Do You Need a Water Filtration System for Your Home? To Find Out, Get Your Water Tested

Knowing whether you need a water filtration system for your home isn’t all that difficult as long as you arrange to get your water professionally tested. A professionally administered water-quality test will be able to reveal the actual composition of your water down to the microscopic level, definitively revealing the impurities that are in it and in what concentration. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a consumer informational pamphlet titled Home Water Testing, routine water-quality testing is especially important for anyone who relies on water that doesn’t come from a public water system. For example, if the water that your family uses every day at home comes from a private well, you alone are responsible for ensuring that it is safe for human consumption. The EPA’s regulatory mandate covers public water systems only; it does not have the authority to establish regulations for private drinking water supplies, like wells.

Whether you choose to have your water tested by your county health department, a state laboratory, or a private company, it simply is important to just get it tested so that you are able to identify the specific cause of any problem. The EPA provides a helpful list of recommended tests based on condition or nearby activity:

CONDITION OR NEARBY ACTVITY                                        RECOMMENDED TEST

Gastrointestinal illness                                                                  Coliform bacteria

Scaly residues, soaps don’t lather                                              Water hardness

“Rotten egg” smell or taste                                                         Hydrogen sulfide, pipe corrosion

Agricultural operations                                                               Nitrates, pesticides

Gas drilling operations (including fracking)                          Chloride, sodium, barium, strontium

Nearby gas station or underground gas tanks                       Volatile organic compounds (VOC)

Junk yard, landfill, dry-cleaning facility nearby                   VOC, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, sulfate

Contact your local authorized RainSoft dealer today to schedule a convenient time to have your water tested. Only then will you be able to make an informed decision on whether you need to invest in a water filtration system for your home.