It’s easy to take clean water for granted.
But even in these days of clean and efficient municipal water systems, water issues can still appear from time to time. Even water that’s perfectly safe to drink can have other issues, which can cause damage to plumbing, clothing, and various home appliances.
Let’s take a look at three of the most common water problems, and how to solve them.
1. Hard Water
One of the biggest water issues is the presence of hard water.
So what exactly is hard water? In simple terms, hard water indicates how much magnesium and calcium is dissolved in a given water sample. The US Geological Survey even has a classification scheme for the hardness or softness of water.
For instance, 0-60 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of calcium carbonate is considered “soft.” A measure of 121-190 mg/L is considered “hard,” and anything above 180 mg/L is classified as “very hard.”
Some regions of the country are more susceptible to these water quality issues than others, but hard water is fairly common everywhere. There’s no health danger from the overabundance of magnesium and calcium carbonates in a water supply, but it often leads to other problems.
The excessive buildup of mineral deposits tends to corrode pipes and damage plumbing, which can cause water pressure issues among others. Hard water can also lead to water heater issues and degrade the efficiency of other home appliances.
The simple fix is to use a home water softener, which uses an ion exchange setup in a sodium solution. Running water through this system extracts the magnesium and calcium and replaces it with sodium, for softer and less damaging water.
2. Sediment Contamination
Sediment and turbidity in a water supply is caused by the presence of suspended particles, such as dirt, organic matter, rust, sand, etc.
This is usually the case with water that is extracted from more natural sources, such as lakes and rivers, as well as subterranean aquifers. Water filters tend to do just fine in removing this unwanted matter from the water supply. A special pre-filter can also be hooked into an existing filtration system if needed, as well as a UV filter if the source of the problem is bacterial in nature.
3. Iron
Finally, we come to one of the most common water issues, which has to do with the presence of iron.
No one wants rust in their water, and even if it’s not particularly dangerous, it can leave an unpleasant aftertaste. It also leads to ugly rust stains on cookware, dishes, glasses, clothing, towels, and showers.
The truth is, you may not even notice iron in your water supply, since it’s colorless when suspended in water. But after exposure to air, you’ll notice iron-contaminated water become cloudy and reddish in color.
A good way to solve this problem is with a water softener, which can remove some iron, or better yet an assortment of water filters. These include iron and sediment filters, or even special oxidation filtration systems.
Solve These Water Issues
These are some of the most common water issues people tend to encounter.
None of them are life-threatening, but they lead to secondary problems, and they impact the quality of your water supply. If you think your water suffers from any of these issues, go ahead and follow the recommended steps to clean it up.
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