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.