1) Most leaks occur where the tap attaches to the lower tank and is because the tap is not tight enough. - Check first to insure one silicone washer is on the tap stem on both sides of the lower tank. - Empty the lower tank, reach inside, and tighten the magnetic nut until it is very snug. - Fill the lower tank with tap water until the tap is submerged, then watch for leaks. - If the leak persists, tighten the magnetic nut another quarter turn and test again. - Reassemble your system.

2) If the tap itself is leaking it is usually because the connection where the two tap pieces screw together needs to be tightened. The connection is located where the gold band joins the white spout. Hold the white spout in one hand and turn the gold band clockwise until it is tight. Usually finger tight is good enough, then test the tap to insure the leak has stopped.

3) The system leaks where the upper and lower tanks join. If you fill the upper tank when the lower tank is mostly full it will overflow, leaking where the white connector joins the upper and lower tank together. It is also possible that the nut holding the ceramic pre-filter is not tightened sufficiently or a silicone washer has not been placed on both sides of the upper tank prior to the nut being tightened (both silicone washers come on the pre-filter stem). Some people assume that it is just one thick washer, but they are to be separated - one left on the pre-filter stem, and the other re-installed after the stem is inserted into the hole in the upper tank. Watch the Santevia™ Assembly Video on the Home page.

The Santevia™ System is highly effective in removing contaminants suspended in water, but is not effective in removing substances that are dissolved in water. We are working with our manufacturer to find a solution that will remove fluoride.

Some good news is that most governments are recommending lower levels of fluoride. It is currently recommended that optimal levels of fluoride should be between 0.8 and 1.0 parts per million. This recommendation is based on the fact that people receive fluoride from many sources. As a result, some communities have lowered the level of fluoride in their water supply, in keeping with this recommendation.

We do not have a breakdown of water before and after using the Santevia™ system; it would be impossible for us to know the composition of input water across Canada as each treatment system will be different. What we can tell you is that the ceramic pre-filter has a pore size of .3 of a micron (a micron is one thousandth of a millimeter; by comparison a grain of salt is approximately 60 microns).

This tiny pore size allows highly effective filtration; various tests of similar ceramic filters show a 100% blockage of particles of .9 of a micron, and a 99.997% blockage of particles sized .5 to .8 of a micron. The water then flows slowly through the activated carbon layer, the silica sand layer and the zeolite layer. Information on these filtration processes can be found on our website. The system is highly effective in removing particles and parasites suspended in the water, but will not effectively filter out materials dissolved in the water (for example, fluoride and arsenic).

The water then passes through mineral sand, bio-ceramic balls, and mineral stones which sit in the bottom of the tank. These materials all assist in re-mineralization of the water, and in the process alter the pH of the water to make it more alkaline.

The system is designed to take potable biologically safe water and to further purify and enhance the taste and pH. The system is being very well received by health food (wellness) retailers, alternative medicine practitioners (hundreds have been purchased by Naturopathic doctors across Canada) and health conscious consumers.

Since the Santevia™ system contains both granulated and powdered carbon in the central five stage filter it should be effective in removing most pharmaceuticals.

Due to the vast and ever increasing number of pharmaceuticals we have not tested specifically for their removal. However our research located a number of reliable sources on the internet including:

The Water Conditioning and Purification Magazine in their May 2008 online issue discusses pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies. They state: “Advanced water treatment technologies have been evaluated for their efficacy in removing the most common pharmaceuticals form drinking water...In addition...filtration with granular activated carbon are thought to be highly effective.

In an article in Environmental Science and Technology the author states: “GAC (granulated activated carbon) is effective because carbon can bind a broad category of compounds, and many pharmaceuticals have components like benzene rings or amine groups that enhance their ability to be taken up by activated carbon. The powdered form of activated carbon can be even more effective, removing virtually every possible pharmaceutical and personal care product.”

The Santevia™ Water System holds 10 litres of water in the lower tank. The upper tank is 5 litres in size, so by processing two upper tanks, you will have 10 litres of clean mineralized drinking water. Please note: If you fill the upper tank when the lower tank is mostly full it will overflow, leaking where the white connector joins the upper and lower tanks.

This will vary depending on the source water used. In the Vancouver area the Santevia™ Water System is enhancing the municipal water of 7.0 - 7.2 pH to 8.2 - 8.6 pH. The increase in the pH level has never shown less than 1 full point, and because this scale is exponential, this represents a minimum increase in the pH of 10 times.

The pH test strips used for measuring the pH of saliva (or urine) are not suitable for testing water. These papers are not designed to work with drinking water, which has a much lower ion content than saliva or urine. Even high mineral water cannot be accurately tested with this pH paper. To measure water pH, use a good quality pH meter or PHENOL RED drops.

Our own testing done at Cantest Laboratories in Burnaby, BC indicates the following beneficial mineral concentrations in our Santevia™ water. Our understanding of beneficial minerals in drinking water comes from a variety of sources, including the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.

Calcium Ca 5.91 mg/L

Copper Cu .009 mg/L

Iron Fe .06 mg/L

Magnesium Mg .65 mg/L

Manganese Mn .007 mg/L

Potassium K .2 mg/L

Sodium Na 5.47 mg/L

Zinc Zn .016 mg/L

These results will vary of course with the mineral content of the source water.

The mineralization occurs both in the 5 stage filter (mineral sand, silica sand, bio-ceramic balls) and in the post filtration mineral basket in the lower tank.  The 5 stage filter is replaced long before the end stage is reached with these elements, and the mineral basket and added bio-ceramics are replaced when they erode through the leaching process (our manufacturer suggests up to 5 years of useful life).  The mineralization should remain consistent throughout the useful life of the mineral stones.  If you notice that the stones decrease significantly in size, they should be replaced.

Water, especially very clean water, tends to clump into structures of 30 to 40 (or more) molecules. At the cellular level our bodies use individual water molecules, and so must expend energy separating these large molecular clumps. Magnetic energy, applied at the final stage as the water passes out through the tap, restructures these molecular clumps into simpler, smaller structures which are easier for our body to process.

We have had a few reports of a green growth in the lower tanks of our Santevia™ units, usually on the top of the mineral basket or the silicone washer on the tap stem. Our lab has confirmed that it is chlorophyta or green algae, that it is harmless, and that it occurs in virtually every water treatment system. We have noticed that as the summer temperatures increase, so does the algae content in municipal pipes. The algae in your Santevia™ Water System is caused by a re-contamination of the purified water in the lower tank, and occur because there are no chlorine residuals in the treated water. The algae seem to occur primarily in systems where purified water sits in the lower tank for extended periods, or when the unit sits in direct sunshine. We are unable to say with certainty where the algae spores originate; we have been told they are everywhere in our environment, and could result from insufficient cleaning and drying during assembly, or even from the water on our hands when assembling. We have had our independent laboratory test each of the various filtering and re-mineralizing media; all have tested negative for algae.

Please see Algae Help under Customer Support or watch our YouTube "Algae Help" video.

Well water is a tricky subject because each well is different. The same can be said for lakes. The Santevia™ Water System is not designed to disinfect water; rather it is intended to be used with water that is designated potable, that is biologically safe to drink. You will find that the ceramic pre-filter may need to be cleaned more often than once a week and you might need to replace your 5 stage filter more often than the 4 – 6 months we are currently recommending.

Because we cannot be certain what contaminants are in each lake or well (see FAQ # 9 for further info on how toxins are removed), we cannot guarantee the use of the Santevia™ Water System with your lake or well water but we have many clients on wells that are successfully using the Santevia™ Water System. We also have other clients who continue to distill their well water and then put the distilled water in the Santevia™ Water System to re-mineralize and alkalize the water.

Occasionally at the end of the baking process, some ceramic dust that is in the air settles on the ceramic pre-filter. No one can see this dust because it blends into the pre-filter itself. When the pre-filter is initially soaked, especially if the water used is warm, this dust may become a paste that clogs the pores of the ceramic pre-filter, preventing the water from being processed. If you find after the initial assembly, that the upper tank is not draining into the lower tank within a 5 hour timeframe, please remove the upper tank and disassemble the ceramic pre-filter from the tank. Take a scrub sponge (the one with a yellow sponge on one side and a green scrubbing pad on the other, or something similar) and vigorously scrub both sides of the ceramic pre-filter with the scrubbing pad under cool running water. This should clear the pores of the ceramic dust. Do not use soap or a scouring pad with soap in it as this will just re-clog the pores. (Please note that if you have not soaked the ceramic pre-filter for at least one hour, the above procedure will be ineffective.) Now reassemble the upper tank with the ceramic pre-filter and fill with water. You will still need to drain 2 upper tanks of water to flush your 5 stage filter before drinking. Give the discarded water to your plants – they’ll love it.

If you have had your Santevia™ Water System set up and successfully operating and then notice that the drainage of the upper tank has slowed down, it is time to clean your ceramic pre-filter. Depending on your municipal water source, you may or may not have noticeable discolouration or “coloured slime” to use as a cleaning indicator; therefore you should plan on cleaning it weekly. Some municipalities have seasonal factors that increase turbidity (amount of sediment flowing through city pipes) and you might have to clean your filter twice a week for several weeks until the turbidity subsides.