Making TAPP 2 even more sustainable in Malta

The TAPP 2 water filter was launched in Spain in 2018 and in Malta in June 2020.

Now the TAPP 2 water filter range gets some exciting changes that are available immediately in Malta.

The changes to the TAPP 2 range is based on customer feedback internationally in addition to Malta and also honour the main goals of TAPP Water globally:

• Simple to fit without the need of special tools or a plumber
• Clean, tasty tap water using the most advanced carbon filter block technology
• Affordable with low investment to get started and annual subsrciptions from just €5 a month
• Sustainable, not only because each household that uses TAPP averts the use of up to 1000 bottles a year but also because we use biodegradable materials leaving no plastic residue in our refills.

As a result of 2 years of research and development and a new manufacturing partner in Shenzen that meets the company's long term needs the new TAPP 2 is ready for delivery in Malta.

Vastly Improved Quality

In Malta we suffered some issues with filter switches breaking and we replaced every unit that encountered this problem. The new units have been tested to over 10,000 switches and 1000's of litres of water passing through the filter.

We also experienced some issues with the biodegradable plastic cartridges in that sometimes there would be leakage from the filter seal, and also if hot water was encountered the bioplastic would buckle. It has also been problematic internationally, not just in Malta, to actually provide composting or degration facilities for the biodegradable plastics. Bioplastics, although they seemed a good idea at the time have been dropped all together in our processes and now only ABS plastic which is recyclable is being used.

Enhanced filtration

During our first three months in operation in Malta we have found 99% satisfaction from customers, experiencing only 1% returns, so we know that the TAPP 2 Twist is great for Malta's water.

The improvements to the filtration system have been made by adding two additional layers of filtration to greatly improve results.

The 5 stage filtration system now includes:

• Stage 1. Polypropylene screen wrapper (New)
  This wraps around the carbon block and filters out larger microorganisms, sediment, silt, rust, scale particles and other impurities. It also protects the carbon block from being contaminated by human hands when it’s changed.
  Stage 2: Activated Carbon Adsorption
  The organic activated carbon removes chemical organic material, chlorine, chlorine byproducts (VOCs, THMs, HAAS, etc) taste, odor, pesticides, herbicides, PFAS and 50+ other contaminants. It also reduces heavy metals including lead, copper, mercury and more.
• Stage 3: Carbon Block Microfiltration
  The carbon block is highly compressed to prevent particles larger than 1-2 micrometers from passing through. This prevents for example all microplastics, suspended particles and most bacteria from passing through the filter. It also prevents most particles from pipe corrosion and biofilm (bacteria build inside the pipes) from passing through.
• Stage 4: Limescale & heavy metal inhibition (New)
  This is a proprietary formula (referred to as PSS) used inside the carbon block that breaks down the mineral to prevent limescale from forming and further reduce heavy metals. Previously we did about 50% and now this is increased to 80% reduction.
• Stage 5: Strainer Mesh
  Filters out hair, sand, dirt and other impurities from the pipes for the filtered water.

Based on the challenges of composting biodegradable materials, we decided to replace the biodegradable shell of our refills with recyclable and BPA-free plastic. 

This has several advantages, including:

1. The casing is now made of standard highly recyclable ABS plastic that won’t break due to use 
2. The casing of the cartridge has an opening mechanism so that only the cartridge inside needs be replaced, reducing plastic waste by 85%
3. Thanks to the new cartridge design the components can be separated and disposed of correctly
4. There is no risk of contaminating plastic recycling with biodegradable plastics that are not recyclable

Overall it’s a big improvement for the product quality and the environment. TAPP 2 is the most sustainable faucet water filter available today.

Improved waterflow

The older version of TAPP 2 may cause some spray when using the filter with high pressure. For the improved version, we’ve enhanced the output hole so that the water flows more evenly.

Improved web and app platforms

We’ve upgraded the MyTAPP platform both on web, mobile and e-mail to deliver more accurate and engaging reminders as well as educational information. Check out the new MyTAPP if you haven’t already.

Full backward compatible

The new refill cartridges for TAPP 2 works with the old version and viceversa so all filters and refill cartridges can still be used without issues.

Now available in Malta

The new version of TAPP 2 Twist and the refills are available now in Malta for all orders after 17th August 2020.