If you're going to buy a water ionizer, don't - until you read this post. The water cell of the water ionizer is the most important thing to look at and understand. At least understand it a little. It's like buying a car without knowing the difference between an automatic transmission and a manual transmission. You wouldn't do that. So, please do not buy a water ionizer without reading this post.

Water Ionizer Plates & Water Cells

Inside the water cell you have plates, which do the ionizing. These plates vary according to brand. Note: I list each of the brands below, with their details.

Some of these plates may be good plates, but over time they could corrode or scale or both. So, you should know ahead of time what to watch out for and how to avoid it. 

• Solid Plates: Solid plates are tricky when it comes to getting good ionization. Many companies have to use much larger plates and many more of them, just to get the same ionization as a more efficiently designed plate. Using too much electricity is risky. If the company ends up using too much electricity, just to even get any ionization at all, they could jeopardize the safety and longevity of the plate and water ionizer. The best of the solid plates are the ones that have pulsating electricity going to them. This excites greater ionization, with a more efficient use of electricity, than a steady flow throughout the entire electrode plate.
• Mesh Plates or Mesh/Solid Hybrid Plates: Mesh plates, or hybrid plates, are made of very sturdy titanium mesh, coated well with Platinum. In and of themselves these plates are plenty strong enough to last a lifetime and are electronically a better idea than solid plates. But, in the wrong water ionizer mesh plates can be disastrous. Where the trouble comes in is if the water ionizer doesn't have continuous-cleaning, which most water ionizers don't, then the mesh will only be a worse trap for built-up scale than a solid plate.
• The Plate-Coating Process: The plate-coating process for electrodes is also extremely important. It is much easier and cheaper to simply dip the plates in platinum than it is to scientifically electroplate them with platinum. Even if you dip and bake them ten times, you will absolutely not get a better product than if you scientifically electroplate them. With scientifically done electroplating, the surface of the plate is prepared using a proprietary method to guarantee that the platinum will stick to the plate fully and will never erode away. In the more advanced water cell designs, the plate-coating process is repeated several times and each time uses the same proprietary method to ensure 100% permanent bonding of the platinum to the plate. 

• The Inter-Plate Membranes: Inside a water cell, between the plates will ideally be a little bit of space for water to enter and there will be a membrane (which separates each plate from the next). The design of the water cells vary greatly in this respect. Where you see a water ionizer that doesn't get as high antioxidant-levels (as you would think it should), it could very likely be because of a poor inter-plate membrane design. 

Water Cells & Their Self-Cleaning Systems

There are two main types of self-cleaning systems for water cells: acid-wash and continuous-cleaning. Companies will call these by many different names, but these are the two basic types. Here is a chart illustrating which water ionizers use the acid-wash system and which use continuous-cleaning.

Continuous-cleaning is the only type of water cell cleaning that will give you worry-free, continuous use of your water ionizer for life. Buying a water ionizer with an acid-wash water cell cleaning system means that you will need to attend to regular daily, weekly, monthly maintenance in order to keep it working. Even then it will be impossible for them to keep their electrodes as clean as the ionizers that use continuous-cleaning.

10 Most Popular Brands of Water Ionizers and their Water Cells

• AlkaViva H2 Water Ionizers: I listed the H2 Water Ionizers first, because they are the very most advanced of all the water ionizer water cell features described on this page. AlkaViva H2 Water Ionizers use the most advanced continuous-cleaning in the world. You will have years or decades of worry-free use of any of the AlkaViva H2 water ionizers. They use solid plates with efficient pulsating electricity. Their water cells are constructed with advanced membrane technology. The plates use scientific electroplating. There are many other important features which you can read on the H2 Water Ionizers page.
• Smart Water Ionizers: Smart Water Ionizers use very advanced DARC continuous-cleaning. The electrode plates are scientifically electroplated, they use a solid/mesh hybrid plate construction, and the water cells are constructed with advanced membrane technology.
• Athena Classic Water Ionizer: The Athena Classic water ionizer uses mesh plates; the water cells are constructed with advanced membrane technology; the electrodes are scientifically electroplated, and the water cell cleaning system is DARC continuous-cleaning.
• Enagic: Enagic Water Ionizers use large solid plates. They don't pulsate the electricity or scientifically electroplate the electrodes. Enagic water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes. A big warning about Enagic water ionizers is that they use a sodium solution to enhance electrolysis for the highest level of ionization. Without constant attention to careful use of this "feature" it could easily cause the plates to corrode.
• Lifeionizers: Lifeionizers Water Ionizers use large mesh plates. They don't scientifically electroplate the electrodes. The Lifeionizers water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes. A big warning about Lifeionizers is the mis-match of mesh plates without using continuous-cleaning. Lifeionizers may work well for a while, but the acid-wash cleaning system will not be able to keep the plates clean enough over time.
• Tyent Water Ionizers: Tyent Water Ionizers use large solid-holed plates. They don't pulsate the electricity or scientifically electroplate the electrodes. Tyent water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes.
• Chanson Water Ionizers: Chanson Water Ionizers use solid plates. They don't pulsate the electricity but they do scientifically electroplate the electrodes. Chanson water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes.
• EOS or KYK Water Ionizers: EOS or KYK Water Ionizers use large solid, slotted plates. They don't pulsate the electricity or scientifically electroplate the electrodes. EOS or KYK water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes.
• X-Blue Water Ionizer:  The X-Blue Water Ionizer uses solid plates. They don't pulsate the electricity but they do scientifically electroplate the electrodes. The X-Blue water ionizer cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes.
• Real Spirit or AirWaterLife Water Ionizers: The Real Spirit or AirWaterLife Water Ionizers use solid plates. They do pulsate the electricity but they don't scientifically electroplate the electrodes. AirWaterLife water ionizers cleaning within the water cell itself is through periodic acid-washes.