Tips For Testing And Purifying Your Home's Water
Whether your home gets water from a private well or the city water system, you need to understand exactly what's in it and how you can keep it clean and pure. No matter where your water comes from, there is always some risk of chemical or mineral contaminants. Here's a look at what you should do to identify and address any potential contaminants in your water.
Start With Water Testing
If your water comes from the city water supply, you can usually access some of the testing information from the company that manages and controls the reservoir or the aquifer. In addition to those test results, you should also plan on hiring an independent water testing service to evaluate what's coming directly from your tap.
For homes on well water, the only way you'll be able to find out what's in your water is to hire a testing company to come to your home. You can even have it tested over several visits to identify any potential changes. Make sure the company you work with tests for a wide range of potential contaminants so that you can identify any possible hazard.
Deal With Any Contaminants
Once you receive the report from the testing company, you need to determine how you want to proceed with it. For example, if you're seeing high levels of rust in the water, that may mean you need to have the old metal plumbing lines replaced with something like PVC. For minerals and other chemicals in the water, a full-home filtration system is often the best choice.
Choose A Filtration System
The right filter system for your home will depend on what you're addressing. For example, heavy metals and parasites can be removed by an activated carbon filter. These filters are available in many sizes, from counter top units to under-sink installations and even whole-house filters.
A distilling filter is ideal for eliminating heavy metals. The boiling process will remove the minerals and metals from the water. As an alternative, you can install a reverse osmosis filter where the water comes into your house. This filters it as it's entering your home, giving you clean, fresh-tasting water every time.
Talk with the filtration technician about what you're trying to achieve and he or she can recommend the right system structure for you. Sometimes, you may find that you need more than one filter to effectively get the job done, so don't be surprised if your water supply needs a couple of filters to address all of the issues.