Archive for the ‘ Health ’ Category

Whether you are a soda water or soda pop drinker, it’s simply amazing that no one has come to market with this before – a simple water carbonation system for your home.

Sodastream has been available online and in Europe for several years now but only recently began selling at US retail stores this holiday. I’ve been using the system for well over a year now and find it a healthier and cheaper alternative to bottles and cans at the store.

The Sodastream system consists of simply a bottle of carbon dioxide and a contraption to connect the bottle of water. No moving parts, no electricity. The catch is that its a proprietary system – you need to use their carbonation bottles and their water bottles. The carbonation bottles require a small deposit (included in the initial price) but are easy to swap out.

For soda pop lovers, Sodastream also offers a variety of mixes that can be used after the water is carbonated. I’ve tried many of the diet and regular varieties which are all high quality and comparable to big name brands. An added benefit for diet drinkers – no aspartame – Sodastream uses sucralose.

Pricing is controlled pretty tight, so you’ll probably find the same costs at your local retailer as you would online. The Sodastream site has the largest selection of carbonation bottles and mixers plus offers a point program which can be used for discounts (save $10 with the code “BESTFRIENDS”).

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ahhNatural Keeps Spas Chlorine-Free CleanA brief update now that I’ve been using AhhNatural for several years. It continues to provide a clean hot tub without chlorine. But I would like to share some tricks and tips from experience.

Unlike traditional hot tubs which essentially chemical bomb the water, you should enter an ahhNatural tub clean. If it becomes overwhelmed with oil and bacteria, you may need to resort to chlorine to get it back to clean state. I have resorted to using chlorine on a few occasions, but only to get my water back to “normal”. When I do this, I remove the ahhNatural bag from the tub until most of the chlorine has dissipated.

ahhNatural specifies using hydrogen peroxide to shock the tub and keep it clean. I usually do this after refilling the tub. Over the course of using the tub, I use “MPS” – monopersulfate. There are a few forms of this compound on the market, which most pool supply stores will carry at least one. Essentially this uses oxygen, like peroxide, to keep the tub clean. You should experiment with various MPS brands. SpaDepot offers an MPS I have used consistently. However, I have found that when the water gets really dirty, you may eventually go through a large quantity of MPS. What I have noticed is that in large quantities, MPS will break down into some cloudy material. This may give you the impression that your water is dirty. It will eventually get filtered out, but you may need to resort to chlorine to get the tub back to normal. Too much MPS can wreak havoc with your pH too.

The biggest tip is that pH is critical. It is true that your ahhNatural water will stabilize to its preferred pH, which will likely differ greatly from the standard spa pH level. I have also lived in two areas where the water is quite different and can impact how easy it is to maintain your pH.

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