5 Reasons to Switch to the Watter-system

High costs, recurring problems, and chemicals that require a lot of time or preparation before use. For many companies in the food and process industries, this is a daily source of frustration. More and more companies are opting for a different approach: in-situ-generated hypochlorous acid (HOCl) using the Watter system. Below are the four most common reasons and a number of companies that have already made the switch to Watter.

1. Biofilm resists standard treatments

Biofilm is a stubborn network of microorganisms. Once it has attached itself to pipes, tanks, or production lines, it forms a protective layer for bacteria that conventional disinfectants have a harder time penetrating. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) do work, but they are significantly less effective than HOCl at the same concentrations.

HOCl works differently: it penetrates the biofilm’s protective layer and breaks down microorganisms from the inside out. This makes HOCl demonstrably more effective than conventional agents against bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and molds.

“Over the years, biofilm has built up in our piping. We flushed the system with chemicals at regular intervals, but their effect always proved to be only temporary.”

- Bert Blaauw, Quality Manager, Frisian Egg

2. Recurring problems with process water quality

Nothing is as frustrating as a production process you can’t get under control. You do everything you can, and yet problems keep arising: bacterial counts that exceed (internal) standards, recurring contamination of equipment or finished products, and water systems that never really get cleaner despite regular cleaning and/or disinfection.

The cause almost always lies in the pipes and not in the water itself. Biofilm in pipes, fittings, or cooling systems sustains the bacteria, even when the visible water looks clean. The Watter system solves this by continuously and automatically disinfecting through the water system—not periodically, but continuously. This reduces your workload and saves you valuable time.

“The consistently high water quality allows us to maintain a stable production process and improve our quality.”
- DYKA, Cooling Water

3. Away from harsh chemicals

Peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite: they work, but they pose safety and environmental risks that are becoming increasingly significant. CMR substances are subject to strict regulations. Employees who work with them must be protected. They also require storage with special safety measures, and their transport and packaging waste create an environmental burden.

“The bacterial counts were already good, but now they are consistently even lower than our internal standard. It proves that you can become more sustainable while simultaneously raising quality to an even higher level.”
— Lex Appel, Technical Manager, Coolpack

4. The true costs of conventional disinfection

If you look only at the purchase price of traditional chemicals, you’ll overlook a number of hidden costs, such as:

• Storage and logistics: special storage areas, transportation, ADR regulations.
• Purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE): required for most disinfectants.
• Labor-intensive cleaning: manual cleanup, production downtime.
• Disposal costs: for packaging and the disposal of residual chemicals.

The Watter system produces the disinfectant on-site, using only water, salt, and electricity, and requires no PPE. This also eliminates the ongoing costs of special storage, and transportation costs are minimal, resulting in a payback period much shorter than you might expect.

Based on DYKA’s internal calculations, it has been determined that the investment in the Watter system pays for itself within three years.

Would you like to know what this means for you? Calculate your own ROI on a Watter system here.

5. UV-desinfection is not sufficient

UV disinfection is often used as a disinfection method at the end of the supply system, before the water is used in the process. However, this treatment alone does not protect against the biofilm that builds up in front of the UV lamp, which can lead to potential risks such as blockages and MIC.

Watter works throughout the entire piping network: it removes biofilm and provides constant protection. Furthermore, just like UV disinfection, the Watter-system has no effect on the taste, odor, color, or pH of your product, and with a log 5 value, it is 10 times more effective than UV-disinfection, which has a log 4 value. (1)

So what makes the Watter system different?

The Watter system electrolyzes water, salt, and electricity to create a powerful, proven-effective disinfectant—always fresh on-site, without relying on suppliers.

     ✅ Proven effective (EN-certified)

     ✅ No PPE required

     ✅ Less plastic waste

     ✅ Continuous, automatic dosing

     ✅ A system with a long service lifetime (10+ years)

Sources:

1) Yemmireddy, V., Adhikari, A., & Moreira, J. (2022). Effect of ultraviolet light treatment on microbiological safety and quality of fresh produce: An overview. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.871243