Frequently Asked Questions - General
Q. How do I know what type of system I have?
A. Read
more about the various types of water filtration and purification
systems.
Q. How do I know what’s in my water?
A. There are several ways you
can find out what is in you water. A water analysis can be sent
to State Approved laboratory. This information is available
through your state health department or call the EPA safe Drinking
Water Hotline (800-426-4791)
There are also home DYI (do it yourself) water
analysis kits that are available. They test for a variety of
different contaminants, both aethetic and health related.
Q. Which type of water treatment product
should I purchase?
A. First know what is in your
water that you want to remove – specific contaminants.
This is accomplished through a water analysis. Next investigate
what type of systems are available that address your specific
needs. There are a number of resources that you can use to make
a good buying decision. Remember the overall water quality in
the United States is very good, so never ever buy a product
that is sold to you via scare or alarm tactics. And by all means
check with several sources before you buy there are a great
many over priced water treatment systems sold.
Q. Where do I shop for water treatment
system?
A. There are a number of very
reliable places to purchase water treatment equipment. They
include reliable home improvement outlets, internet sales sites
and water conditioning companies.
Q. Once installed does water treatment
equipment require any service or parts?
A. Yes, All in home water treatment
equipment needs occasional attention and many require replacement
filters & membranes. Follow the manufacturers recommended
service and maintenance instructions.
Q. My water is dirty, it has a color to
it. Why is it dirty and how can I make it clean?
A. If your water is coming from
a well and the water is rust colored, then the problem is probably
iron. If the water color is black it could be either sulfur,
which has a smell like rotten eggs or manganese. All of these
can be treated with an ion exchange water treatment system.
A bigger problem is if the water has a very fine dirt content
which may indicate the presence of colloidal clay. A good indication
if you have a clay problem is if water in a glass stays cloudy
after sitting for 60 minutes. If this is the case a coagulation
filter system may be required.
Q. My water taste bad? What may be the
cause and can it be corrected?
A. If you want to just treat
the drinking and cooking water at your sink POU (point of use),
you have several good options. A reverse osmosis system can
greatly improve the taste and the quality of your water. If
the offensive taste is clearly chlorine then a good carbon filtration
unit can be used.
If you elect to treat the whole house, a system
that is installed at the point where the water enters the home
POE (point of entry), then your first step is to identify what
is causing the problem (have a water analysis done). Once you
have identified what is causing the taste problem you can then
research what type of water treatment equipment is designed
to address your specific needs.
Q. My well water tested positive for coliform
bacteria. What does this mean and what can I do about it?
A. Coliform bacteria can be an
indicator that the well may be susceptible to bacteria contamination.
There are several option that you have. One is to disinfect
the well and retest for coliform. If this second test also shows
positive for coliform, then a hole house water treatment system
should be considered. The most commonly used treatment methods
are ultraviolet (UV), ozonation and chemical feed pump.
Q. Will the water from my tap make me
ill?
A. Keep in mind that there have
been very, very few problems with water supplied by local water
municipalities. A bigger concern is water that is supplied by
private wells or springs. If you are concerned about the quality
of your tap water have it checked by a state approved lab. If
the lab report indicates that there are no health related contaminants
in your tap water there is little reason to worry. If you would
like to treat your water due to an undesirable taste or odor
there is a variety of good water treatment choices available
to you.
Q. What is a reverse osmosis system ?
A. Reverse osmosis systems produce
pure water by forcing untreated water or tap water through a
semi permeable membrane. The membrane lets only water molecules
pass through directing it to the units storage tank,, the impurities
that are separated from the water molecules are forced down
the drain. The system consists of both pre and post filters
which add additional contaminant removal. For more information
on Reverse Osmosis and
RO systems or Reverse
Osmosis Installation.
Q. What is activeated carbon and what
does it do?
A. Carbon used in filtration
applications is produced by grinding a carbon source - like
bituminous coal, peat or coconut shells and heating the material
in the absence of oxygen to 1000 degrees to bake off impurities.
The material is then subjected to 1600-degree steam to “activate”
the carbon. The steam leaves carbon granules filled with cracks
and pores, enabling them to store large amounts of chemicals.
One pound of activated carbon (the amount in a standard ten-inch
filter cartridge) has the equivalent surface area of a 160 acre
farm. Carbon removes contaminants in two ways: through adsorption
, contaminants are attracted to the surface of the activated
carbon and held to it in much the same way a magnet attracts
and holds iron filings; and by acting as a catalyst to change
the chemical composition of some contaminants. Activated carbon
is ideal for removing chlorine, organic chemicals such as many
kinds of pesticides, THMs like chloroform and many VOCs that
are components of gasoline, solvents and industrial cleaners.
Q. What is an ultraviolet system? How
does it work?
A. An ultraviolet (UV) system
uses UV to inactivate certain bacteria, viruses and cysts that
may be present in the water source that flows through the systems
UV chamber. The effectiveness of UV depends upon the dose of
disinfectant received by the organism, which is the combination
of UV intensity times the contact time involved. It is advisable
to always pre-treat the water entering the UV system. For more
information on Ultraviolet
(UV) Water Treatment Systems.
Q. What is distilled water?
A. Distilled water is water that
has been purified by passing through one or more evaporation
–condensation cycles and contains essentially no dissolved
solids. Usually contains less than 5.0 ppm of TDS. |
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