Numerous media coverage stories surrounding poor and dangerous city water sources have many homeowners afraid. Homeowners are concerned about the ingredients and quality of their drinking water. It seems that there is numerous water testing reports showing harmful contaminants or high amounts of bacteria present in city water. If you are concerned about the quality and safety of your house?s drinking water, there are ways to improve and protect yourself.
Complete a water home testing kit
You can purchase your own home water testing kit for relatively cheap. These kits are found at numerous home improvement or chain stores. Although they are often limited on the specific contaminants that they test for, they can be a great starting test. The process is usually very simple. You put sample amounts of water aside with the testing strip present. You wait the directed amount of time and then read your results. Some of the kits tests will require that you send the water out for more advanced of testing.
Identifying problems with your water from a home water testing kit can better prepare you for more advanced testing services. If your home water kit shows that everything is within good limits, you likely have little to worry about. However, if the home testing kit shows dangerous limits, it is best to hire professional water testing for a better evaluation.
Install a home water distiller
A home water distiller is a filter that is attached directly to your sinks faucet. When you complete tasks such as cleaning or washing dishes, you can simply leave it turned off. However, when you want water for consumption purposes, you simply flip the distiller on. The home distiller system works similar to that of home water purification systems, but it is usually only installed in one area of the house.
A water filter is composed of a screen with many microscopic holes. The smaller the holes, the more contaminants the filter can remove. Filter holes are measured in microns. (The period at the end of this sentence is 500 microns). When considering filter size, look for an absolute (the largest hole), not a nominal (the average hole), rating. However, your specific home water treatment system will depend on the type of contaminants you are attempting to filter out. For more advanced filtering, you might require whole home water purification systems.
Install a whole home water treatment system
Poor water quality does not only affect your drinking ability. It can affect the cleanliness and overall health quality of your house. Whole home water purification systems work instead to filter out all of the water coming into the house. This might be used when there are large amounts of lead or the home has extremely hard water sources. Hard water is high in mineral salts, especially calcium and magnesium ions. Water hardness is measured in grains per gallon, with a degree of hardness ranging from 1 to over 10.
According to the Water Quality Association, more than four out of 10 Americans currently use a home water treatment unit. Although less than that currently use whole home water purification systems, the number is expected to grow as more people learn of the added benefits. Some of the best whole home water filtration systems can truly change the way that your household receives healthy water.
Many Americans are or have recently questioned the ingredients and quality of their water source. It used to be thought that if you were on city water, you were safe. However, city water sources are failing. You can reduce your concern by taking matters into your own hands. Protect you and your family by understanding exactly what is in your water. Water is one of the most important parts of your household and is also an important factor in your overall health. You can install an individual water filtration or distiller system, or for more severe of cases, putting in whole home purification systems can provide the most benefit.