Water Quality At Home & Work

Water Quality In Your Home & Business

Performance & Maintenance

Action Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric, Inc. defines hard water as water that has picked up minerals while flowing through soil or rock. As this hard water passes through your pipes and appliances, sinks, drains, showers, commercial kitchen appliances, ice machines, and laundry facilities; it leaves part of these minerals behind. You will see them as a white chalky residue/deposit. The most common residue, lime scale, which is a buildup of calcium carbonate, is an example of this and the most common place you might see it is in the glasses and dishes from your dishwasher. The buildup of lime scale or other mineral based deposits can block drains or pipes, damage pumps in appliances, and wear out or damage faucets and surfaces like that of your sink and shower.

The good news is using a water softener or filtration system can help prevent all of these problems. Water softeners purpose to remove the trace minerals before you use the water. Water softeners for larger-scale applications like ice machines, laundry facilities, restaurants and the like can use reverse osmosis to filter out trace minerals, while household water softeners often use an ion-exchange resin. This resin replaces ions in the water like calcium and magnesium with sodium. In today’s markets, many laundry detergents already use ion-exchanging materials so they are more effective. Once you begin to use a water softener, you will begin to see a major difference in your washer, dishwasher, ice maker, and even inside the water heater. Your clothes will be cleaner, no white residue inside the dishwasher, fewer spots on the dishes, and overall cleanliness of your clothes and even in the condition of your own skin and hair.

If you serve beverages in your current commercial restaurant location, water quality highly impacts equipment performance and maintenance as well. The taste of beverages and foods is also a big issue. If you have ever had a glass of water that tastes bad at the table, realize it may adversely affect the taste of the food prepared in the kitchen as well. Here are some resources and information that is critical to make sure you never have this type of problem.

Types Of Water Challenges You May Encounter

Hard Water Converter – Hardness of water is a measure for the content of calcium and magnesium in water. The small contribution of magnesium usually is expressed as calcium as in the degrees of hardness (at the top) and the concentrations of Ca2+, CaO and CaCO3 (at the bottom). Here in the USA the classification of the degrees of hardness to water quality (soft, slightly hard, hard, very hard) is somewhat a standard, but not so in many countries.

Hard Water Hardness Calcium Magnesium Water Corrosion Mineral Scale – Water described as “hard” is high in dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium. Hard water is not a health risk, but a nuisance because of mineral buildup on fixtures and poor soap and/or detergent performance. Unsightly mineral deposits and the high costs associated with removal means you can save money right away by implementing hard water converters.

pH of Water – Water with a pH < 7 is considered acidic and with a pH > 7 is considered basic. The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5 and for ground water systems 6 to 8.5. Alkalinity is a measure of the capacity of the water to resist a change in pH that would tend to make the water more acidic. The measurement of alkalinity and pH is needed to determine the corrosivity of the water.

Check Out Sources and Causes of Corrosion – All types of corrosion mean that reactions between the water and metal surfaces and materials in which the water is stored or transported is not being handled properly. The corrosion process is an oxidation/reduction reaction that returns refined or processed metal to their more stable ore state.

Call State Certification Officers for Drinking Water Laboratories – If you want to know what contaminants are in your drinking water, here is what you need to do. Check your annual water quality report from your water supplier or call the water supplier directly. If you want to have additional tests on your water, EPA recommends that you use a laboratory certified by the state. Call the state certification officer where you have your business or look up and view the list of certified labs.

Total Dissolved Solids – Elevated total dissolved solids can also result in your water having a bitter or salty taste; result in incrustations, films, or precipitates on fixtures; corrosion of fixtures, and reduced efficiency of water filters. Any of these may be researched and resolved at each location in question.

Water Quality Diagnostic Tool – A handy resource developed by the Water Quality Association and NAFEM’s Technical Liaison Committee designed to help diagnose water problems, possible causes and potential treatments. If you have questions, please go to the NAFEM website and find out more now.

Water Quality Reports – Each year by July 1st you should receive in the mail an annual water quality report (consumer confidence report) from your water supplier that tells where your water comes from and what’s in it.

Water Filtration & Softener Solutions

Action Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric, Inc., your favorite Madison plumber, invites you to consider installing a water purifier in your home or commercial building or restaurant. If you are concerned about the quality of the water you drink, use to cook with, or make ice with in your commercial setting, you can make sure it’s the best it can be is a valid consideration. City water is already treated before it arrives at your house or office, however, this initial treatment could still leave a contaminant behind. Standards in most cities are high, but substances like chlorine, which is intentionally added to water to disinfect it, are not ideal for drinking, and more and more people have decided to filter it out.

There are a variety of reasons you may want to install a water filtration system. Improving taste, odor removal, and appearance could be just the start. Keeping your health, decreasing costs, and preventing damage to pipes and appliances will go a long way toward daily life in your home, business, or institution.

Let Action Plumbing help you extend the life of your appliances and pipes with a water filtering or softening solution for your home, commercial laundry, commercial kitchen or industrial location. We can also help you with any heating, electrical and plumbing repairs that you might need.

Action Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric, Inc. has expert technicians available 24/7 to assist you with any plumbing issues. Contact us in Sun Prairie, WI at 608-837-3638.

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