Questions & Answers

Bitter tasting water can be the result of an improper level of Alkalinity (measured as Calcium Carbonate, CaCO3) or the presence of Sulfate. Low Alkalinity water tends to dissolve minerals and metals while High Alkalinity water tends to precipitate minerals and metals. There is no Federal limit for Alkalinity but Low is considered <30 mg/L and High is considered >300 mg/L. Sulfate is found in natural deposits in the earth and finds its way into underground water supplies. The proposed Maximum Contaminant Level is 500 mg/L. The potential health effects from ingestion is Diarrhea. For help with this problem call us at 512-756-7710 or email us at [email protected]  

If your water smells like a sweet solvent, your water may be contaminated with chemicals such as MTBE or Xylenes. MTBE (Methyl Tretiary- Butyl Ether) is a gasoline additive that will cause a sweet solvent odor in water at concentrations above 0.020 mg/L and is a possible carcinogen. Xylenes are a by-product of gasoline refining, paints, inks, and detergents. The Maximum Contaminant Level is 10 mg/L. Possible health effects from drinking water with this type contaminant are Liver, Kidney, and Nervous System effects. For help with this problem call us at 512-756-7710 or email us at [email protected]  

Drinking Water Filter Maintenance Whether your drinking water filter is one single sediment or carbon filter, a specialized product like our clean&clear system, a reverse osmosis unit, or electronic DI unit, you need to change the filters to keep it making clean water. Most manufacturers recommend you change the filter every 6 months to a year. Well here is how it works. The filter catches “stuff” (a technical term I like to use) of a certain micron size or larger as the water runs through it. As the filter is used it builds up more and more stuff and the stuff gets further imbedded in the filter material in most cases. Eventually the filter becomes nasty and restricts the flow causing a higher pressure on the input side than the outlet side and eventually driving the stuff through the filter or causing it to collapse and send all the stuff behind it into your drinking water. The same happens to a carbon block filter but the usefulness of the carbon would normally be long gone before this would ever happen. The carbon can only catch so much stuff before it is worn completely out. Changing Filters Most  people didn’t buy a drinking water system so they can have pure, clean drinking water most of the time. If you are one of the rare people who bought the thing but don’t really care if the water is as pure as it should be or not you can change the filter or have it changed at any interval you choose. For the rest of you, we recommend you have a Filter Change every 6 months because that is the best way to be sure the filter you are drinking from is doing its job to the best of its ability. These filters are critical to the operation and life of the membrane they are protecting as well as being the final barrier between you and many chemical compounds, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metal contaminants. Changing Membranes Reverse Osmosis Membranes will eventually clog and need to be replaced but not nearly as often as the other filters. These membranes filter to around the 0.0001 micron level and are continuously rinsed off during drinking water production to help keep them from clogging prematurely. Some companies recommend 1 yr, some 5 yrs, some 8, and some even 10, but the best way to know when the membrane needs to be changed is to check the TDS (total dissolved solids) of the product water and see if the water quality is dropping any. By doing this you know for sure if the new one is needed or not. Our technicians check the water quality on each filter change visit and log the findings, so we know when a customer needs a membrane replacement. By doing that we insure our customers have the best quality water on a continuous basis. Ultra Filtration Membranes are becoming more popular for filtering the drinking water in homes because they filter the water to 0.01 micron but don’t waste any, or very little, water depending on the style of unit. Some small under sink units should be changed once a year to insure consistent flow of drinking water between filter changes. Other larger units will backwash and clean themselves out and therefore last much longer. The small ones that are replaced regularly would just stop up if left too long and you wouldn’t get any water. The larger back-washing ones could however become damaged in the repeated back-washing process and the water should be checked for proper quality by a licensed technician on a regular basis to insure membrane integrity.

WATER SOFTENER MAINTENANCE Your Softeners Resin Bed Your Water Softener removes hardness minerals from the incoming water by causing them to stick to charge points on the resin bead. These ionic particles are then removed when they are knocked off and replaced by the sodium or potassium ions during the recharge cycle. However some ionic particles that attach to the charge points are more easily knocked off than others and some, such as iron and manganese are extremely difficult for the ionic bombardment to remove. These more highly charged ions build up on the resin bed and can decrease the efficiency “capacity” of your resin bed by as much as 10% in a single year. This is why we recommend a Resin Bed Cleaning once a year with a special cleaning compound that removes these stubborn ionic particles and restores your softener to its full capacity. This helps you use less salt and keep the water coming into your home or business completely soft like it should be. Otherwise the water just keeps getting worse a little at a time. So little at a time that you might not even notice until you start to see the destructive results on your fixtures and appliances, or even worse, your hair and skin. Your Softeners Brine Tank You help your softener do all this by putting salt or potassium in the brine tank on a regular basis or as it is used up. A natural result of this is that the brine tank is going to get dirty, even nasty, over time. None of these products is 100% pure so as they are used up a residual is left that is not dissolved and used by the softener. This residue builds up and mixes with the dust, dirt, insects, etc, that get into the tank and create a sludge. This sludge then becomes part of the regenerant for your water softener. In other words the softener puts water into this and draws it back into the resin bed to clean your softener. If the sludge gets deep enough it can actually draw the sludge itself into the valve and cause serious damage to the interior valve components. This is why we recommend a Brine Tank Cleaning each year to clean and sanitize the tank that is being used by your softener to clean itself. Your Softeners Valve The valve is the part of your softener that performs the task of regenerating it when necessary. It does this all by itself whenever needed and you don’t have to do anything and may never know it is happening. Too many people reward this devoted service by letting it sit there and work untill it literally chews itself up inside. All valves, (YES I said ALL VALVES no matter what your sales person told you) have something that moves and something that the moving part rides on. This part that the moving part rides on is called a seal. When this seal wears down the part that moves will grind against the inside of the valve and destroy itself or the valve body or both. This is why we recommend that the Seals be Changed in your valve on a regular schedule. Each valve design has its own distinct seal to valve configuration so the time span between seal changes varies with different valves. Our specialists have been maintaining these valves for a long time and can tell you what we recommend for your specific valve design. This does not help the sales person sell you a new softener every “X” number of years and it does not help the manufacturer move another unit but it does help you keep the softener you already own working like new for many, many years. That’s good for you, and that makes it the right thing to do. After all it is you we went into business to serve, and it is you who puts the food on our table.

If your water has a rotten egg smell you probably have one of three problems. 1. You may have Hydrogen Sulfide Gas in your water. 2. You may have a Bacteria in your water that excretes Hydrogen Sulfide Gas. 3. You may have a zinc annode rod in your water heater and be operating it on softened water. Hydrogen Sulfide Gas is a result of decaying organic material trapped in the earths crust. It can get into your water underground and then be released from the water as it comes out of the faucet. Bacteria gets into your water (this type most likely from the underground source) and inhabits your plumbing and fixtures. They feed on substances in the water and then excrete the gas. This puts the gas in the water and it is released when the water exits the faucet. A zinc annode rod in a water heater can react with the ions in softened water and cause a rotten egg smell. Since Hot water intensifies the release of molecules from the water, all smells are worse from the water heater and make this a confusing situation for you. For help with this problem call us at 512-756-7710 or email us at [email protected]