When purchasing a water ionizer you need to consider the health and safety certifications a product has – or doesn’t have! Having these certifications means that the company you are buying from has gone to great lengths to ensure they have a high quality product that is safe to use.
UL / Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety organization that has been testing products for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 products, components, materials and systems annually.
NSF – The EPA recommends that any filters on city water sources be NSF certified to ensure the highest quality. NSF International, is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization and the world leader in health and safety standards development, product certification, education, and risk-management.
ISO – (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest publisher of International Standards. It is vital that the machine you purchase has an ISO certification as it is the gold standard for consumer electronics.
ANSI – The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provides accreditation in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 for product certification programs.
CE – The CE mark is mandatory in the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE mark certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements.
WQA – The Water Quality Association’s Gold Seal Certification Program certifies products and chemicals that contact drinking water, especially important for water ionizers and filters.
IEC – The IEC is the world’s leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies..
KFDA – The Korean equivalent to the U.S. FDA.
JMH (Japanese Ministry of Health) – The Japanese equivalent to the U.S. FDA.
| Enagic (Kangen) | LIFE Ionizers | Tyent USA | Jupiter | KYK | |
| UL | √ | √ | X | √ | X |
| NSF | X | √ | X | X | X |
| ISO | √ | √ |
X |
√ | √ |
| ANSI | X | √ | X | X | X |
| CE | √ | √ | √ | X | √ |
| WQA | X | √ | X | X | X |
| IEC | X | √ | X | X | √ |
| KFDA | Not Available | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| JMH* | √ | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available | Not Available |
With all this in mind, lets take one last look at the various warranties on water ionizers. Every warranty has differences in the fine print, so the first thing to remember is that most modern water ionizers are well made and designed to last for many years with proper use and maintenance. Any stipulations in the fine print usually deal with issues like improper use, maintenance or cleaning, such as excessive build up from hard water, which you can easily avoid. The key, as always, is choosing a company that is reliable, knowledgeable and with good customer service. Even a lifetime warranty is just a piece of paper if the company doesn’t stand behind it or is out of business in a couple of years. Looking at these certifications is a good way to help analyze intangibles like reliability and reputation.
Remember, the bottom line is this: The only way you can be sure your family is drinking pure healthy alkaline water is to make it yourself!
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and is not intended to substitute for the advice from your own physician or health care provider.
Some scientific concepts may be stated in generalized or simplified terms to make complex principles easier to understand for the lay reader, however the underlying scientific principles and concepts accurately describe the theories they represent to the best of the writer’s abilities.