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 Frequently
Asked
Water
Questions |
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Water Basics |
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Water is generally
classified into two
groups: Surface Water
and Ground Water.
Surface water is just
what the name implies;
it is water found in a
river, lake or other
surface impoundment.
This water is usually
not very high in mineral
content, and many times
is called "soft water"
even though it usually
is not. Surface water is
exposed to many
different contaminants,
such as animal wastes,
pesticides,
insecticides, industrial
wastes, algae and many
other organic materials.
Even surface water found
in a pristine mountain
stream possibly contains
Giardia or Coliform
Bacteria from the feces
of wild animals, and
should be boiled or
disinfected by some
means prior to drinking.
Ground Water is that
which is trapped beneath
the ground. Rain that
soaks into the ground,
rivers that disappear
beneath the earth,
melting snow are but a
few of the sources that
recharge the supply of
underground water.
Because of the many
sources of recharge,
ground water may contain
any or all of the
contaminants found in
surface water as well as
the dissolved minerals
it picks up during it's
long stay underground.
Waters that contains
dissolved minerals, such
as calcium and magnesium
above certain levels are
considered "hard water"
Because water is
considered a "solvent",
ie, over time it can
break down the ionic
bonds that hold most
substances together, it
tends to dissolve and
'gather up' small
amounts of whatever it
comes in contact with.
For instance, in areas
of the world where rock
such as limestone,
gypsum, fluorspar,
magnetite, pyrite and
magnesite are common,
well water is usually
very high in calcium
content, and therefore
considered "hard".
Due to the different
characteristics of these
two types of water, it
is important that you
know the source of your
water -- Surface or
Ground. Of the 326
million cubic miles of
water on earth, only
about 3% of it is fresh
water; and 3/4 of that
is frozen. Only 1/2 of
1% of all water is
underground; about
1/50th of 1% of all
water is found in lakes
and streams. The average
human is about 70%
water. You can only
survive 5 or less days
without water.
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Hard Water |
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What is Hard Water ?
Hard water is the most
common problem found in
the average home. Hard
water is water that
contains dissolved
hardness minerals above
1 GPG.
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What are hardness
minerals ?
Calcium, manganese and
magnesium are the most
common.
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How do you Measure
Hardness ?
Parts per million or
grains per gallon are
the most common. One
part per million (PPM)
is just what it says:
out of one million
units, one unit. Grains,
or grains per gallon (GPG)
is a weight measurement
taken from the
Egyptians; one dry grain
of wheat, or about
1/7000 of a pound. It
takes 17.1 PPM to equal
1 GPG.
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Why Should Hard Water
Concern Me ?
For many uses, it would
not matter. For
instance, to put out
fires, water your lawn,
wash the mud off the
streets or float your
boat, water would have
to be pretty hard to
cause a problem. But for
bathing, washing dishes
and clothes, shaving,
washing your car and
many other uses of
water, hard water is not
as efficient or
convenient as "soft
water." For instance:
-
you use only 1/2 as
much soap cleaning
with soft water.
-
because hard water and
soap combine to form
"soap scum" that can't
be rinsed off, forming
a 'bathtub ring' on
all surfaces and drys
leaving unsightly
spots on your dishes.
-
when hard water is
heated, the hardness
minerals are
re-crystallized to
form hardness scale.
This scale can plug
your pipes and hot
water heater, causing
premature failure,
necessitating costly
replacement.
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the soap scum remains
on your skin even
after rinsing,
clogging the pores of
your skin and coating
every hair on your
body. This crud can
serve as a home for
bacteria, causing
diaper rash, minor
skin irritation and
skin that continually
itches.
-
for many industrial
uses, the hardness
minerals interfere
with the process,
causing inferior
product.
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Who Will Test My Water
for Hardness ?
If you are connected to
a municipal supply, call
the water
Superintendent, or City
Hall. They can either
provide the answer, or
direct you to the proper
individual. Remember the
conversion factor: it
takes 17.1 PPM to equal
1 GPG. In other words,
if your water has 171
PPM calcium in it,
divide 171 by 17.1 to
get the answer in
grains. This example
would be 10 grains, or
GPG.
If you are on a private
supply, you could
contact your county
extension agent: collect
a sample in an approved
container and send to
the city or state health
department for testing:
find a testing lab (try
the yellow pages). By the way, if
you are on a private
well, YOU, AND YOU ALONE
are responsible for the
safety of the water you
and your family drink.
You should test your
supply for bacteria at
least once per year and
other contaminants at
least every three years
-- more under certain
conditions.
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My Water is Hard; Now
What ?
If your water tests over
3 GPG hard, you should
mechanically soften it.
Softening water that is
less than 3 GPG, while
it makes your shaving
and bathing more
comfortable, is
considered a luxury due
to the fact that the
cost is more than your
savings. Over 3 GPG, you
will save enough to pay
for the cost and
maintenance of a water
conditioner.
As of this writing, the
most economical way for
you to soften your
household water is with
an ion exchange water
softener. This unit uses
sodium chloride (salt)
to recharge man made
plastic like beads that
exchange hardness
minerals for sodium. As
the hard water passes
through and around the
plastic like beads, the
hardness minerals (ions)
attach themselves to the
bead, dislodging the
sodium ions. This
process is called "ion
exchange". When the
plastic bead, called
Resin, has no sodium
ions left, it is
exhausted, and can
soften no more water.
The resin is recharged
by flushing with salt
water. The sodium ions
force the hardness ions
off the resin beads;
then the excess sodium
is rinsed away, and the
resin is ready to start
the process all over
again. This cycle can be
repeated many, many time
before the resin loses
it's ability to react to
these forces.
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What Should I look for
in a Water Conditioner ?
Make sure to choose a unit
that has
enough resin to treat
all the water you and
your family will use. As
of this writing, the
average usage per day,
per person (including
children), for inside
the house is 87 gallons.
You should also be shown
two or three ways to
initiate recharging the
unit.
Initiate
recharge is by
electronic sensing. By
electronically checking
the resin, these units
can determine when the
resin needs to be
recharged -- this is a
great help when your
water hardness changes,
when you have extra
company or when you are
gone for a few days.
These 'sensor' units can
save you up to 42% of
your salt and recharge
water as well as keep
you in soft water when
you have extra guests.
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I Have a Water
Conditioner, Now my
Water Feels "Slimy"
When the hardness
minerals are removed,
soap no longer forms a
soap curd, or "bathtub
ring" on your skin,
plugging your pores,
clinging to every strand
of hair. You are now
truly clean. That slick,
slimy feeling you feel
is your natural body
oils -- without the soap
scum. The old saying
that you get "squeaky
clean" is a myth; that
feeling was caused by
the soap scum on your
skin. By the way, that
soap scum provided an
excellent place for
bacteria to hide and
grow, causing numerous
minor skin ailments.
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Water that Smells |
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My Water Stinks! What
can I Do ?
First, you must learn a
little about your nose:
Once you smell some
things, your sense of
smell is dulled for a
short while, and you
can't make accurate
judgments of smell. For
instance, if I blindfold
you, let you smell
gasoline, hand you a
piece of onion to eat
and tell you it is an
apple, you can't tell
it's not because your
nose isn't working
properly!! (Your sense
of taste isn't working
either -- smell and
taste are closely
related and affect each
other!)
So, to correctly analyze
your problem, you need
to become a detective.
The best time to locate
the smell is after you
have been away from home
for a few hours -- this
allows your nose to
become sensitive to
"that smell" again. With
your 'sensitized' nose,
go to an outside spigot
-- one that the raw,
untreated water flows
from. Turn it on, let it
run a few minutes, then
smell it. If it smells
-- we found it. If not,
we must look further.
(Many, many smells are
not in the raw water at
all, they are introduced
into the water inside
the house.) Go to a
cold, treated water
spigot inside the house,
turn it on and let it
run a minute; then
smell. If this water
smells, and the outside,
untreated water didn't
-- you must have a
device (cartridge
filter, water softener,
etc.) in the water line
that needs to be cleaned
and sanitized.
If it is a cartridge,
replace the element and
sanitize the housing. If
you have a water
conditioner
sanitize the unit. You can sanitize
the unit by pouring
Hydrogen Peroxide or
Chlorine Bleach in the
brine well of the salt
tank, and placing the
unit into regeneration.
Refer to product
installation and
maintenance
instructions.
If the cold, treated
water inside didn't
smell, turn on the hot
water and let it run a
few minutes -- does it
smell? If it does,
chances are you have a
sacrificial anode inside
your hot water heater
that is "coming apart at
the seams" and throwing
off a "rotten egg" odor.
This obnoxious smell
will drive you right out
of your shower! The only
solution is to remove
the anode from the
heater, voiding your
warranty, or replace it
with a new one made with
aluminum alloy. This
anode is placed in a
(glass lined) hot water
heater to seal up any
cracks in the glass
lining and prevent
corrosion of the heater
tank. You will find the
anode on the top of the
heater; remove the tin
cover and insulation --
look for what looks like
a pipe plug -- about 3/4
inch in size with a 1
1/16"fitting. Turn off
the heat source and the
water; have someone hold
the tank to prevent it
from turning, and
unscrew the "plug". You
will find that the
'plug' has a 30 - 40 "
long pipe (or what's
left of one) attached to
it. Hopefully, most of
the rod is still
attached -- just
corroded. If so, replace
the plug with a real
pipe plug and throw the
anode away. If part of
the rod has corroded
off, and fallen into the
heater, you may have to
try to fish it out.
Either way, before you
plug the hole, pour
about 2 pints of
chlorine bleach into the
heater first. This will
kill the smell left in
the heater. If, after a
week or so, the smell
returns, you must fish
out the rod that is in
the bottom of the tank.
Good Luck!
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OK, It's my Raw Water
That Smells -- Now What
?
First, you must
determine what is
causing the smell, and
how strong it is.
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Minor, musty smell
If it is a minor, or
low-level smell, you
MIGHT be able to solve
it with a small,
point-of-use kdf/carbon
filter. You can place
these types of filters
on kitchen counter,
undersink, shower,
inline going
to the cold water where
you draw you drinking
water. Or, you might
solve it with a
whole-house filter on
your incoming water line
to filter all of the
water inside your home.
You must be careful not
to exceed the
manufactures recommended
flow -- some filters
even have a flow
restriction built in
them. If you run water
through them too fast,
you will not remove the
smells. Whenever you
place a carbon filter in
your water line, you
must be sure to replace
the element and sanitize
the housing on a regular
basis.
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Strong, rotten-egg smell
Strong, rotten-egg odors
in the raw water is
usually the result of
the decomposition of
decaying underground
organic deposits. As
water is drawn to the
surface, hydrogen
sulfide gas can be
released to the
atmosphere. In strong
concentrations, this gas
is flammable and
poisonous. It rapidly
tarnishes silver,
turning it black. It is
toxic to aquarium fish
in sufficient
quantities. As little as
0.5 ppm hydrogen sulfide
can be tasted in your
drinking water.
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Strong, musty smell
There are many basic
filters to solve this
problem.
Filters
Installation of a
whole house filter
loaded with a media
that is specific for
hydrogen sulfide
removal is successful
many times. These
types of filters must
be recharged with
chlorine or potassium
permanganate. The
removal capacities of
these types of filters
are usually fairly
low, and must be sized
to contain enough
media to prevent
premature exhaustion,
and subsequent passage
of the smell to
service. It is also
typical that the
amount of hydrogen
sulfide can fluctuate
rapidly, causing great
difficulty in sizing
the unit. In addition,
potassium permanganate
is extremely "messy",
and will leave stains
that are very
difficult to remove.
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Water that Stains |
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I have Red Stains in
my Sinks and Other
Fixtures -- Help!
Red stains are normally
caused by iron in the
water. You must test to
determine the amount and
the type of iron you
have. Some types are:
oxidized, soluble,
colloidal, bacteria or
organic-bound. All are a
problem! It only takes
0.3 ppm to stain
clothes, fixtures, etc.
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Oxidized
This type of iron is
usually found in a
surface water supply.
This is water that
contains red particles
when first drawn from
the tap. The easiest way
to remove this type of
iron is by a fine
mechanical filter.
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Soluable
Soluble iron is called
"clear water" iron.
After being drawn form
the well and contacting
the air, the iron
oxidizes, or "rusts",
forming reddish brown
particles in the water.
Depending on the amount
of iron in the water,
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