issues arise from non-harmful bacterial contamination on the clean water side of the system. You might first try thoroughly cleaning the lower vessel and processing water again (discard the first load of water produced). If this did not do the trick, the issue can usually be resolved by the following boiling procedure:

SCRUB: What you are trying to do is remove the outer layer of clogged ceramic surface. The scrubby pad is abrasive and is scraping away the surface as you “scrub” the ceramic surface, kind of like sanding it. After you scrub away some material, the surface will be smooth, but not necessarily “shiny” smooth. Just don’t be afraid to bear down and remove some material. The ceramic is hard and you will need to scrub to remove the contaminated surface.

1. Carefully dissemble the AquaRain Filters from the upper vessel.
2. Place the elements in a pan of water, covering them completely.
3. Heat the water to boiling and boil the elements for 15 minutes.
4. Turn the heat source off and leave the elements in the water until they are cool (this may take 2 or 3 hours or more, perhaps leave overnight).
5. While the elements are boiling, thoroughly clean the vessels, especially the lower vessel, to remove any contamination.
6. Reassemble your AquaRain, and return to normal use.
7. Discard the first load of water produced.In daily operation, try to not allow any contamination to enter the clean water area of the system. Also, be sure to empty the lower vessel every day or two so the water does not overflow the container or stagnate in its storage vessel.

End Of Life Gauge You Tube Link

How do you store the filter system?

The AquaRain Natural Gravity Water system can be stored safely in your home. If you have used the unit and want to prepare it for storage and future use, you must be sure that the ceramic filters have been thoroughly dried. In a high humidity area this could take up to a week. We recommend you lay them out on a clean, cotton cloth and rotate them as they dry. Once they are dry, carefully wrap the fragile filters and place them uninstalled inside the stainless steel vessel with plenty of protective wrap. A set of clean, dry, or new AquaRain ceramic filters will store without an expiration and unlimited shelf life in your home at normal temperatures.

Has the AquaRain® Natural Water Filter been laboratory tested?

Yes, our natural gravity water filter has been thoroughly tested against living organisms and are patented. The AquaRain incorporates the highest grade silver infused nut-shell carbon available for chemical reduction. The inherent chemical reduction capabilities of carbon are well established and infer performance by their use. The AquaRain maximizes the capability of the chemical reduction because of an extended mean contact time of 11 minutes for water processed through the ceramic filter. This is longer contact time than any other gravity water filter. Here is the list compiled by the Water Quality Association:

Water contaminants that can be reduced to acceptable standards by activated carbon filtration. (Water Quality Association, 1989)
Primary Drinking Water Standards
Contaminant	*MCL, mg/L
Inorganic Contaminants
Organic Arsenic Complexes	0.05
Organic Chromium Complexes	0.05
Mercury (Hg+2) Inorganic	0.05
Organic Mercury Complexes	0.002
Organic Contaminants
Benzene	0.005
Endrin	0.0002
Lindane	0.004
Methoxychlor	0.1
1,2-dichloroethane	0.0055
1,1-dichloroethylene	0.007
1,1,1-trichloroethane	0.200
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)	0.10
Toxaphene	0.005
Trichloroethylene	0.005
2,4-D	0.1
2,4,5-TP (Silvex)	0.01
Para-dichlorobenzene	0.075
Secondary Drinking Water Standards
Contaminant	**SMCL
Color 15 color units
Foaming Agents (MBAS)	0.5 mg/L

--------------------------------------- *Maximum Contaminant Level **Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level The EPA has published an even longer list of chemicals reduced by GAC (carbon). We have a self-generated document you can view from our website at www.aquarain.com/removal.pdf with a somewhat more comprehensive list of our removal capabilities.

Many water filters will say that they can reduce contaminants in your water. This language can be deceptive because any company can make claims to reduce something even if it's reduced by a very small percentage. AquaRain ceramic filters remove at least 99.9999% of the three main biological organisms that cause illnesses. Those organisms are Cyst, Bacteria, and Viruses. Even the smallest organisms smaller than 0.1 microns have been shown be removed by the Aqua Rain at the end of the filter's life*. When water filters are tested by labs, the filter company will send in a brand new filter for testing. Aqua Rain is the only gravity water filter company to have their test filters scrubbed down 10% below their End Of Life tolerance (fully expended filters, ready for disposal) and exposed to contaminated water before laboratory testing to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the AquaRain filter. This is to show that through the entire lifespan (6-10+ years) of each filter that the Aqua Rain will continue to keep your water safe from cysts, bacteria, and viruses.

How large is the AquaRain?

All American-Made Components: 3-Gallon Vessel Capacity. It stands approximately 22 ½ tall and the diameter is 10”., Heavy-Gauge Stainless Steel Housing with a Modern Brushed Finish and Low- profile Lid Handle, Three Micro-Pore Ceramic Filtration Elements, containing Granulated Activated Carbon with Self-Sterilizing Metallic Silver. Energy-Free – Ruggedly Handsome and Super-Sanitary, Complements most any Décor.