Living Water test results

This experiment was prompted by someone telling me that the qualities (-ORP, high pH and micro-clustering) of Vollara’s new 3rd generation Living Water ionizer did not hold up next to Enagic’s SD 501, considered by many to be the Cadillac in the water ionizer industry. I personally switched from using and representing Enagic to Vollara because Vollara does achieve the same or better results as the SD 501 at half the price due to a new patented technology. In the SD 501, 7 surgical-grade platinum coated titanium plates make up the engine that achieves the excellent results. In Vollara’s Living Water machine, they use a single disc technology that was patented by the same man who patented the original 7 solid plate technology.

The original complaint was not that Vollara’s machine does not achieve the same initial results as the SD 501, but that the results do not last as long as the SD 501. I know that no water ionizer’s results last indefinitely, that is why many of us promote ionizers and would like to see them in every home possible, but the results do need to last long enough (that is, 2-3 days) in order to give out samples of the water to interested parties. Before this experiment, I knew that ORP, or Oxidation Reduction Potential which is the measure of whether a substance is an antioxidant (- charge measured by an ORP meter) or oxidizing (containing free radicals as determined by a + charge), is the first quality to degrade. It is the most unstable and will not, in any machine, last more than 2-3 days.

The results of my experiment, explained below, were that Vollara’s Living Water ionizer does indeed retain it’s positive results for the same amount of time as do other machines like Enagic’s SD 501. Even up to the 4th day after the Living Water was poured it contained a negative charge. The pH seemed to remain the same throughout the 4 days and the micro-clustering, although the most difficult trait to determine, seemed to degrade as would be expected from any machine. I tested two separate samples of Living Water, one that was stored in a clear glass container on the counter and one stored in the fridge. The water used for the experiment was obtained from the Living Water machine set on the 9.5 pH setting.

Day 1

ORP resluts: The initial readings on the ORP meter was +520 for the tap water and -250 for the 9.5 pH Living Water. ORP results will vary widely based on the source water. A reading of +520 is very high, higher in fact than sodas which usually test at around +450. The tap water I used for these tests was obtained from a faucet in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Living Water ionizer shifted the water by 770 points on the ORP meter. This is quite a major shift, to take water that is so positively charged, full of free radicals, and to transform it into an antioxidant.

Day 1 tap water pH

pH results: The pH was tested with pH drops similar to ones used to test the pH of a swimming pool. The tap water tested somewhere between 7.0 and 8.0. Tap water having a slightly alkaline pH may seem like a positive thing except that neutral pH (somewhere around 7.0) is mandated by law so that alkaline or acidic water will not destroy the water pipes. Neutral pH water is achieved in tap water by adding lye or ammonia to the water by the municipal water department.

Day 1 Living Water pH results

The Living Water’s pH results appeared to be closer to 10 than 9.5 even though the 9.5 pH setting was used. The pH results will also depend on the source water. Since the tap water was slightly more alkaline than neutral, the 9.5 water came out a little more alkaline than 9.5.

Micro-clustering results: Micro-clustering is more difficult to determine than is pH or ORP. The idea behind micro-clustering is that typical water appears to be clustered in approximately 10-12 molecules of H2O. Through the ionization process, the clusters are broken up into 4-6 molecules of H2O clustered together. My understanding is that in the 1950′s the Russians began to research “miracle” waters around the world, like in Lourds, France and the water used by people like the Hunza in the high Himalayas whose water source is a glacier. They discovered that all these waters that created such amazing health results in people all had 3 things in common: a high negative charge (-ORP), a high alkalinity, and micro-clustering.

fresh LW, tap

variety of tea used

One way that micro-clustering may be determined is by submerging a tea bag into cold or room temperature water to see how well the tea is pulled out by the water. I tested for both color and taste. I used bags of a black tea for my test.  In the picture, the Living Water and tap water are shown side by side with the Living Water on the left and tap on the right. The glasses are slightly different sizes, but the same amount of water was used in each glass. The tea came out darker in the Living Water and there was significantly more flavor in the Living Water over the tea.

Day 2

After 24 hours, I tested the waters again. I tested tap, fresh Living Water, Living Water from the previous day stored on the counter, and Living Water from the previous day stored in the fridge. However, the only results we are concerned with at this point are the two containers of Living Water stored in the fridge and on the counter.

The Living Water stored in the fridge was still at a -180 ORP and the counter Living Water was down to -187, both down from -250 the day before. The pH of both Living Water samples appeared to be unchanged. The micro-clustering results were that the counter living Water looked and tasted the same as the fresh Living Water. The fridge Living Water seemed to only do as well as the tap water. I expected the cold water to pull out the tea less effectively than the room temperature water.

fresh LW, counter, fridge

fresh LW, counter, fridge, tap

Day 3

After the Living Water samples had been sitting for 48 hours I tested them again. The ORP of the water stored in the fridge had decayed to -101 (still negative which means it is still an antioxidant) and the counter water had decayed to -85. The pH and micro-clustering seemed to still be holding well. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of taking pictures of the ORP meter until this day.

Day 3 LW counter ORP	Day 3 LW fridge ORP
LW fridge, counter, fresh	tap, fridge, counter, fresh

Day 4

After the Living Water samples had been sitting 72 hours I tested them one final time. There are two reasons I stopped after this point. One is that when we share water, we always tell people that fresh is best and that after 2-3 days the water will decay and not be as beneficial. This is the case with any water ionizer. The second reason I stopped at this point was that my samples ran out. By day 4, the ORP value had mostly decayed. The water stored in the fridge was now reading right at 0 and the water stored on the counter was reading -9. The pH results did not seem to change and the micro-clustering had seemed to decay some. The flavor was not as strong as before (this is, of course, subjective).

Day 4 counter LW ORP	Day 4 fridge LW ORP
Day 4 pH results	tap, fridge, counter, fresh LW

Conclusion

Even after 72 hours the Living Water samples were more alkaline and micro-clustered than bottled or filtered water. The ORP results, like with other machines, decayed steadily over the 72 hour period. By the end of the 72 hour period there were virtually no ORP benefits, although there were in the first 48 hours. These results match those done on Enagic machines. The point of selling water ionizers is that the results don’t last, fresh is best. However, the beneficial results do last long enough to give people a taste of the benefits of ionized water. In the clear glass containers, there was not a significant benefit or difference between storing the water in the fridge or on the counter. An area of further study could be whether the ORP values are more stable if the water is kept in a dark container over a clear one. There is a strong possibility that this would be the case as light is supposed to effect the stability of ORP.