2007 March | CAI Water Softener Systems | Filters

Hi,

I am buying a house in the next six weeks and have a question about the water quality and if I should be concerned. The water is from the public system, so my real estate agent said there was no sense getting it tested and wasting money because the city wouldn’t provide me with bad water. I noticed that the sink had a water filter on from the previous owner and this made me wonder why he would need that if the water is good. Should I still get the water tested or should I trust that the city’s water is fine? If I should get the water tested, who can do this for me and what would the tests be looking for in the water? Does this also mean I don’t need a water softener since it is public water?

Answer:

Generally, the drinking water supplied by a municipality in North America is free of contaminants, and a water analysis is not required. The filter on the sink is probably a carbon filter, and these filters remove chlorine from city water, to improve the taste & odor.

If you want to have the water tested to confirm that is in safe for consumption, you should ask your realtor for the name of a local laboratory that is certified to perform this analysis in your state. However, if you just want the water tested to for non-health related values, like hardness, pH, TDS (total dissolved solids), and iron, we can provide this service at no charge – visit either of our sites at http://www.caitechnologies.com or http://www.ewateronline.net for out how to sample you water, and our lab’s mailing address. This type of analysis is needed to correctly size a water softener.

Just because you have city water, does not mean that you won’t need a water softener. Municipalities frequently reduce the hardness to minimize damage to their delivery piping, but they never completely soften the water. It’s very common for households supplied with city water to install a water softener – this will prevent the buildup of scale on your piping and fixtures. Clothes washed in softened water are brighter, and using soft water means that you can use less soap when bathing and cleaning.

How can I clean up my drinking water?

Our home uses water supplied from a private onsite well, and there is news that there may be contamination from local factories and gas stations. What equipment would you recommend to clean up our water?

Answer:

If you mean that the groundwater contamination is due to VOC (solvents used in degreasing) discharge from the factories, or gasoline leakage from a gas station, then RO (reverse osmosis) may be the best way to proceed. RO is commonly used as a part of the store-purchased bottled water manufacturing process. It removes high levels of most VOCs, as well as many contaminants like arsenic and nitrates. A good quality RO system is available at any of our sites – take a look at the Microline TFC-4 or GE/Merlin reverse osmosis systems. Always be sure that the RO system is NSF standard 58, or WQA Gold certified – systems with these certifications use only high quality components, and are performance certified by independent third party organizations.

Please keep in mind that an RO system does not sterilize or disinfect the water. We always recommend that any onsite well use an ultraviolet (UV) sterilization or chlorine disinfection system to insure that the water being provided is safe to drink. If you do this you may also need some pre-treatment, like a sediment pre-filter, water softener or other equipment so that these system will properly function. If you want to consider this, we will need to know the details of your water quality (hardness, iron, pH, TDS, etc) to advise if any pre-treatment is required. If you do not know these values, we offer a free analysis of your water – visit any of our sites for details on how to sample and where to send your water for our free analysis.

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How can I clean up my drinking water?

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