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Homeowners use water for many purposes, including drinking, cooking, washing, heating, humidifying, flushing (the No. 1 use of water in a home) and their pets. Those are just a few reasons homeowners should make sure they understand what’s in their water.
- There are naturally occurring substances, such as dissolved limestone, which can lead to water hardness.
- Chemicals like chlorine are added at the local water treatment plant.
- Impurities like arsenic or lead may be found in private wells or in older pipes.
Fortunately, a local water expert can perform a simple in-home water test for homeowners to find out what’s in their water and make recommendations for improvement based on those findings.
Recognizing a water problem
Water enters a home through four primary sources—private and municipal surface water; and private and municipal wells.
Sometimes that water doesn’t seem as good as it could be. It could have an unpleasant smell or look, or simply not taste as good as bottled water. In addition, dishes and laundry might be spotted or stained and there might be scale buildup on the shower door or pipes.
Substances such as iron, dissolved minerals, lead, nitrates and sulfates could cause those problems with the water. Some of those substances occur naturally, while others can come from farm runoff or industrial pollution. But more important, while some can be seen, smelled or tasted, others are invisible.
That’s why having water tested by a qualified water professional is important for homeowners to diagnose a water problem, whether it's hardness, iron, copper, pH, alkalinity or some other issue.
If the results suggest a substantial problem, a sample can be sent to a water lab accredited by the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Such a lab uses specially calibrated equipment to test for bacteria, dissolved solids, and more than 100 substances.
The water professional will then share the results with the homeowner and recommend the best course of action to correct the problem, like a water filtration system or a water softener.
