Do you know your tap water?

In the United States we should expect our tap drinking water to be safe right?

An article in Prevention Magazine states 80% of all disease and illness in the world could be water related. Studies have linked everything from simple illnesses like common stomach cramps and diarrhea to major illnesses like Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and many forms of Cancer to drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and your local water suppliers do everything they can to insure your safety but even their efforts can’t deliver pure water. Our research has revealed the presence over 700 known contaminants in the finished drinking water supplies. About 90 of those contaminants are regulated by the EPA’s Primary Drinking Water Standards. What about the rest? The picture is pretty bleak. Read the Environmental Working Group’s Findings. 100′s of contaminants were found that are not even regulated.

Modern treatment processes do a very good job of making your water look clean. There is little chance that you will go to your tap and fill your glass with a suspicious looking sludge any time soon.

If your drinking water looks clean and safe, it must be, right? Not if you consider how many of us buy bottled water at over 1000 times the cost of tap water on a regular basis!

Why do we do this? Some say “for convenience”, some say “it’s healthier” but all agree “it tastes better”. Why such a difference in taste? Water should taste like water, right?

A free water test can remove any fears – click here.

Do Water Treatment Systems Save Money?

Is it true that water treatment or water conditioner systems such as water softeners can actually save money? To answer this question you need to understand what hard water is and what it can do in your home.

Water is considered “hard” if it contains 120 to 180 milligrams per liter of dissolved minerals. The most common minerals are calcium and magnesium. These substances are not removed by municipal treatment of drinking water, which focuses on viruses, bacteria, solid particles and hazardous organic products. 

In some cases you can see these minerals that enter your home in your water. They form bathtub rings and those white scaly deposits on drains and taps. It is the unseen effects of hard water, however, that can have a significant impact on your household budget.

A good example is the appliances in your home that use water. According to the American Water Works Association, hard water can reduce the life expectancy of your dishwasher and clothes washer by 30% and your water heater by 50%. In terms of the plumbing, the study found that faucets need to be replaced 40% sooner and toilets 70% sooner.

Based upon these findings, if the problem of hard water could be remedied, the time that would elapse before a new clothes washer would require replacement would be increased by almost one third. A water heater that normally lasts 10 to 15 years would not need to be replaced for 20 to 30 years. Switching to soft water by installing a water treatment system will also reduce the cost of future plumbing repairs caused by pipes clogged with calcium deposits.

Most companies that sell water softeners will do a free water test to determine if you need a whole house water treatment system.

What is Hard Water?

In many parts of Canada, the water coming out of our taps contains a significant concentration of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium. These compounds are absorbed the water passes through earth on its perpetual journey known as the water cycle. The level of concentration determines the relative hardness or softness of the water we use for drinking, bathing, washing our clothes and cooking.

Water is considered “hard” if it has between 120 and 180 milligrams per liter of dissolved minerals (see Table 1). Based upon this standard, the populations of several Canadian urban centres use hard and in some cases very hard water every day.

How does using hard water affect the household budget? In other words, can installing a water treatment system save money? These days one budget item seems to be on everyone’s mind: energy. Whether it is the rising price of gasoline, electricity or natural gas, saving energy means saving money.

Take the water heater as an example. Research has demonstrated that using hard water causes calcium deposits to accumulate inside the water heater. The U. S. Bureau of Standards reports that a build up of ¼” of scale inside of the water heater can waste a significant amount of energy. A study conducted by New Mexico State University found that in electric water heaters, using soft water resulted in a 21.7% savings in energy. With gas-fired units, the energy saving was 29.5%. Given that water heaters account for approximately 20% of energy usage in the average household, the use of a water softener could reduce energy costs significantly.

There are many firms that market water softeners or whole house water treatment systems. They will be happy to do a free test of your drinking water and provide you with an analysis of the results.

Why should I use a whole house water treatment system?

Basically a whole house water treatment system processes all the water that enters your home by removing the minerals (mainly calcium and magnesium) that make it hard. Your water acquires these substances as it passes through the water cycle and ends up in the lake or ground water that serves as the course of all your water

The benefits of using such a system come in the areas of improved quality of life and economic savings. Quality of life improvements are related to the taste of food, ease of cleaning, more efficient clothes washing, and personal hygiene benefits.

People who use soft water report that food cooked in it and beverages such as juices, tea and coffee made with it simply taste better. When it comes to cleaning, soft water makes the job easier whether it is washing the dishes or cleaning the sinks taps and tubs in the home. Clothes come out looking whiter and brighter when washed in soft water and you come out of the shower or tub with smoother, softer skin and silkier, shinier hair.

The economic savings of using soft water come in three main areas. First, using soft water increases the effectiveness of all your cleaning products that are used in water such as laundry detergent, hand and body soap and dish washing liquid. This is because hard water requires more soap to clean things well. The softer the water, the less soap needed for the same or better results.

The second economic benefit of a water treatment system is that your appliances that use water will last longer. Studies have shown that soft water will increase the lifespan of dishwashers and clothes washers, faucet, toilets and water heaters. Soft water also prolongs the lifespan of your clothes by up to 15 percent according to one study.

The third savings that results from treating hard water is a reduction in the amount of energy required to heat water. Over time, calcium deposits can build up on the inside of your water heater, thus reducing its efficiency. A U.S. Bureau of Standards study demonstrated that soft water can save up to 21.7% of the energy used by an electric water heater and 29.5% by a gas-fired unit.

There are many water treatment system firms that will do a free water test to determine if you have hard water in your home.

Should I use sodium or potassium salt in my water softener?

Water softeners or whole house water treatment systems use a process called ion exchange to remove minerals from the city or well water that enters the home. This involves passing the water through a tank filled with resin beads that are coated with ions of either sodium or potassium chloride. An ion is an atom or molecule that is electrically charged. In this condition, it is capable of swapping places with certain other molecules in its environment, in this case, the “hard” minerals in the domestic water supply.

The water that enters many of our homes is hard because it contains particles of calcium, magnesium and some other minerals. The water treatment system removes most of these minerals and replaces them with either sodium or potassium salt, depending on which type you buy for your water softener.

Here are some of the pros and cons to using either type of salt. Sodium Chloride is usually less expensive than Potassium Chloride although the latter is better for the environment when your system discharges the brine solution it uses to recharge the ions on the resin beads. You can arrange to capture the discharge and use it on lawns and gardens since potassium is a key plant nutrient.

Contrary to a common misconception, using sodium salt in your water softener will not adversely affect your plumbing. Most modern plumbing is made of PVC plastic and is not affected by increased levels of either sodium or potassium chloride. Sodium salt can, however, reduce the amount of maintenance required for your brine tank.

For those concerned about how much sodium is put into the water by a water softener, the answer is, it all depends. The harder your water supply the more sodium ions are needed to soften it. That said, studies indicate that even water softened with sodium chloride has a low concentration of sodium. See this article from the Mayo Clinic for more information: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/AN00317

The problem of too much sodium disappears if your water softener includes a reverse osmosis system which removes sodium along with other impurities.

Some concern has been expressed in a report from Health Canada about the use of potassium salts in water softeners and the potential health effects for specific segments of the population. For more information go to: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/consultation/potassium/part1-eng.php

In the end the choice between sodium or potassium salts in your water softener is a personal one, depending on the presence of potential health issues, cost, environmental priorities and so forth.

You can have the hardness of your water tested free of charge by most companies that sell water softeners.

What is the best solution for hard water stains on my sink and tub?

We have all seen them in sinks, tubs and toilets—ugly calcium deposits and water stains. Where do they come from? The answer is they come from the rain.

You may recall learning about the Water Cycle in grade school. Water evaporates from the earth’s surface and forms clouds. When the temperature conditions are right, it condenses and falls as rain absorbing some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This makes the rainwater slightly acidic. As a result, when it hits the ground and permeates through the soil and rock, it dissolves and absorbs minute amounts of various minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron. This is how water becomes “hard.”

This hard water eventually finds its way into your municipal water system where it is treated for a variety of potential biological hazards. This water treatment process, however, does not remove these dissolved minerals. As you use water in your sink, tub and toilet, over time there is a build up of mineral residue. These appear as white or rust-colored stains on your bathroom fixtures.

There are a number of options for eradicating these hard water stains. There are several commercial products available such as CLR or Lime Away that claim to remove them effectively.

Then there are the home remedies such as soaking the stained tap or faucet in vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice. This is highly recommended for calcium stains. A paste of baking soda and vinegar can also be used for gently scrubbing a particularly stubborn stain on a porcelain surface. One website even suggests using a paste made of cream of tartar and a few drops of hydrogen peroxide.

Perhaps the best solution for this problem is to prevent the stains in the first place, rather than searching for ways to remove them. This involves installing a full house water treatment system to soften your hard water by removing the minerals before they reach your fixtures. Most companies that sell water softener systems will do a free test to determine how hard your water is.

How can I be sure I have the best quality water for my family?

Who is responsible for the quality of water that is available in your home? That depends upon what you mean by “quality.” If you are referring to the removal of various contaminants such as E. Coli bacteria, metals like lead or mercury, chemicals, odors and bad taste, then that responsibility falls to the federal, provincial/territorial and municipal governments.

Health Canada, through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water, provides a set of Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality that apply to all public and private drinking water supplies and to treated or finished water as it emerges from the tap. (See http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/water-eau/drink-potab/index-eng.php for details.) At present, these guidelines apply to 85 physical, chemical, and biological attributes of water quality.

There are several other aspects of water quality, however, that are your responsibility. Take, for example minerals like calcium and magnesium that are absorbed by your water as it passes through the Water Cycle on its way to your local water source. These minerals can make a significant difference in things like the lifespan of your major appliances, household energy consumption and how much soap you use in your washing machine or dishwasher.

They also affect a variety of quality of life issues, such as the feel of your skin after a bath or shower, the taste of your food and beverages and the how much time you have to spend scrubbing water stains off the tub or sink.

These water quality issues that affect your family day to day require what is know as a whole house water treatment system to treat the hard water that is supplied to many Canadian homes. Water is classified as hard if it contains above certain levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. The technology that removes these minerals is known as a water softener system.

You can find out if you have hard water in your home by requesting a free water test from a local water softener distributor.

Calcium Deposits from Water?

All of the water we use in our homes passes through what is called the “Water Cycle”* that you learned about in grade school.   Water moves from the earth to the atmosphere and back again in a continuous cycle. The Sun evaporates surface water from lakes and rivers and the land itself. It rises as invisible water vapour. When it binds with dust particles, the result is clouds.

As the atmospheric temperature changes, the water vapour condenses and falls as precipitation. It combines with gases like carbon dioxide as it falls, becoming mildly acidic. Once on the ground it seeps through soil and rock where the acidity causes the water to absorb various minerals that contribute to its hardness. The most common are calcium and magnesium, though the list also includes iron, aluminum, and manganese.

There are several systems for measuring the water hardness. Water is considered hard if it has 120 to 180 milligrams of calcium per litre (mg/L). Soft water has 17.1 milligrams per litre. Since the hardness of your water depends on the local geology, there are variations in different parts of Canada. In Toronto, for example, the water has 121 mg/L of dissolved calcium thus falling into the “hard” category, whereas in Winnipeg, the figure is 77 mg/L or “moderately hard.”

Hard water causes calcium deposits on tubs and tiles, plumbing and appliances. This means cleaning your bathroom is more work and appliances that use hard water have a shorter life. Hard water requires more soap to clean effectively and also leaves a residue on everything from glassware, to clothing to your skin. The dissolved minerals also negatively impact the taste of your drinking water and everything you make with it or cook in it. Many companies offer free water testing to determine if you have hard water in your home.

The optimum solution to hard water is to install a whole house water treatment system.

* Google Images “water cycle”

How do water softeners work?

A water softener is a water treatment system that removes certain minerals that are dissolved in the water as it passes through the “Water Cycle.”* Rain falls and then seeps into the ground, eventually forming the ground water that is drawn from wells, or else it flows into lakes and rivers from which towns and cities take their water.

Hard water contains a high concentration of minerals like calcium and magnesium. The water treatment system removes these minerals from your water as it flows into your home. Usually this is done by a process called ion exchange, where the water passes through a container filled with small beads. These beads are covered in sodium ions (molecules missing one or more electrons) that actually switch places with the calcium and magnesium ions that make the water hard.

Once all the sodium ions are gone, the system uses ordinary salt to create a strong brine solution, which is then used to flush away all the calcium and magnesium ions and replace them with sodium ions once again. The unwanted minerals are flushed down the drain. Once this process of regeneration is completed, the beads are ready to go back to work, softening your water.

Water treatment systems, such as the one just described, need to have their salt supply replenished occasional by the homeowner. Many stores carry the appropriate type of salt in cube or crystal form. In many cases, water softeners can also use potassium salt (potassium chloride), which has some nutritional benefit. Salt levels should be checked periodically and your salt reservoir should always be kept at least half full.

Many companies will perform a free water test to determine if you have hard water in your home.

*Google Images “water cycle”