Belsito Plumbing LLC

It's something that we always just assume is safe. We drink it from the faucet, use it to cook our food, wash our clothes with it, and even bathe in it. In other words, water quality affects every part of our household and should always be a concern for you and your family. Though you don't want to get paranoid, there are ways to safeguard against contamination and unhealthy conditions. The problem is you often can't tell if water is infected just by looking at it. Most bacteria, hazardous chemicals, and other pollutants can't be seen by the naked eye; therefore, a water treatment system is always a sound investment when it comes to guaranteeing the safety of your home's health.

Straight from the Source
Before investing in a water treatment system, there are a few things to consider. First, do you use a well or get it from a city source. If from the city, you probably won't have to worry since the local government is required to conduct safety tests. However, if you own a well, you're responsible for your own testing, maintenance, and sanitizing. So, hire a professional to get the well tested regularly. And if there is a problem it's usually due to nearby septic tanks, animal waste, or lawn chemicals, so before decontaminating it's important to correct the source of the problem to quell any further health hazards.

Access Points
There are typically two styles when it comes to water treatment systems. There's point of entry, when the system is installed outside the home and filters all water entering the house (it's usually connected directly to the meter). Then there's point of use, a more common and less expensive model that is installed inside the home. It filters small batches of water directly from the spigot and is located at specific locations: sinks, showerheads, faucets, etc. Point of entry is especially handy for well-water, but for in-town use, a point of use unit is probably more efficient, economical, and effective.

Well Water Treatment Systems
These points of entry systems typically deal with the actual health of your drinking and cooking water. Concerned with serious safety issues, you should definitely contact a water purification system professional who can go through proper procedures and steps in correcting the situation. Most often, these experts will first test the well and then disinfect it through chlorination. One solution is chlorine tablets, which are continuously injected into the well though a feeding pump, but this takes some time depending upon the pH balance, rate of discharge, and contamination of the well water. Shock therapy can also be performed wherein a strong dose of chlorine is introduced after an emergency, such as a flood or surface water seepage. Just make sure you have enough water to drink while the procedure is being completed. Plus, this is not a cure all: even after the shock you may still need to continuously chlorinate your well with tablets or injections.

Point of Use Options
Even if you live in the city, you may still have trouble with overall quality, such as hardness, odors, and taste. Though harmful microorganisms are removed, if the liquid appears cloudy or full of sediment, a water purification system is a smart investment. Conditioning your water from its point of use is often reserved for residential use only. And since they come in all varieties it may be best to hire a professional to advise you on which method is most needed. Here are some common options:

Carbon Filters: The most common of all water purification systems, filters typically attach directly to an individual faucet, but can sometimes be found below the sink or on a separate spigot mount. Either way, the carbon cartridge inside the filter instantly removes organic compounds when water is in contact with it. They're very efficient and affordable ($30-100), but the cartridge will have to be replaced periodically.

UV and Reverse Osmosis: These two methods use a high-tech form of ultra-violet light or membrane filters to remove all harmful minerals in the water supply. These can actually be used to treat as well as condition the water from your point of use faucet, but they're also much more expensive, ranging into the hundreds of dollars.

Water Softener: When the water is hard it's caused by increased amounts of calcium and magnesium in the supply. Hard water can cause scaling in water heaters, ruin the life of appliances, and hinder everyday routines (washing dishes, showering, laundering, etc.) A water softener passes the hard water through an ion-exchange bed and turns the calcium into sodium, which in turn softens your water for more effective use.

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Marc Dickinson has worked in both the general contracting and landscaping trades and is currently a home improvement freelance writer with over 300 articles published.