1. Will installation of the Vivaro Water Purification system contribute points toward becoming LEEDs certified?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. The system is credit-based, allowing projects to earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building.

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2. What defines a “Green” water bottle?

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it. Better to use a reusable water bottle, and fill it with your own filtered water from home and keep these single-use bottles out of the landfill. Unfortunately, those fabulous colorful hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach BPA (Bisphenol A).

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3. What “nutrients” are added back in and what does “polishing” mean?

Calcium, Magnesium and Antioxidants are added back into the water after filtering.

Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet and a mineral necessary for life. The National Osteoporosis Foundation says, "Calcium plays an important role in building stronger, denser bones early in life and keeping bones strong and healthy later in life." Approximately ninety-nine percent of the body's calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.

Long-term calcium deficiency can lead to rickets and poor blood clotting and in case of a menopausal woman, it can lead to osteoporosis, in which the bone deteriorates and there is an increased risk of fractures.

Magnesium is the 11th most abundant element by mass in the human body; its ions are essential to all living cells, where they play a major role in manipulating important biological polyphosphate compounds like ATP, DNA, and RNA. Hundreds of enzymes thus require magnesium ions in order to function. Magnesium compounds are used medicinally as common laxatives, antacids (i.e., milk of magnesia), and in a number of situations where stabilization of abnormal nerve excitation and blood vessel spasm is required (i.e., to treat eclampsia).

Antioxidants can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals. Furthermore, people who eat fruits and vegetables, which happen to be good sources of antioxidants, have a lower risk of heart disease and some neurological diseases, and there is evidence that some types of vegetables, and fruits in general, protect against a number of cancers. These observations suggested the idea that antioxidants might help prevent these conditions.

Filtered water has no taste; the “Final Polish” provides a fresh clean taste to the water.

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4. What contaminants are removed through the filtering process?

The nine (9) stage process, removing particles (dirt, silt, rust, and pipe residue), chlorine, chemicals, pesticides, metals, arsenic, and other.

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5. What is BPA?

Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is a difunctional building block of several important plastics and plastic additives. With an annual production of 2–3 million metric tonnes, it is an important monomer in the production of polycarbonate.

Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products were regularly reported in the news media in 2008 after several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers have removed products made of it from their shelves.

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6. What are the different types of “bottled” water?

There are six classifications of water based on the FDA's "Standard of Identity". Bottled water or drinking water can fall under one or more of the classifications below

Spring Water - This is water that comes to the surface naturally. It has to be collected at the spring only, or from an underground aquifer feeding the spring. Bottled water from a spring source is popular with American consumers.

Purified Water - This water has undergone several processes such as deionization, reverse osmosis or distillation. Distilled bottled water is sold in gallon jugs for a variety of household purposes.

Mineral Water - Bottled water in this category is differentiated by mineral elements that are derived from the source. Usually contains not less than 250 parts per million of trace elements of mineral salts or gases. The minerals must be natural and not an added to the bottled water.

Sparkling Bottled Water - As it emerges from the source, sparkling water has carbon dioxide as a property. After treatment, it sometimes needs additional carbon dioxide added to it to replace that which is lost in the treatment process. There are several bottled water terms for sparkling water such as "sparkling spring water", "sparkling drinking water", and "sparkling mineral water."

Artesian Water/Artesian Well Water - The water that is bottled from this source comes from an underground layer of rock or sand on which water accumulates. The water level is usually some distance above the bedrock and is tapped at that point.

Well Water - This type of bottled water is derived from a hole that is bored or drilled into an aquifer.

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7. Is Vivaro Water a US company?

Yes, Vivaro Water LLC is a Michigan Marketing Company. The establishment of Vivaro Water is to provide the highest quality point of use purification coolers at a competitive price and with quality customer support.

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8. Are the units sold or rented? How much does it cost?

The units are rented, not sold. Because they are rented filter replacement and maintenance of the appliance remain the responsibility of the appliance supplier relieving the customer of any maintenance hassles.

Cost of the appliance varies on the size of unit required and the number of units being purchased. Please contact Vivaro Water from the Contact page for a custom price quote.

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9. On average, how frequently do the filters need to be replaced? Is it different by unit?

Filter replacement varies based on appliance usage not based on the size of the unit. To ensure no failure occurs in the filtration process filters are replaced every six (6) months. Filter replacements are part of the rental price.

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10. Why not just use tap water?

Tap Water Is Full Of Disease-Causing Contaminants - Most municipal water flows through lead pipes over 100 years old picking up harmful toxins and pollutants before the water treatment plant (which performs very limited functions) and also afterwards when the water is on its way to your house.

A recent Water Quality Association poll showed that 74% of Americans consider their tap water contaminated or dangerous. 80% don't like the taste. And the following annual figures from the National Resources Defense Council confirm the shocking problem: Every year in the U.S.:

These figures don't even factor in the thousands of long term illnesses and deaths from cancer, kidney and heart disease linked to contaminated water.

If you have your own well water, you're not really better off. In fact, most of those on well water have more contaminants per drop than those in cities.

Many are also concerned today by bio-terrorism threat to our water supplies as there are 168,000 different public water supplies in the U.S., many of which are completely unprotected.

Bottled Water May Be Worse - Recognizing the problem with tap water, many Americans have turned to bottled water. Unfortunately, bottled water is not only quite expensive, it is often just as contaminated as your tap water.

According to FDA rules, bottled water is subject to less testing and lower standards than our tap water! Even disinfection is not a requirement for bottled water! A 4-year NRDC scientific study on bottled water, based on 1000 bottles of 103 brands of water confirmed that bottled water is not necessarily cleaner or safer than common tap water.

Information based on a study conducted by the University of Iowa

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11. How is the system installed? How much does installation cost?

The filtration system is connected to a nearby water source with flexible tubing. The distance from the water source is not usually an issue. It can be run through drop ceilings, along floorboards, or through walls if necessary. Installation is part of the one low monthly rental fee.

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12. What are the advantages of the VivarO system?

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13. What makes this a “Green” product?

Our product helps to reduce the production, delivery and disposable of the 5 gallon and personal sized plastic water bottles from the waste stream that takes hundreds of years to biodegrade.

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14. Are the units made in USA?

No, the units are manufactured in conjunction with LG, one of the world leaders in refrigeration components and Jintec; perhaps the largest water cooler manufacturer in Korea; Wellsys brings to the U.S. the best of technology with price competiveness that is unsurpassed in the industry. Jintec is an international manufacturer of water purification coolers and are certified with the highest level of international certifications for their adherence to superiority in manufacturing standards.

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15. How long does it take to have a unit installed?

The unit will be installed within 30 days of the rental agreement being signed and forwarded to the installation company, EnviroPure.

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16. How does this product reduce carbon footprint?

According to the Container Recycling Institute, each year American plastic bottle use requires more than 47 million gallons of oil and results in one billion pounds of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Also:

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17. What is AC to DC conversion? What are the benefits?

A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), a process known as rectification. The primary application of rectifiers is to derive DC power from an AC supply. Virtually all electronic devices require DC, so rectifiers find uses inside the power supplies of virtually all electronic equipment.

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