Very recently, the safety of our nation’s drinking water has been in the headlines for being dangerous to drink. While one would think you could taste contaminants in the drinking water, some cannot be detected via taste, smell or color; therefore, having your water tested is the only way to know that you and your family are safe.
Municipal water is treated primarily with chlorine or chloramines. These chemicals are used because they kill harmful bacteria and viruses living in your water that can cause serious illness or that can even cause fatalities.
The problem with type of water treatment is that disinfectant by-products are created in this process that are also unhealthy when they are ingested. Trihalomethanes THMs and Haloacetic Acids ( HAAs ) which are reported on in every Consumer Confidence Report (aka water quality report) and are known to cause serious health risks including being potentially cancer causing. Trihalomethanes (THMs) can cause problems with your kidney, liver, central nervous system and are known to increase cancer risk. Haloacetic Acids (HAAs), are known to increase cancer risks.
While your water might be safe from lead or other chemicals, it could be “hard”. Hard water is water that has heavy mineral content, specifically calcium and magnesium. These minerals can wreak havoc on your appliances and fixtures that use water and is also hard on your skin and hair.
It’s not “hard” to determine if you have ‘hard’ water ;-). Typically spots will form on your dishes and silverware, you will use more soap to “lather” in the shower and there will be build-up on your faucets and shower heads. While these things are annoying, your water employing appliances have to work harder because of buildup which requires more energy, costing you more in bills and greatly reduces the life expectancy of your appliances.
My Plumber Heating and Cooling recommends homeowners should immediately have their water tested looking for any contamination issues. If contaminants are found we’ll make recommendations on how to fix them. To ensure your family is safe, homeowners should install an in-home water filtration system.
Municipal water can be sufficiently tested with a basic chlorine/chloramines test and hardness test.
Well water should have comprehensive testing done to test for a wide range of potential concerns, not relevant to municipal water.
Because municipal water is always chemically treated, a whole house carbon filter is a strong must to reduce the harmful impurities in your water.
The Pro Series line of filtration equipment reduces many VOC’s such pesticides and herbicides, as well as chlorine, benzene, trihalomethane compounds, radium, solvents and hundreds of other manmade chemicals that can be found in tap water. These filters will also remove bad tastes and odors. This makes the whole house filtration systems the most common solution selected among home owners.
In hard water areas you may want help deciding if a traditional softener or anti-scale system best suits your home’s needs. My Plumber’s highly trained technicians will be able to help.
It’s important to know what you’re putting into your body, so, do you think your drinking water is safe? Call My Plumber Heating and Cooling for your FREE Water Test TODAY at (844) 294-8999!