Living in an industrialized nation, we take our safe drinking water for granted. That is, until it’s compromised. Don’t let illness be your first indication that something is wrong with your household water.
Quite often, compromised drinking water gives us little or no forewarning, and often, it is not easily diagnosed. We take for granted that healthy water will always be just a tap away. This kind of thinking prevents us from diagnosing and treating low water quality in the first place. Some things affecting our home water supply provide bad aesthetics, and others are downright dangerous to your health.
Many of us know the dangers of lead in our water. Certain bacteria in our drinking water are well known to make us sick, but our water can be considered low quality for so many more subtle reasons. Testing, diagnosis, and treatment are key.
Even though your local municipality will likely test your water quality, it is a good idea to have an independent company come in to test your household water. Municipal testing doesn’t account for contamination within the pipes in your home and if you’re not on city water your wells and cisterns need to be tested on a regular basis.
Once a problem with low water quality has been discovered, identifying the cause and or the contaminate is key to providing a remedy to your water problems.
Use your Senses
The smell of rotten of eggs, a metallic taste or stains on your sinks and tubs are all great indicators that your water quality could be better. That rotten egg smell is sulphur and has no place in your water supply. If you’re wondering about a metallic taste in the water, the cause is just that: metals. Stains and spots on the porcelain are a symptom of too many of the wrong kind of minerals in the water.
Brown water might be caused by something different. Learn more in our blog on Brown Tap Water.
Invisible Dangers with Tap Water
Your water might suffer from low pH or be contaminated with lead, nitrogen or arsenic. All are harder to diagnose as culprits of low water quality. Simple tests performed by professionals can unearth a variety of contaminates that can’t be smelled or tasted. These contaminates are dangerous but are particularly unsafe for older people, young children and those with a compromised immune system.
Once the culprit of low-quality water has been identified, treatment is imperative. Depending on the contaminant, there are a variety of remedies to consider.
- A water softener is a device that will reduce the hardness of your water. Replacing too much of the wrong minerals with the right kind of minerals will remedy the problems that hard water can cause.
- Distillation is a system that will boil unsafe water, thereby purifying it and making it safe once again to drink.
- Filtration Systems come in the form of a device attached to your water supply. A filtration system will remove impurities with a physical barrier or a chemical process.
- Disinfection might include chlorine, heat, or ultraviolet light. All will return contaminated water to safe water once again.
If you discover a problem with the water in your home, be diligent. Test, diagnose and treat that water before it causes more problems. If you live in the Oakville area, A. McKenna Plumbing can help you choose a course of action that is specific to your needs and install a water softener or filtration system for you. We can also replace pipes that are internal to your home and may be the cause of the problem. Call our Plumbers in Oakville today at 905-510-4965.