What’s in My Water?

Basic chemistry tells us that water is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, but there’s a lot more to consider when you’re talking about water for household use. For example, do you get your household water from a well? Or does your family depend on municipally treated water that comes from the ground or a reservoir, or perhaps a combination of both? The answers to these questions as well as other factors can greatly affect how suitable your water is for drinking, bathing, cleaning, and all the other routine tasks you use water for in your home.

Why the Water Source Matters

Where your water comes from has a lot to do with the impurities that may be in it. For instance, water that comes from an underground aquifer is more likely to be classified as “hard water” – meaning it contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals – than a surface water source, such as a lake. Hard water is safe to drink but can create a variety of problems in your home, including limescale buildup that can damage your plumbing.

A lake or reservoir, on the other hand, may be more likely to contain bacteria and sediment in comparison to groundwater.

No matter where your water comes from, it is bound to contain impurities. Even if your home receives water from a municipal source that has been treated to meet safe drinking water standards, your water likely contains contaminants that make it less than ideal for household use. Some of the impurities that homeowners frequently find troublesome include:

• Residual chlorine that lingers after disinfection
• Sulfur that causes an objectionable taste and odor
• Iron and manganese that can stain sinks and clothing
• Floating particles

How Can I Find Out What’s in My Water?

Your local RainSoft dealer is familiar with the water sources and water quality problems in the area where you live. Contact your RainSoft dealer today to discuss any problems you’re having with your water and to schedule a complimentary in-home water analysis by one of our water quality experts.

Why Should I Test My Water?

Health experts say homeowners who receive water from a private well should have their water tested annually to make sure it’s safe to drink. However, even if your home depends on a municipal water supply that’s treated to meet safe drinking standards, your water may contain impurities that make it less than desirable for household use. A reliable water quality analysis is required to identify problematic characteristics such as:

Water Hardness

“Hard water” is a term used to describe water that contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals, typically calcium and magnesium. While hard water is safe to drink, it can cause a lot of problems for homeowners. These include filmy stains on dishes, dingy clothes after laundering, and limescale buildup in plumbing that can eventually lead to the need for costly repairs.

Chlorine

This is a common disinfectant used by municipalities to treat water so that it is safe for human consumption. Once the treated water reaches your home, the disinfectant’s job is done and the chlorine is no longer needed. However, it may linger in your water at levels that cause an unpleasant taste and odor.

Low or High pH Levels

Water that is too acidic may have a metallic taste and can also cause corrosion of plumbing fixtures. Alkaline water, on the other hand, can have an unpleasant taste like baking soda.

These are only a few of the impurities that can cause water quality problems for homeowners. Water testing can also reveal the presence of contaminants like lead and volatile organic compounds that can affect the safety of your drinking water.

Complimentary Water Testing from RainSoft

Even if you think you know what’s in your water, an expert water quality analysis is necessary to determine the ideal solution to your specific water woes. For example, a water softener is the best way to address hard water, but you’ll need a water test to determine the level of hardness in your water so you can choose an effective solution.

Fortunately, RainSoft offers complimentary in-home water testing for homeowners who wish to find out precisely what’s in their water and what they can do to make it better. We’ve been helping homeowners enjoy better water since 1953, and we’re sure to have the ideal solution to meet your needs. Contact RainSoft today to schedule a water test at your home.

How Can I Test My Water?

A reliable water analysis is the only way to find out what’s in your water that may be causing problems in your home. So, where do you turn for water test results you can depend on?

Some public health departments provide water testing for certain contaminants, such as lead, but these tests are typically limited to screening for contaminants that make water unsafe to drink – they won’t reveal water quality problems such as hard water. There are many do-it-yourself water testing kits on the market, but how easy are they to use and how much confidence will you have in the results?

RainSoft Offers Complimentary In-Home Water Testing

The best way to find out what’s in your water is to turn to the residential water quality experts at RainSoft. We offer in-home water testing to homeowners free of charge. When you schedule your water test, we’ll send an expert to your home to analyze the water from your kitchen tap and share the results with you, right there in your kitchen. Then your friendly RainSoft representative will recommend the best water quality solutions to address the specific problems identified in your water.

A Full Slate of Water Quality Solutions

No matter what your free RainSoft water test reveals about any contaminants in your water, we’re sure to have the ideal solution to meet your needs. Our wide assortment of water treatment systems includes:

• Premium water conditioners to address problems caused by hard water
• Whole-house water filters that can dramatically reduce specific chemicals and metals in your water
• Drinking water filtration systems that can significantly improve the taste of your water and all the beverages you prepare with it

Why wait? Your complimentary in-house water test is the first step toward enjoying better water for your home. Contact RainSoft today to get started.

Understanding Water

It may seem hard to swallow, but that tall glass of ice water you had with dinner last night also may have helped refresh a thirsty brontosaurus eons ago.

Contrary to popular belief, water is not a renewable resource. It is finite. The water you use today is literally the same water that existed on the planet billions of years ago. Nature recycles water. It doesn’t make new.

Also, as you no doubt learned in school, over two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water. But did you know that only about 2.8 percent of it is fresh water? And, more critically, did you know that only about 0.3 percent of the earth’s total water supply is usable by humans?

In the last decade of the 20th century alone, the earth’s population increased by more than one billion people. At present rates, over the next 50 to 90 years the world’s population will more than double. The demand on water supplies is growing exponentially. Clearly, understanding and using scarce water resources wisely is vital. Our very survival as a species depends on it.

Demands on Water Resources Continue to Increase

Count the ways you and your family use water. Drinking. Cooking. Bathing. Doing laundry. Housecleaning. Watering the lawn. Washing the car. Giving the dog a bath. In industrialized countries, the average family of four consumes 250 gallons of water each day.

But that’s only a small part of the water usage picture. So many of the things that we take for granted, things that make our lives easier, also depend on water—vast quantities of water

Consider that it took approximately 100,000 gallons of water to manufacture your family’s car. The newspaper that landed on your doorstep last Sunday morning soaked up 280 gallons of water just to print. And that five-pound sack of flour sitting on your kitchen shelf required 375 gallons of water to produce. In the United States, water consumption increased by more than 100 percent in the last half century. In the same period, it rose by more than 500 percent in Europe and 300 percent in Africa. Many experts predict world consumption will double by 2020.

Concerns About Water Quality

You’re not alone if you’re concerned about the water you and your family drink. A survey by the Water Quality Association found that three-quarters of Americans don’t believe their household water supply is as safe as it could be. In a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll, 47 percent of respondents reported they won’t drink water straight from the tap.

Environmental problems have an enormous impact on water quality. Water runoff from industrial plants and farms, acid rain and other forms of pollution have tainted groundwater and surface water supplies in many areas of the world. Population growth, urban and suburban sprawl, and industrial and agricultural expansion continue to stress fresh water supplies.

Water contamination problems, epidemic in the developing world, also routinely occur in highly industrialized nations. In the last half dozen years, numerous cases have been recorded in the United States, affecting tens of millions of consumers in more than 1,000 communities.

Some of the most serious incidents have involved bacteria. A 1993 outbreak of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee affected more than 400,000 residents and caused more than 100 attributable deaths. Other virulent pathogens have also intruded into municipal water supplies with alarming frequency.

Some Answers

Today governments around the globe, on every level, are investing hundreds of billions of dollars to improve infrastructure and mandate higher water quality standards. In addition, more and more individuals are relying on modern home water treatment systems to assure an ample supply of fresh, pure water for their families at the most local of all levels—the home.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goals vs. Maximum Contaminant Levels

The environment has changed a lot in the last fifty years. Manufacturing and agricultural activities, along with our growing population, add an enormous amount of potentially hazardous materials to our environment.

As a result, the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) and others have detected more than 700 different organic compounds in treated drinking-water supplies.

Water coming from public systems is tested regularly and must meet standards set by the EPA.

The first standard—the Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG)—is not enforceable. MCLGs are set at zero for contaminants that are known to be probable human carcinogens. For noncarcinogens, MCLGs are set at a level that includes a margin of safety so as to prevent adverse health effects.

The second standard—the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)— is enforceable. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as possible, taking into account the technological and economic limitations of the public water supplier.

RainSoft recommends that you ask your public utility for a contaminant level report. By law, they must provide it to you.

The contaminants listed above are not necessarily present in your water.

Solutions to Water Contaminants

RainSoft is committed to providing our customers with cleaner, safer water. With more than 700 detectable organic compounds in current drinking water supplies, it’s no wonder many people are turning to home water treatment as an answer to filter and reduce contaminants in the water they use everyday.

Not only do RainSoft drinking water and home water filtration systems protect families from harmful contaminants, they also help protect the environment. Less dependence on bottled-water, reduced energy costs and soap consumption, and appliances that last longer and perform better are all part of what RainSoft does best.

Quality of Life is more than a slogan; it’s our commitment to provide you with the safest and cleanest water for your home.