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Point of Use (POU) or Point of Entry (POE)?

Do you ever get confused about all the different types of water filtration systems and which one you should use? Well don’t worry. We can help eliminate some of that confusion. Here are some things you should know to help you understand more about water filtration. There are essentially only two principle locations for installing water treatment systems. Which of the two systems you need depends upon what you hope to accomplish. One is Point-of-Entry water treatment (POE), the other is Point-of-Use water treatment (POU). What’s the difference? Picture the water supply where your local municipality or other supplier delivers water to your house, office building, factory, plant or other facility. At the point where the supply enters the building, it’s connected to a water meter. Your side of the meter is your responsibility and expense. You might be stuck with the water as delivered, but you don’t have to like it or settle for its quality (or lack of quality). There are a lot of POE and POU systems that can help you improve the quality of water before you drink it, cook with it or bathe with it. A Point-of-Entry water treatment system is installed on your side of the meter with the express purpose of treating all of the incoming water before it goes into the individual supply lines that feed your laundry, bathrooms (including toilets), dedicated outside faucets and others as well as your kitchen. POE systems often include softeners, large bed carbon filters, and some systems which are specifically designed to remove (or trap) sediment, foul tastes and odors. POE systems are sometimes considered pre-filters. A Point-of-Use water treatment system is installed in an individual source line ahead of any or all of the building’s taps, faucets or other dedicated outlets used to dispense water for drinking, cooking or bathing. Good POU systems are often expected to capture whatever escapes the POE system.

So once you figure out if you want a POU system or a POE system, the next step is getting a water test done. We can help you with this! After we test your water and once we receive the test results back we then recommend a course of action and what water filtration would best benefit you.  If you are interested in getting your water tested or have more questions about what filtration systems will work best for you, please contact us at 800-942-7873 or ask us a question below! We are here to help! Click here to ask a question!
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Water Hazards in Building Systems

NSF pushes forward with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) training to reduce risk of microbial, chemical and physicals hazards in building water systems.   

Every year, tens of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths are caused by exposure to microbial, chemical, and physical hazards from building water systems. Utilizing HACCP guidelines to building water systems builds a framework for identifying potential hazards and specifies measures for control to ensure building’s water supply safety. HACCP is a program that provides the necessary training to understand best practices procedure for maintaining a facility water supply.  Filter Pure Systems supports the continued focus by NSF to provide guidelines to promote safe and healthy water.

When working with our Healthcare facilities, we verify with them the level of NSF certification needed by water systems to remove designated contaminants.  NSF 42 certification for water filtration covers systems designed to reduce Aesthetic or non-health related contaminants.  These contaminants include chlorine, taste and odor, and particulates that may be present in public and private drinking water. In the water supply for a hospital, this is not enough protection for the immunocompromised patients.  We recommend utilizing NSF 53 standards at point of use sources for patients that may be susceptible to microbiological exposure. NSF 53 systems are certified to reduce specific health-related contaminants. These contaminants may be microbiological (including cyst and legionella), chemical (including disinfection byproducts, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides), and particulates.  The first step, we take in securing the quality of our Healthcare facility is to ensure we have a solid foundation of filtration to protect the staff and patients. Using the industry-leading brand Everpure allows us the flexibility to meet the needs of our clients without sacrificing quality or reliability. Let us help you establish a guideline of how to secure the quality of your water from Point of Use to Point of Entry systems.  To view more information on the HACCP training program, please visit nsf.org. For more information or to discuss your current water filtration system, please contact our Health Care & Lodging Specialist, Todd Leach. Click here to ask us a question!