We are often asked, after using ionized water, what is all this white stuff on my plates? Or, what is this white residue at the bottom of my glass? The answer is you are seeing hard minerals in tap water. More specifically, you are seeing calcium and magnesium, which are the two most common hard minerals in US tap water, that are depositing on your dishes.
Ionized, or electrolyzed, water from our water ionizers is reduced water. That means that the water molecule clusters are about one-third the size of what would come from tap or bottled water. Because the water is more concentrated, the stuff that’s inside the water is also more concentrated.
Our water ionizer filtration systems are designed to allow the minerals to pass through. That’s because soluble minerals, or minerals that are dissolved in the water, are the only way water electrolysis or ionization is possible. You cannot ionize pure water. The electrical current would simply pass through. But with positive minerals like magnesium and calcium in the water, the electricity charges those minerals and creates the reaction that ionizes the water.
Since those positive minerals have passed through the filters, and the water is being reduced by the water electrolysis or ionization, you get a lot of potassium, calcium, magnesium, kalium, and other positive minerals in your water. These are considered trace minerals, which are good for you. They are essential to your nervous system and your body’s chemistry overall. But for your glasses and plates, they tend to get stuck!
Technically, these are called hard water deposits. Too many hard water deposits can be problematic, though. One way to check for this is to Google your municipal water company’s annual water report. Check the report for the field that says TDS. TDS stands for total dissolved solids. If the TDS number is above 150, then your water is too hard.
When your water is too hard, it’s not good for your water ionizer. The excessive amount of positive minerals can clog up the water lines, coat the plates, and clog the stainless steel hose. If too many minerals build up on your plates, then the water ionization is reduced, meaning you won’t get as many antioxidants in your water.
The solution to water that has a TDS above 150 is to get a scale inhibitor. The one that we like is called the Omnipure with scale inhibitor and it’s only $17. You replace it every 9 months and it will grab the congealed hard minerals out of your water before they gum up your water ionizer and deposit all over your glasses and plates.
If your water has a TDS less than 150, then you don’t need the scale inhibitor. If you are seeing some mineral deposits on your glasses and plates, that is normal. Use some Dawn dishwashing detergent and they will wash away.
In conclusion, minerals in ionized water are our friend. They help with the ionization and create a reaction that produces more antioxidants in our drinking water. But hard minerals in tap water can gum up our water ionizer and deposit all over our plates and glasses. So check the TDS of your tap water and get a scale inhibitor if it’s above 150.
To your health!
