Unilever Launches Sure Ka Ba?, A Water Safety Awareness Campaign

I was pondering about the safety and cleanliness of our delivered water from a local refilling station in my post just a while back. Although I may not have encountered problems and issues with my water refilling station, it cannot help to be vigilant and proactive in looking for better alternatives to get clean and safe water for my family, especially the little man. After all, it is one of our primary duties as mums to make sure that our family, especially our children are in the pink of health at all times.

So, I ask you, sure ka ba about your water refilling station and the water being delivered and consumed in your household? Yes, it can be quite paranoid-inducing, right? This is the reason why I am delighted to tell you all about the campaign recently launched by Unilever, the Sure Ka Ba? Campaign that empowers households to have full control over what goes in and around our drinking water by allowing us to have our very own water refilling station at home!

Unilever’s Sure Ka Ba? Campaign

The Sure Ka Ba? Campaign by Unilever is part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, an advocacy that aims to provide health and wellness, environment, nutrition, and livelihood programs all over the globe. Held at the Avida Showroom in Glorietta Center, Makati City, the event was hosted by celebrity mum, Dimples Romana, and was attended by Unilever bigwigs and industry partners, as well as by bloggers and members of traditional media.

During the launch, the guests watched this eye-opening video about what our refilled water has to go through before it reaches our home. The process starts from a regular water refilling station’s typical steps in preparing and handling their products. The video revealed how refilled water can easily be contaminated during handling, storage, and delivery of containers. This video will make you think whether your local refilling station is guilty of these offenses and if your delivered water may just be contaminated and teeming with viruses and disease-causing bacteria, that may pose health risks for you and your family.

We also learned from this video that about 80% of water refilling stations around are non-compliant to the DOH Sanitary Code. Here are a few of the reasons why:

• inadequate washing and sanitizing of empty bottles prior to refilling
• improper handling of product water {including the vehicle in which the water gallons are transported}
• poor hygiene of water refill station personnel {yes kindly check if the guy who delivered your water are properly dressed and well-groomed}

In reality, we can never be entirely sure of what our refilled water has to go through before it reaches our doorsteps and for all we now we might just be drinking contaminated water than can trigger diseases like diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever, which the United Nations Children’s Fund lists as deadly and fatal, especially for children. To help address this concern, Unilever launched their new line of water purifier brand, Pure It!

Pure It comes in 3 different models and the one demoed that day was Excella, an in-home water purifier that has the power to convert tap water into clean and potable water. It also boasts of an advanced 5-step purification process that can eliminate 99.9999% of bacteria, viruses, and parasites found in tap water. What’s even better is that it is non-electric and has met the stringent safety standards of the US Environment Protection Agency.

A demonstration was conducted by the Unilever Research and Development team and a microbiologist from SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, during the event to show the efficacy of Pure It Excella to purify dirty or tap water. A contaminated water was poured onto Pure It Excella for purifying. It might have taken a while to purify the water, but impressively, it was and free from impurities after passing through the Unilever tabletop water purifier! They even placed it under UV rays and it is all clear!

Pure It Water Purifiers come in 3 different models:

• Excella
  • has a large 23 liters purifier size and up to 9 liters water storage
  • has a very practical design that does not require electricity nor continuous water supply
  • comes with a Germkill Life indicator, giving an advanced warning when the Germkill Kit needs to be changed
  • very simple to install and easy to use
  • SRP is Php4,998

    

• Marvella UV
  • has a 4-liter water storage
  • comes in a sleek and compact design
  • has a high intensity UV lamp to inactivate harmful bacteria, viruses, and  parasites and deliver safe water always
  • SRP is Php11,000 {with free installation}

    

• Ultima RO Slim
  • has a 15-day advance alert system for changing RO membrane
  • has a convenient 4-liter water storage
  • turns hard water up to 1800 ppm into soft and sweet water making a good choice for those living near the sea with salty water
  • SPR is Php16,000 {with free installation}

  All Pure It models has the following specifications:

• 5-Stage purification process ~ Sediment Filter to remove dirt, Germkill Processor with Programmed Germkill Technology, Microfiber mesh for removing metallic impurities like lead, Carbon Polisher that removes parasites and chlorine, and Microcharged Membrane for second purification and parasite removal giving Pure It users double protection
• Pure It Germkill Kit, a set of consummables that needs replacement once indicator turn fully red or after the unit has purified about 1,500 liters or 80 containers {5 gallons each} of water
• An auto shut-off mechanism ensuring that no member of your family accidentally drinks unsafe water
• It has a large storage capacity
• It is made from food-grade plastic
• Has no maintenance worries
• It comes with 1-year warranty against manufacturing defects

Pure It Units are now available in the following shops:

• Abenson {you can also order online}
• The Landmark
• Ansons
• Shopwise
• Automatic Centre
• SM Appliance Center
• Handyman
• HomeWorld
• TiongSan
• TrueValue
• CSI The City Mall
• Metro Gaisano

For more information about Pure It, and their great water purifier products, visit their website at www.pureitwater.com/PH or call the Pure It Helpline: {02} 562.0091 or {02} 949.8071