Compare: Durability >> Durability comparison details

Understanding the Cleaning Cycle

As we stated, all ionizers have a cleaning system. Most certainly all ionizer cleaning systems are not created equal. In the last page we helped you understand in basic terms why cleaning is important. Now in easy terms we will teach you how cleaning systems vary. Then you will be able to make an informed decision and select an ionizer that will perform year in and year out.

The electrical current delivered to the electrodes inside your ionizer is what transforms your water. The cleaning system in an ionizer is designed primarily to clean the electrodes and is based on a concept called “reverse polarity”. This concept relies on the polarity of the electrical charge applied to the electrodes. Each electrode has either a positive or negative polarity. Reverse polarity simply switches the charge applied to the electrode.

There are two parts to reverse polarity cleaning:

1. A reversal of the polarity on the electrodes which repels anything that is sticking there.
2. A washing or “bathing” of the electrodes in acidic water – the only effective way to clean scale

There are significant differences that determine how effective the cleaning cycle really is. One key difference is how much time the cleaning cycle runs in comparison to how much time the ionizer runs making alkaline water - the “acidic to alkaline cleaning ratio”. Therefore it is crucial that your ionizer has a good acidic to alkaline cleaning ratio. The more acidic is run to bath the electrodes the better. This is not unlike putting in extra “elbow grease” to clean a tough spot – a brief once over will often not do the job effectively.

The way an ionizer is “programmed” to clean is crucial in determining the cleaning ratio and the convenience factor.

The most rudimentary are the units with Manual Cleaning, where the user has to initiate cleaning.

Pre-cleaning ionizers clean each time you start water flow (you must either wait or override the cycle).

Timer based cleaning systems operate on a timer system that initiates cleaning on an interval such as every 12 hours. After the preset interval, the next time you operate the unit, you have to wait for a cleaning cycle.

Volume based systems trigger cleaning after a set volume of water passes through the ionizer. Like the timer systems, once you achieve the preset volume, the next time you operate the unit, you have to wait for a cleaning cycle.

Each of the preceding have their draw backs: you can forget to trigger a manual cycle, you have to wait or override a pre-use cycle, the timer based systems and in fact all these systems have poor acidic to alkaline cleaning ratios (or not enough elbow grease). The final drawback is that with each of the above systems you have to wait for the cycle to complete before you can receive alkaline drinking water.

Better yet are the units with an Automatic Post-use Self Cleaning mechanism . This means it cleans automatically in the background after each and every use. It also provides a better acidic to alkaline cleaning ratio than other reverse polarity ionizers. Additionally, if it has a motor to reverse flow, then you never have to wait to get your alkaline water.

The absolute zenith of ionizer cleaning are continual cleaning systems which eliminates mineral scaling – protecting your investment and ensuring many, many years of healthy water from your ionizer. The new cleaning system is 100% effective because it creates a true 1:1 acidic to alkaline cleaning ratio. The importance of this breakthrough cannot be understated. The only system like this on the market currently is the patented DARC system which is found on four of Jupiter Science's top models.

DARC stands for Double Automatic Reverse Cleaning. The DARC system achieves the 100% effective 1:1 acidic to alkaline cleaning ratio by cleaning while you are making alkaline water – each and every time. They accomplish this by reversing the polarity every 20 seconds. Therefore if you run the DARC cell for 40 seconds you get 20 seconds of one polarity and then 20 seconds of reversed polarity. You also never have to wait for or even think about your cleaning cycle.