10 Things to Consider When Choosing a Lab Water Purification System

From buffers and cell culture media to dilution series and blanks, lab water touches virtually every experiment. Given its wide use, every lab needs a reliable source of high-quality water. But where do you start? In this post, we’ll share the 10 most important things to consider when choosing a water purification system.

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1. Lab water basics 

Before you begin your search for a lab water purification system, it’s important to learn the basics. What are common water impurities and how do they affect your experiments? What are the different lab water purification technologies? Our new ebook, A Guide to High Quality Laboratory Water, is a great resource for these topics, including the three standard grades of lab water:

• Type 1: Ultrapure water
• Type 2: General or pure water
• Type 3: Primary grade, pure or reverse osmosis water 

2. Application 

The water purity you need depends on your intended application. For example, the water used for washing glassware doesn’t need to be as pure as the water used in an analytical technique like HPLC. In general, you need Type 1 water for highly critical or sensitive applications, while Type 2 water will do for less critical or sensitive applications. 

3. Daily usage

Your water system should supply the volume of water your lab needs each day—and slightly exceed it just in case there are unexpected overages. However, we don’t recommend getting a significantly oversized system.

4. Feedwater 

What water source will feed your water purification system? If your “feed water” is tap water, then you must use a pre-treatment system or combined system to get your desired purity of lab water. If you already have a reliable source of Type 2 or Type 3 water, then you can use a final polisher for Type 1 ultrapure water. Knowing your feed water will help you choose the right system.

5. Water storage 

Water pre-treatment processes, like ones that use reverse osmosis, can be very slow. Tank systems address this by storing purified water for immediate access. While traditional storage reservoirs require routine cleaning to prevent contamination, options like the Arium^® Bagtank technology with disposable bags really simplify this step.

6. Ease of use 

Don’t underestimate the every-day impact of design and user-experience (UI) features in your water purification system. Big, clear touch screen displays, shortcuts to common functions, and options for volume- or time-controlled dispensing all help to streamline dispensing. 

7. Space 

How much space do you have in your lab? Having flexible options for installation will help you make efficient use of space. Choose systems that offer compact designs in addition to table-top, wall-mount, and under/inside workbench installation options. Further, satellite dispensing points, like the ones offered with Arium^® systems, take up little space, while dramatically expanding access. 

8. Connectivity 

Data monitoring and documentation are important in regulated laboratory environments. If you need access to information about your lab water, make sure it is easy to retrieve data from your system with a connected printer or SD-card, and look for real-time monitoring via electronic lab notebook (ELN).

9. Maintenance 

Lab water purification systems require regular cleaning and maintenance to provide reliable performance day after day. Look into service contracts and the technical support services offered by the manufacturer. Leaving these tasks with the experts will free up your time and help to prolong instrument lifetime.

10. Cost 

In addition to the cost of the instrument itself, you should consider the cost of accessories, pre-treatment requirements, and consumables, like replacement cartridges. Service contracts are an optional cost, however professional maintenance is always a worthy investment.

Continue your learning journey by reading our new laboratory water digital ebook. This comprehensive resource has all the topics you care about organized under easy-to-navigate tabs, with useful links throughout.