作者： lifesolutions_editor

办公室的饮水机功能繁多，可以用于泡茶、泡咖啡，办公室饮水机能有效提高员工的效率和便利性。而市面上公司用饮水机的款式、型号繁多，在选购办公室饮水机时需要考虑的因素，以及如何挑选值得信赖的办公室饮水机方案。

选购公司用饮水机时需要留意什么？

在选购公司饮水机时可以留意以下几点：

办公室人数及规模：因每部饮水机都有不同的供水量，确定办公室内的使用人数及饮水需求来选择适合的机型，例如高容量的座地式水机供水量较高、占用空间较大，较建议大型办公室使用，中小型办公室则可以考虑使用容量较小的饮水机。

预算：除了要考虑饮水机的成本外，在选择时更要考虑后续费用，市面上不同的服务供应商有不同收费模式，例如检查及换芯逐次收费、更换零件费用另计等，选购及签约时需要细心注意。

功能：通常饮水机提供常温、热水、冰水，甚至有气水等不同温度的选项，建议事先确定对饮用水温度要求，以选购适合的公司用饮水机；市面不少饮水机也备有许多功能，例如沸腾消毒、免触式感应、节省塑胶瓶计算等，建议可咨询专业顾问，让供应商提供最切合需求的方案。

售后服务：在选购时可留意品牌有否提供完善售后服务，过滤式饮水机与一般电器不同，配备的滤芯有使用寿命，需要定期更换来维持过滤效能，喉管零件损耗或老化也会影响饮水机使用，因此需要注意供应商会否提供全面且迅速的保养服务。

办公室饮水机推荐：Life Solutions香港专业饮水机品牌

Life Solutions为多个国际知名净水产品及饮水机品牌的中港澳地区独家总代理，包括澳洲品牌Billi、ACUO贺众牌等，所有产品均获多个国际水质标准、节能标准等认证，服务逾3000间大型国际企业及酒店餐饮客户，涵盖办公室、酒店餐饮、医疗及教育机构、国际机场等。

而Life Solutions的办公室过滤式饮水机以及商用餐饮水机均采用不同过滤系统、专利UVC灯等技术，全方位保障水质纯净，安心饮用。

我们拥有自家的技术团队，全天候提供一站式服务，无论是前期咨询规划、安装，以及安装后的定期保养服务，均由Life Solutions最专业的团队进行；此外，我们更会在保用有效期内，为客户提供免费维修服务，并提供24小时客户服务热线，确保能迅速应对各项技术疑难。

若对选购办公室过滤式饮水机、商用餐饮饮水机或安装保养有任何疑问，欢迎联络我们，以了解更多！

近年来，市场上关于电解水、离子水和碱性水的宣传愈来愈多，不少都号称这些饮用后对人体健康有益，甚至能预防疾病、癌症等。究竟背后的原理为何？常见的电解水、碱性水、离子水等，名字不太相同，但其实都是经由电解和隔膜分离的电解水，分别在于水的酸碱值。所谓「电解水」，是在水电解时使用隔膜或盐桥阻止离子交换，使水的酸碱值改变，同时也造成氧化还原电位变化、酸度系数变化，便产生所谓的酸性水和碱性水。除了饮用的电解水之外，市面最常见的电解水便是次氯酸水，可用在清洁、杀菌、消毒等。有人认为，饮用电解后的酸性水或碱性水，就可以调节人体的酸碱值，其实并不正确。人体会自动维持体内酸碱平衡，进食的食物并不会改变血液中的酸碱浓度，喝水，当然也是一样。

离子水

有些人声称离子水具有抗氧化、美颜抗老、改善消化和增强免疫系统等好处，不过目前科学研究的证据支持还不充分。

离子水是经过特殊处理的水，通过电解过程产生了带电的离子。不少人声称这些离子能够中和体内的自由基，从而具有抗氧化的作用，然而目前的研究结果并未能证实饮用离子水可以清除自由基和抗氧化，对人体健康的具体影响和作用仍然有待商榷。

碱性水

不少市售碱性水的业者都号称它能中和体内酸性、有助于吸收水分和排毒等好处，不过目前同样缺乏科学证据的支持。

人体的酸碱平衡是由身体内部复杂的生理机制维持的。身体会自然调节体内的酸碱度，以保持正常的生理功能，单单透过饮用碱性水并不能改变整体酸碱度。事实上，人体的酸碱平衡是非常精确且复杂的调节过程，单纯依赖饮用碱性水并不能对整体酸碱度产生明显影响。根据《哈佛健康杂志》文章解释，胃酸的pH值为1.5 至 3.5，即使大量饮用碱性水亦只能短暂提高胃酸的酸碱值，肾部亦会自动调节血液的酸碱度。此外，过度碱化的体内环境可能对健康产生负面影响。正常的酸碱平衡是身体健康运作的关键，过度碱化可能干扰正常的生理功能，导致不良的健康后果。因此，我们需要谨慎对待碱性水的宣称，并理解人体自身的调节机制。

怎样喝水才是最健康？

日常的饮用水只需确保饮用安全、纯净、无杂质，并饮用适当分量，便能摄取身体基本所需。如果想改善健康，要长期饮用各种宣称有助健康的水之前，最好先询问专业人士意见，例如医生及营养师，了解自己的身体需要和产品的利害才作决定。

本文仅供参考，并不构成法律或医学建议。如有任何健康问题或疑虑，请咨询专业医生的意见。

香港专业滤水器设备

如要选择合适的过滤及饮水机方案，确保饮用水安全纯净，需要考量现场环境水质、实际需求用量等，因此可考虑选用过滤及饮水机服务方案，交由专业顾问分析建议及技术团队定期保养。

不同国家的水质硬度都会有所不同，因此旅居外地可能会出现水土不服的情况。根据香港水务处的资料显示，香港水质硬度为软水级别，含有微量矿物质。常听人说，水有分「软水」和「硬水」，不同国家的水质硬度都会有所不同。根据香港水务处的资料显示，香港水质硬度为软水级别，含有微量矿物质。有时香港人到外国旅行，饮用当地自来水后感到不适，可能是水土不服问题，不适应硬水导致。那究竟两者有什么分别？

水质硬度如何界定？软水和硬水有什么分别？

根据世界卫生组织（WHO），水质硬度是根据矿物质含量而定，以每公升水中的碳酸钙含量作为标准，碳酸钙含量越高则水质硬度越高，一般将水质硬度分为4个等级：

软水：每公升水中的碳酸钙含量少于60毫克

偏硬水：每公升水中的碳酸钙含量介乎60至120毫克

硬水：每公升水中的碳酸钙含量介乎120至180毫克

超硬水：每公升水中的碳酸钙含量多于180毫克

分析软水及硬水利弊

欧美国家的自来水多为硬水，因为水源通常是山泉水，或是地下富矿物质的水。在自然环境中，水中的矿物质主要是来自岩石矿石受水流冲刷后，会使矿物质沉积或溶解于水中，因而形成硬度各异。

水的硬度越高，矿物质含量就越高，那么硬水是否就比软水好呢？

硬水

的确，硬水可以为人体补充矿物质，而且水的口感和味道也会随矿物质含量而有所变化，部分人会特别喜欢矿泉水的口感，不过也有人觉得水的硬度会增加苦涩味，影响冲调饮品和烹调的口感和味道。

一些外国研究指出，饮用硬水能够减低患有心血管疾病的风险，不过世卫指出，目前仍需更多更全面的科学研究来证明两者的确有关联。此外，有不少欧美地区人士都反映，长期使用硬水会容易出现脱发问题，因硬水中的矿物质会积聚于头发表面，堵住毛鳞片，长远影响发质。硬水因含有大量钙化物和镁化合物，容易形成水垢，堵塞热水器或洗衣机的喉管，导致家用电器效率下降、减短使用寿命等问题。

值得注意的是，卫生防护中心建议指引指出，矿泉水的矿物含量可能超出婴幼儿身体所需，不宜用作冲调配方奶。

软水

软水的矿物质含量较低，因此对皮肤的刺激也相应较少，而且不易形成水垢，能够延长家用电器的使用寿命。

虽然香港自来水属软水，部分人会担心矿物质摄取不足，但事实上人体每日所需的营养素主要靠进食摄取，只要饮食均衡，进食各种天然食物，就无须担心矿物质摄取不足的问题。。

香港的食水是软水还是硬水？是否安全饮用？

一般来说，香港经处理的食水属软水，但仍可能含有微量的钙和镁等矿物质，故市民有时发现水煲经使用一段时间后，底部会沉淀出一层薄薄的白膜，称为「水垢」。这其实是水中的矿物质累积所致，其主要的成份是钙和镁化合物，并不影响水质和人体健康。

既然香港自来水已经过处理，那为何仍然需要使用滤水器？

理论上，香港水务署滤水厂处理后的食水可安全饮用，不过需要注意，自来水的水质会受其他因素影响，例如贮水箱、内部喉管或其他关连的供水设施等，在供水过程可能会参杂锈铁、沉淀物、细菌和其他物质，影响口感之余，更可能对身体有害。因此不少人都会选择安装滤水器或过滤式饮水机，确保饮用水水质安全、纯净、无杂质。

香港专业滤水器设备

如要选择合适的过滤及饮水机方案，需要考量现场环境水质、实际需求用量等，因此可考虑选用过滤及饮水机服务方案，交由专业顾问分析建议，量身订造最适合的方案，并由技术团队定期检查保养，维持过滤系统发挥最佳效能。

本文仅供参考，并不构成法律或医学建议。如有任何健康问题或疑虑，请咨询医生的专业意见。

Maintenance matters: when it comes to water filters, quality servicing is absolutely key.

Hong Kong-based Life Solutions has been specialising in providing safe, clean drinking water via water filtration systems for almost two decades. They service a broad range of clients, from homes and offices to large-scale events like the Rugby Sevens and even the Hong Kong International Airport. We sat down with founder Blake Ireland about how he came to start the company, why water filtration maintenance is vital, and how we can each take action to ensure that we’re consuming high-quality safe drinking water. 

GQ: How did you come to start Life Solutions?

BI: One thing that has always been a “bête noire” for me is the use of disposable plastic water bottles and the damage they do to the environment. The bottled water industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. There is no excuse for shipping water across continents for the purposes of drinking, especially given that with proper filtration and good maintenance, we can enjoy the fresh water we have locally. Bottled water also comes at an enormous financial cost. In some cases, it is sold for higher prices than a litre of petrol. Having come from the construction trade, it was a fairly logical step for me to go into water filtration and persuade people to use these systems for drinking water, rather than buying bottles.

GQ: Maintenance is a huge part of what you offer. Why is servicing water filters so important?

BI: Much like with a car, it doesn’t matter how expensive, or high-quality it is, if you don’t maintain it properly. Take a luxury Rolls Royce, for example. You probably wouldn’t take it down to any old mechanic down the street. Instead, you’d want to take it to a Rolls Royce dealer or a licensed mechanic where they have the right machinery, they know how the car works and they have the proper parts. Maintenance in water filtration is the same thing. It doesn’t matter what type of filter or technology you use, whether it is carbon filtration, or ultraviolet (UV) sterilisation, or reverse osmosis (RO). It doesn’t matter if you buy the most expensive or the best brand, without professional maintenance, it won’t do its job properly.

GQ: How often should your filter be serviced? Does it depend on the type of water filter you have?

BI: Servicing frequency very much depends on the type of filtration you are using. RO membranes can last up to 3 years, especially if they are NSF-certified. With micro-filters, or carbon filters which are commonly used for drinking water, you may need to change it every few months, or even every month, depending on the amount of water that goes through the cartridge.

We have hospitality clients in Macau that use such high amounts of water that their carbon filters need to be replaced on a monthly basis. For businesses that use less water, filters can be changed every 6 months. It really depends on the quality of the source water, the volume of water going through the system and the capacity of the filter types. 

GQ: What are some of the most common misconceptions about Hong Kong water? 

BI: There are quite a few misconceptions amongst the general public, the most prevalent of which is that Hong Kong water is not good quality. The city’s Water Supplies Department (WSD) provides water to every building well within the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, and it’s as good as any world-class city such as London, Paris or New York. 

Issue arises after the water enters a building and goes into the building’s pipework system. If not maintained properly by the management of that specific building, then contamination can occur. That being said, in most cases, the city’s buildings are managed pretty well. 

Another common misconception is with the piping – many people believe that the pipes are made of lead, which then contaminates the water. In fact, the government changed all the old lead piping into copper, stainless steel or plastic quite some time ago. 

These misconceptions may exist because the taste of Hong Kong water isn’t particularly good. The reason for this is that the Hong Kong government like most governments, adds chlorine into the water as a disinfectant. It is required to kill harmful bacteria and viruses. In terms of quality, Hong Kong tap water is safe to drink, and the taste can be improved by removing the chlorine with filtration systems at point of use (POU), in other words just before the draw point. 

GQ: Is it true that the majority of water you test is actually dirtier than it was before?

BI: Obviously we do a lot of water testing for companies and individuals here. In fact, we provide this as a free service. When we go to a building to test an existing filtration system, we find that the water that comes out of the filtration system is dirtier than the source water. This is true for about 90% of the installed micro filtration (carbon) systems that we have tested. Usually, this is because the water filter hasn’t been changed frequently enough. This is the reason why good quality, professional maintenance is so important!

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GQ: How can people take action on this problem? 

BI: People can take action by getting more professional advice. In too many cases, people install systems themselves, or via their contractor, and therein lies the problem. They might not necessarily know how often to change the filter and how to maintain it. There are a number of companies in Hong Kong that provide ongoing maintenance service, of which Life Solutions is one. We proactively contact our users to let them know we need to change their filter. If anyone has a system installed and wants to know if it’s working properly, we provide free professional water testing to ensure that the water meet the WHO safety standards.

GQ: How important is water quality in terms of fighting public health threats such as the current coronavirus pandemic?

BI: I think the pandemic has shed light on maximising general hygiene, not only with water. Obviously, water is a medium in which bacteria can be communicated. Though there is no specific data regarding the transmission of Covid-19 by water, various other viruses and bacteria can be transmitted through water so it’s important to make sure that any drinking water filtration system is capable of combating these pathogens. 

Chlorine is an efficient way to treat water, which is why so many governments deploy it. The Hong Kong government has increased the level of chlorine since the pandemic began to ensure that if the virus does get into the water supply, the drinking water will be sufficiently disinfected. 

Another way is through UV sterilisation, and indeed RO membrane technology and nano-filtration systems are 99.9% effective at removing bacteria and potential viruses.

As always, it depends on the system you use and more importantly, it depends on a the quality and frequency of the maintenance.

GQ: You work with big event organisers like the Rugby Sevens and Clockenflap – what are the requirements for safe water on a large scale?

BI: For large events, the drinking water on the premises must comply with WHO standards for drinking water. There are certain criteria for potable water, such as a maximum amount of bacteria, metals, various chemicals and PH. Depending on the event that we are working for, we measure the water quality at that location and employ the relevant filtration system to make sure that the water complies with WHO standards.

GQ: You also work with the Hong Kong International Airport. Can you tell us more about what they require?

BI: Every one of our clients has slightly different requirements. In the case of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), we have a very stringent requirement for quality. They provide systems for passengers so it’s extremely important that this is safe and of the correct quality, and that it fulfils all WHO requirements. For these we use a combination of micro-filtration and UV sterilisation to achieve the desired results. We also have a dedicated servicing team for the airport that is on call 24/7.

For most of our other residential and corporate clients, we use membrane technology. Although it is more expensive, it does offer greater safety measures- if the water drops below a certain standard, the output will be stopped by the filtration system, the RO membrane. The drawback of such systems is that the filtration process is quite slow, so most of them require a storage tank for consistent capacity. For a client like the airport, where the system needs to generate thousands of litres of water a day, RO is not practical as they would need to have large storage tanks on tap whenever a passenger comes along and presses the button. 

GQ: From lead contamination scandals to the current epidemic, is the general public more aware about safe drinking water now than ever?

BI: A few years ago, there were high levels of lead in the water in a public housing estate that was caused by cheap lead-containing solder – the glue that is used to join together the pipes. This absolutely raised people’s awareness about water, but it may have been counterproductive. As we already discussed, there is a general misconception that government water supply is not particularly good, which isn’t true. So in some cases, these scandals have heightened a misconception when it was in fact an isolated case.

In terms of the current pandemic, it is certainly raising more awareness. People are more conscious of hygiene, whether in terms of wearing masks, washing hands, ingesting food, or water quality. This is extremely important as we live in an ever-increasingly populated world and these issues will become more, not less frequent. I hope Covid-19 serves as a wake-up call and makes us look at what we’re doing as a species, so we can change some of our habits for the better.