As water evaporates and rises to the sky in the form of water vapor, it is in its purest form. However once it falls to the ground and begins its journey to your home, water begins to collect impurities. This is where the problems begin.
Click to see where contaminates are entering your water!
Along its journey your water collects minerals, chemicals, bacteria and particles such as Arsenic, Iron, Nitrates and Acid. Even those that live in the city are not safe. While the water may be filtered, it is certainly not purified. Instead your water is loaded with chemicals such as Chlorine. As the water passes through miles and miles of old rusted pipes it begins to collect Iron and Bacteria. Many are familiar with the horrible color, odor, and taste often associated with city water.
Below is a list of the most common problems found in water that reaches your home. The only way to be certain that you have purified, healthy, soft water is to stop the problems before they enter your house.
Learn more about:
Arsenic | Acid | Bacteria | Hardness | Chlorine | Iron | Ferric Iron | Ferrous Iron | Iron Bacteria | Nitrates
Arsenic
Arsenic is a semi-metal element in the periodic table. It is odorless and tasteless. It enters drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices.
Non-cancer effects can include thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting; diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and blindness. Arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate.
EPA has set the arsenic standard for drinking water at .010 parts per million (10 parts per billion) to protect consumers served by public water systems from the effects of long-term, chronic exposure to arsenic. City water systems were supposed to comply with this standard by January 23, 2006, however due to cost many have gotten extensions!
Acid
A substance which releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Most acids will dissolve the common metals and will react with a base to form a neutral salt and water. An acid, measured by a pH test, is the opposite of an alkali and has a pH rating lower than 7.0. Acid water can often be identified by a sour taste, and is very corrosive to pluming and fixtures. Acid water will also dry your skin and hair.
Bacteria
Single-celled organisms (singular form=bacterium) which lack well-defined nuclear membranes and other specialized functional cell parts and reproduce by cell division or spores. Bacteria may be free-living organisms or parasites. Bacteria (along with fungi) are decomposers that break down the wastes and bodies of dead organisms, making their components available for reuse. Bacterial cells range from about 1 to 10 microns in length and from 0.2 to 1 micron in width. They exist almost everywhere on earth. Despite their small size, the total weight of all bacteria in the world likely exceeds that of all other organisms combined.
Drinking or bathing in water with bacteria can be unhealthy. There are many different kinds of bacteria that live in water and thus most water tests only test for Escherichia-Coli and Coliform.
Hardness
A common problem with water which contains dissolved compounds of calcium, magnesium and sometimes other divalent and trivalent metallic elements. The term hardness was originally applied to waters that were hard to wash in, referring to the soap wasting properties of hard water.
Hardness prevents soap from lathering by causing the development of an insoluble curdy precipitate in the water; hardness typically causes the buildup of hardness scale (such as seen in cooking pans). Dissolved calcium and magnesium salts are primarily responsible for most scaling in pipes and water heaters and cause numerous problems in laundry, kitchens, and bathrooms. Just as it builds up on things in the home it also builds up on your skin and hair. Hardness is usually expressed in grains per gallon (or ppm) as calcium carbonate.
Chlorine
Cl2 – A gas widely used in the disinfection of water and as an oxidizing agent for organic matter, manganese, iron, and hydrogen sulfide. Chlorine is known to react with organic matter in the water to form trihalomethanes (THMs), a suspected carcinogen.
Iron
A very common element often present in groundwater in amounts ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 ppm (mg/L). Iron may be found in three forms: In soluble form such as in ferrous bicarbonate; In solid form bound with a soluble organic compound; or as suspended ferric iron particles. Iron above 0.3 mg/L is objectionable in water because of staining in laundry and plumbing fixtures caused by the oxidation and precipitation of ferric hydroxide and/or ferric oxide (ferric iron) into small solid iron particles. Iron can also give a metallic or distorted flavor to beverages.
Ferric Iron
Small solid iron particles containing trivalent iron, usually as gelatinous ferric hydroxide [Fe(OH)3] or ferric oxide (Fe2O3), which are suspended in water and often rusty water. – Also called precipitated iron.
Ferrous Iron
A divalent iron ion, usually as ferrous bicarbonate [Fe(HCO3)2] which, when dissolved in water, produces a clear solution. – Also called clear water iron. It is usually removed by cation exchange water softening.
Iron Bacteria
Bacteria thrive on iron and are able to actually use ferrous iron (as found in water or steel pipes) in their metabolic processes. They do this by to incorporating ferric iron in their cell structure and in return deposit gelatinous ferric hydroxide iron compounds in their life processes. Iron bacteria are found in several varieties including Crenothrix, Lepothrix, and Gallionella. Iron bacteria can cause staining, plugging, taste and odor problems in a water system.
Nitrates
A natural nitrogen compound (NO3-) sometimes found in well or surface waters. In high concentrations, nitrates can be harmful to humans as well as animals. Nitrates are found in fertilizer and warm blooded animal waste. Yes, People are warm blooded animals!
