Do you have a drinking water problem?

Guarantee the quality of your water by having it professionally evaluated

How often do you think about the quality of the water in your home? Frequently, water quality is ignored unless you notice a funny smell or cloudy look to the water. But your water could potentially have other issues that you can’t see or smell.

If you have a private well, you are responsible for your water’s quality. If you have city water, the municipality provides you with water that meets regulated standards; however, water quality could still be an issue and contain contaminants, like chlorine or chloramine, or it could pick up contaminants in the water distribution system or from the pipes in your home.

Working water is the water you use for cleaning, bathing, and washing, and its quality can be improved with a water softener or filtration system. On the other hand, drinking water is used for cooking and drinking, and is usually treated with a water filter or a reverse osmosis system.

Cloudy or murky-looking water is likely caused by dissolved or suspended solids. If your skin and hair are dry or damaged, if your fixtures and tableware stained or spotted, if your clothing is dull and water-using appliances are inefficient or ruined, you could be plagued with water problems like hardness, iron, manganese or low ph.

GET YOUR WATER TESTED PROFESSIONALLY

Water filtration systems are one of the most returned items at big box stores. People buy and install them, not really understanding their needs or the type of water treatment system they require. Avoid the guesswork and get your water professionally tested first.

HARD WATER

A few years ago, I had to replace my water heater because of hard water deposits. Over time, a high concentration of mineral deposits can cause major plumbing issues and appliances malfunction.

Often, hard water doesn’t completely rinse away detergent, soap or shampoo, leaving a sticky feeling on your skin or causing your clothes to appear stiff or dull. Limescale buildup caused by hard water is the white, chalky, buildup on fixtures, and water-using appliances.

It’s unsightly and reduces the life and efficiency of fixtures, appliances, and can even clog your pipes.

A water softener is an ionexchange system that removes calcium and magnesium ions from “hard” water. A water softener will provide you with clean, clear, soft water, which is better for you, your home and your appliances.

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK?

I had a whole house water filtration system, consisting of a drinking water filtration system and a water softener, installed at my place. Having a water softener and drinking water filtration ensures every drop of water in your home is clean, crisp and worry-free.

Unlike other systems, my system works around the clock, when needed, providing clean, soft water on demand. Plus, the system maintains itself.

My water softener has twin tanks filled with resin. The resin acts like a magnet for hardness ions (calcium and magnesium). Softening occurs when sodium ions on the resin beads are exchanged for calcium and magnesium ions from the hard water, which makes the water soft.

After the system softens a predetermined amount of water, it then goes into regeneration. The tank that was in service regenerates while its twin continues to provide soft water to my house. All I have to do is add water softener salt, used during regeneration, to the brine drum once in a while.

DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS

I wanted to have high-quality drinking water all the time. After testing my water, the water professionals recommended I have a reverse osmosis system installed — no more plastic water bottles.

There are a few drinking water treatment options to consider, but my favourite, and the one I have in my house, uses reverse osmosis (RO), technology for contaminant reduction at or near 99 per cent. RO systems utilize high pressure to force water molecules through a semipermeable membrane, leaving the contaminants behind to be flushed to drain.

Most reverse osmosis systems include: a prefilter, reverse osmosis (RO), membrane, storage tank, postfilter and dedicated faucet. When the water enters the system, it flows through the prefilter, filtering out sediment and chlorine. Next, the water is processed through the RO membrane, and then is stored in the storage tank. When you draw drinking water from the faucet, the water leaves the storage tank, runs through the post filter for a final polish, and then out the faucet.

For high-quality drinking water, consider a RO system. If you are thinking of upgrading your water softener there are a variety of options on the market. Either way, have your water tested by a professional so you can have both optimal drinking and working water for your home.