When Do You Need Water Softeners or Filters

Do you know what bad aesthetics mean? According to water experts, these are the strange smell, colors, tastes, and characteristics that you see in the water that do not necessarily pose any health risks. Usually they are just a nuisance and are the results of clogged or corroded pipes, stained sinks, and other similar circumstances. It does that not mean that you can take these conditions lightly. So what are the common solutions to these problems?

Common Water Problems

There are many water problems that you can experience with your supply, but, most of them can be bundled up or categorized into the following.

Smell or Taste or Chlorine

You normally get this when at the swimming pool, but from your potable water supply? Not good! This can be traced to the disinfectant that is used in the water to kill the bacteria and similar biological contaminants. Normally, when you allow the water to sit for a few minutes or pour it back and forth in the pitcher, the chlorine will dissipate to the air and there will be a huge improvement in taste. If you don’t want to go through all those motions, installing a simple water filter can do the trick.

Hard Water

This is quite normal in some localities and can cause mineral buildup on plumbing fixtures that may result in clogging. There can also be traces of residue that will be left on tiles and basins. This type of water has excessive magnesium and calcium content that results in the formation of scales and prevents the proper cleaning function of soaps. There is seldom any health risks associated with this, but it does make plumbing maintenance difficult. Water softeners can quickly solve this problem.

Stains

Usually black or brown in color and with a metallic or rusty taste, this condition of the water is a sign of significant amounts of iron, manganese, or both in the water supply. There are times when the water will have a reddish color. Normally this problem can be traced to dead leaves and other organic materials. Simple whole-house filtration systems can deal with these with relative low cost on your end. But, if the condition has something to do with dissolved iron, a more sophisticated water filtering system is needed.

Hazy or Cloudy

This is commonly the result of fine sediments in suspension that may even clog plumbing appliances like ice makers for example. Simple whole-house water filtering systems can adequately deal with this problem.

Fishy, Musty, or Rotten

When you experience fishy, musty, smell (or even taste) in your water, then you have a naturally occurring bacteria and algae growing on the water supply source surface. This can be solved by simple filtration systems. The rotten egg smell however is mostly identified with hydrogen sulfide production of bacteria found in deep wells. This gives the water an acidic characteristic that can corrode plumbing systems. Professional analysis and specialized equipment is needed to solve this problem.

The Solutions

In general, the aesthetic problems in your water supply can be solved at minimal cost. You need to coordinate with your local water utility provider or the public health department first to make sure you are not spending more than you should.

Usually water sample testing is one of the best ways to identify water problems and the level of contaminants you are dealing with. There are also water quality contractors that can do the evaluation. Simple tests like hardness or acidity is not that expensive.

Focusing on the solution will help you understand better the type of problem that you are dealing with. Normally, the water filtering systems available in the market would be more than capable in addressing aesthetic water problems. These runs the water through a fine screen or activated carbons to remove the impurities that can impact the odor and taste of the water. You may also consider all-purpose water filters.

To get more information on how to deal with your water problems, contact Scott English Plumbing today! Call us if you want to install a water filtering system.