By Kaitlyn Longstaff
Founded in 1983 by Darrell Weeter, FVS, Inc. prides itself on providing the highest-quality home care products and services and after-sales care to its customers. The organization has decades of experience developing products that enhance customers’ lives through a cleaner, healthier home. The engineering, research and development, and executive staff have designed and produced products that specifically target and outperform the competition in removing dirt, dust, pollen, dust mites, odors, and toxic chemicals from homes. As a family-owned company, FVS, Inc. is invested in providing customers with good water- and air-quality products.
FVS Inc. services all of the United States and Canada and carries the Oxidize It Laundry System, AeroPure medical-grade room air cleaners, EnviroBreeze stainless steel lifetime HVAC filter, and laser particle counters used to test particles present in indoor air.
Weeter has decades of experience in the water-treatment industry. He studied business marketing in college and opened FVS in 1983. In 1986, Weeter incorporated FVS as a distribution company and became vice president of HMI Industries in 1987. In 2000, he became president of HMI and was responsible for handling the business in North and South America. He also became chief executive of FVS, Inc. the same year. In 2005, he assumed the role of full-time CEO and president of FVS, Inc. in order to develop product lines such as Filtropur, AeroPure, and Oxidize It.
Benefits of Oxidize It
As one of FVS, Inc.’s flagship products, Oxidize It treats the water for washing machines so there is no need to use soap, fabric softener, or hot water; it also destroys bacteria and viruses 3,000 times faster than bleach and is environment and allergy friendly. Oxidize It provides several benefits for in-home use—it can even be used to wash meats and vegetables (the ozone works to eliminate E. coli and Salmonella). Oxidize It can also “save the average family $677 a year from not using soap, fabric softener, and hot water,” Weeter said.
FVS, Inc. distributes Oxidize It alongside its AeroPure product line. The AeroPure line focuses on equipment and filters that improve the air quality within homes. The intention behind offering both water-treatment products and air products is simple. Weeter explained, “Since water and air are two things that people need to live on a day-to-day basis, offering air products with water-treatment products to customers helps add value to the consumer.” Customers can expect whole-home solutions from FVS to improve their water treatment and air quality.
The Science Behind Oxidize It
The Oxidize It system uses ozone, which has been found to effectively remove stains from laundry. Utilizing an oxidation mechanism, ozone and hydroxyl (OH) radical, a breakdown product from ozone and water, both work as oxidants.
Ozone operates as a superior antimicrobial agent that can even eliminate superbugs when used properly. It is also an economical laundry option because it works best in cold water, relaxing fabrics so that no softener is required and more water is thus extracted during the spin cycle. Drying time is shortened, and the life of your clothing and other fabrics is extended.
The method for cleaning by ozone in water is based on two reaction mechanisms, direct and indirect. The direct method occurs when ozone acts as the oxidizer to break chemical bonds. The indirect method involves ozone reacting with water to produce OH radicals that then oxidize chemical bonds. When ozone and OH radicals come in contact with soils and stains in laundry, they help break chemical bonds to release the stain or soil.
Ozone has shown to be considerably more effective at lower water temperatures due to its increased stability at such temperatures. Using it in cold water cycles saves the energy that would have been used to heat the water. When compared to hydrogen peroxide, ozone utilized in cotton preparation was able to obtain a Stensby degree of whiteness of 81 scoured samples, which was comparable to hydrogen peroxide. When compared to chlorine bleach, the levels of ozone present may not always be high enough to offer the same level of bleaching stains. Ozone is color safe, and it can be used alone instead of bleach to disinfect fabrics.
Ozone provides three major benefits:
- Economical: Using ozone would be economically friendly, as it could decrease the annual costs of water use and purchasing traditional washing agents.
- Microbiological: Ozone has been shown to effectively control and eradicate microorganisms normally found in soiled laundry.
- Environmental: The use of ozone for laundry is also environmentally friendly, as the strong oxidizing power of ozone and OH radicals initiates the conversion of most organic components of soiling materials into more-readily biodegradable byproducts.
FVS, Inc. and Weeter on the Water Industry
Like many companies within the water-treatment industry, FVS, Inc. has faced the increasing costs of raw materials, which makes efficient production challenging. However, they remain dedicated to “helping provide customers with good water- and air-quality products,” Weeter said.
In the coming months and years, Weeter explained, FVS is looking toward “expanding sales operations on an international basis.” It also aims to use ozone technology in developing other products for the water-treatment industry. Weeter was also proud to announce that “2022 sales for Oxidize It were the best since the launch of Oxidize It in 2016,” and he expects 2023 to exceed those numbers.
Weeter explained, “The industry is strong, and as many people become aware of the necessity of good water treatment for their health, more people will begin to invest in water-treatment appliances.” He continued, “Water dealers, along with water publications, need to keep educating the consumers in order to increase the growth of the water industry.”
About the author
Kaitlyn R. Longstaff is associate editor at Water Conditioning & Purification International Magazine. She studied English at Southern New Hampshire University and Publishing at The George Washington University. She can be reached at [email protected].