Don't Be Afraid of the Water

BobVila.com > Channels > Kitchen Design > All Articles > Don't Be Afraid of the Water

Don't Be Afraid of the Water
A primer on drinking water, hard water and problem water concerns and solutions.

Related Showrooms

• TOTO USA - Elegant, technologically-advanced plumbing fixtures that perform!
• Sears - Kitchen Cabinet Remodeling and Refacing
• CLR - Cleaners for the toughest household cleaning challenges
• FaucetDepot.com - Plumbing, faucets and fixtures

Water plays a huge role in our everyday lives. We can live for weeks without food but only days without water. As a matter of fact, there's a little water in just about everything. Since water is such an important part of our lives, many people are becoming more and more concerned about its quality.

According to the 2001 National Consumer Water Quality Survey commissioned by the Water Quality Association (WQA), 86 percent of respondents have concerns about their home water supply and nearly half believe federal laws governing the quality of drinking water are not strict enough.

Reports from the media have done much to heighten awareness about water quality issues. Even Hollywood has contributed by producing movies such as Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action, both of which dramatically detail real-life results of water contamination.

It's no wonder that many savvy consumers are choosing drinking water alternatives, such as bottled water and home water filtration systems.

DRINKING WATER
Determining the Quality of Your Drinking Water
There are a number of problems that can affect the quality of the water you drink. The only way to be certain what's in your water is to have it tested.

Water treatment professionals can have your water tested by certified laboratories and help you decipher the results. If you are supplied with water by a local water utility, you will receive an annual Consumer Confidence Report that shows the levels of various contaminants found in your water supply.

Some people judge the quality of their water by its taste or appearance. Unfortunately, our senses aren't the best contaminant detection devices. While bad odors, unusual colors or metallic tastes usually indicate a drinking water problem, some go undetected.

Lead is tasteless, odorless, and colorless and can find its way into your water via soldered pipe connections. Lead-based solder was used in homes built as recently as the late 1980's.

And even though cities generally use chlorine to disinfect water to prevent illness and disease, chlorination is not a foolproof disinfection method. Unexpected outbreaks of certain microorganisms can still occur. Cryptosporidium, a waterborne parasite, caused several hundred thousand people to become ill in Milwaukee in April 1993. Although it's disinfected, city water may encounter contaminants once it leaves the treatment plant and travels through miles of distribution lines before it reaches your home.

What You Can Find in Your Drinking Water
The most common drinking water quality complaints, because they are easily identifiable and often leave water aesthetically unappealing, include:

• Chlorine Taste/Odor - generally caused by chlorine used by municipalities to disinfect their water supplies.

• Musty, Earthy, Fishy Tastes/Odors - caused by algae, molds and bacteria that live in water and can multiply within a home's plumbing system.

• Cloudiness/Turbidity - results from suspended particles of sediment.

• "Rotten Egg" Smell - comes from hydrogen sulfide in water.

• Color - linked to decaying organic matter (tannins) and metals such as iron.

• Metallic Taste or Odor — caused by elevated levels of iron and other metals.

• "Lighter Fluid" Taste or Odor — can be caused by methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive that's recently come under public scrutiny may be phased out

Other problems that cannot be easily identified include:
• Chlorine Byproducts - created when chlorine reacts with other substances in water.

• Toxic Elements - such as hexavalent chromium, arsenic and lead.

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - include commercial chemicals and pesticides.

• Microorganisms - include cysts, bacteria and viruses that can live in water.

The above contaminants are not necessarily in your water. The only way to be certain is to have your water tested.

Options for Improving Your Water
The good news is that there are a number of options available for improving your drinking water:

Bottled Water
Although it's no longer the most popular drinking water alternative (41 percent of WQA survey respondents use home water treatment devices while 39 percent use bottled water), bottled water remains a strong second. Unfortunately, the variety of bottled waters (spring, purified, distilled, etc.) can make it difficult to make a decision. And bottled water is expensive, often costing more than $1 per gallon, and cumbersome to carry home from the store.

Carbon Filters
Activated carbon is used in a number of devices including filter carafes, faucet-mounted filters, countertop units and undersink systems to reduce chlorine, VOCs, tastes, odors and, in some cases, lead, MTBE and cysts. Systems of this type normally treat only your drinking water and don't filter the water used for washing dishes, hands, etc. at the kitchen sink. Filter cartridges must be changed regularly to ensure continued contaminant reduction. Choose a system that measures your water usage and shuts off to prevent filter overuse and alert you when a filter change is necessary. Most systems can be installed by a do-it-yourselfer.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems

Reverse osmosis systems

are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and the EPA as one of the most effective ways of protecting residential drinking water. These very popular, professionally-installed systems utilize a semipermeable membrane to reduce contaminants. When water is forced against the membrane, a portion of it passes through, while impurities are left behind to be carried away.

Reverse osmosis is effective against dissolved salts, suspended solids, dissolved chemicals and a wide variety of other contaminants that cannot be seen by the naked eye. When choosing an RO system, look for a unit with a high efficiency rating. Certain systems also employ a membrane rinse feature that cleans the membrane with the high quality water produced by the system to prolong its life and ensure that it continues to produce only the best quality water. Systems that do not clean themselves or that only clean themselves with untreated water are not as effective.

One of the most important considerations and one of the best indicators of overall system quality is the RO membrane warranty. Look for a system that offers a full membrane replacement warranty (not just a pro-rated warranty) that covers membrane performance for several years.

Look for certified products.
NSF International and WQA certify water treatment devices and ensure that they perform according to manufacturers' claims. Look for the NSF and WQA seals on the products you're considering and review the list of contaminants the systems are certified to remove as well as the system performance data. Use the information from several products, as well as the product warranties and features to make an educated purchase decision.

Drinking Water is Only Half of the Puzzle
While treating your drinking water is a good start, it's only the beginning. Water quality affects not only your health and well-being, it also impacts your quality of life and the things in your home that use water.

What is Hard Water?

Results from the U.S. Geological Survey indicate that 85 percent of American homes are supplied with hard water. Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium ions. Commonly referred to as "hardness minerals," dissolved calcium and magnesium can cause numerous problems when present in a water supply. Whether it's from a well or a municipal water utility, water usually contains these troublesome elements.

Water hardness is typically measured in "grains per gallon," an indication of the quantity of dissolved calcium and magnesium the water contains. In amounts as small as one grain per gallon, water is classified as hard to a certain degree. Most homes use water that is considerably harder. Many families choose to soften their water by removing the calcium and magnesium with home water treatment equipment.

How to Recognize Hard Water
Probably the most recognizable symptoms of hard water are soap scum in the tub and shower, and hard water spots on faucets and fixtures. According to an Ohio State University study, the average person cleaning the home spends more than six hours a month cleaning up tap water spots, streaks and scum alone. That's because hardness minerals react with soaps and detergents to form an insoluble, sticky residue that's difficult to rinse from bathtubs, sinks, faucets and fixtures. This soap residue is often left on hair, skin and clothing as well. Although not highly visible in these instances, the substance can cause drying and itching of skin, and premature fading and wearing of clothing.

Hard water causes other problems, as well. Over time, scale formed from continuous contact with dissolved minerals in water can collect inside plumbing and on the internal parts of water using appliances. Service calls to plumbers and repair persons may become necessary as water pressure drops and mechanical parts stop working.

Hard water scale can also coat the inside of a water heater and drastically reduce its heating efficiency. Greater fuel consumption and higher utility bills result when the appliance has to heat a layer of rock as well as the water. According to a study commissioned by the Water Quality Research Council and conducted at New Mexico State University, water heaters work 22-30 percent less efficiently with hard water, driving up utility bills unnecessarily.

What is Soft Water?

Soft water is essentially free of dissolved calcium or magnesium. Since calcium and magnesium are not present in soft water, no adverse reaction with soaps and detergents occurs. The result is the virtual elimination of soap scum and the corresponding reduction in time spent cleaning. Hair and skin can "breathe" more readily. And the School of Consumer & Family Sciences at Purdue University recently conducted a study which proved that the life of clothing and household textiles was prolonged up to 15 percent when they were washed in conditioned water.

Soap usage can be dramatically reduced with soft water. Since the water is already soft, the cleaning agents have no hardness minerals to react with and overcome, lather more readily and work more effectively. Since less is needed, households can experience considerable savings on laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, bath soap, hand soap, shampoo and many other cleaning products.

Since soft water contains no scale forming minerals, it leaves the inside of plumbing and water using appliances free of solidified rock. Appliances operate more efficiently and last longer when using soft water. Leading appliance manufacturers including Maytag have recognized the problems that hard water causes and recommend the use of home water conditioners to help their own products operate more efficiently.

How Water Is Softened
The most common method used for softening water is ion exchange, where the dissolved calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged for sodium or potassium (commonly referred to as regenerant) ions. Sodium and potassium do not cause the problems that are associated with calcium and magnesium. The process is the basis for most water softening equipment on the market today.

Water enters a water softener where it comes in contact with a bed of tiny beads that hold sodium chloride or potassium chloride ions. Since the beads are chemically more attracted to calcium and magnesium ions, ion exchange occurs. The calcium and magnesium ions "stick" to the surface of the beads, dislodging the sodium or potassium.

After the beads are completely exhausted (i.e. covered with calcium and magnesium), a solution is introduced to the system to wash away the calcium and magnesium, and replace the sodium or potassium (a process known as regeneration). After the extra solution is rinsed from the resin bed, the entire ion exchange cycle begins again.

Beware of performance claims from companies selling magnetic water conditioners or descalers. A leading consumer magazine determined such devices are "ineffective at reducing scale" and recommends buying an ion exchange system instead (Consumer Reports, Feb. '96). A study commissioned by the Water Quality Association supports this conclusion (American How-To, Sept./Oct. '96).

A home water softener treats water that is distributed throughout the entire home, although it does not treat it to the high drinking water quality from a home drinking water filter. The following systems are among the most common types of water softeners available:

Single Tank, Electric Timer Water Conditioners
These systems perform all functions automatically, but rely on an electric timer that initiates regeneration at preset intervals (usually every other day at 3:00am), no matter how much of the system's capacity has been used. Regeneration can occur too often and decrease efficiency, or not often enough and allow hard water into the home. Since these units typically employ only a single softening tank, only hard water is available to the home when they regenerate.

Single Tank, Electric Demand Water Conditioners
Newer units such as these measure water usage to determine the best time to regenerate. But such systems are typically not as efficient as systems that employ two resin tanks. If regeneration is necessary at a time of the day when soft water may be needed, they must wait until a more appropriate time to regenerate so hard water isn't introduced into the home. To do so, single tank DIR units must employ a reserve capacity of softening resin to make it through the rest of the day. If the reserve isn't enough, the home will be forced to use hard water until the system regenerates. If the reserve is too large, the system won't be used to capacity but regeneration will occur anyway, wasting water and regenerant.

Twin Tank, Non-Electric Demand Water Conditioners

Twin tank systems measure water usage and regenerate only when the system has been used to capacity for optimum efficiency. Because twin tank systems automatically switch from tank to tank as they exhaust, they are able to provide a continuous supply of conditioned water, 24 hours a day. Some systems even use soft water to clean themselves to improve efficiency. Countercurrent regeneration also improves the systems' effectiveness. This process, which is recommended by most resin manufacturers, regenerates the resin beads more efficiently by reversing the flow through the system during the cleaning process.

Additionally, leading consumer publications including Consumers Digest have recognized that non-electric, twin tank DIR water conditioners have distinct advantages over those that operate with electricity. Electronic components are the most frequent things to malfunction on electric systems and can be expensive to repair. Non-electric systems do not suffer from such problems and are not susceptible to power outages.

Water conditioners may be designed to help with other water problems, too, including the reduction of radium, barium and excess iron. In severe cases, however, a separate system may be required for proper performance.

PROBLEM WATER
What Is Problem Water?
Some water contains troublesome elements or has characteristics which can make it very unpleasant to use or damaging to things that it touches. Among them are iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide and acidity.

Iron
Iron typically rears its ugly head as rusty orange/brown stains, streaks or spots on clothing cleaned in a washing machine. Stains also appear on bathtubs, sinks and faucets. Even small amounts of iron can cause problems. Iron in concentrations as low as .3 parts per million can cause staining. And iron staining can be difficult to remove; cleaning may require special solvents. Iron can also clog pipes and damage the internal parts of water-using appliances. Iron is generally found in well water, although city water users are not immune from the problems associated with it. Solving Iron Problems
No matter which form iron appears in, there is a solution available. Typically one of the following two methods is used:

Water Conditioners
Common home water conditioners can remove average amounts of dissolved iron from a family's water supply. When a water supply has dissolved iron, water drawn from the tap appears clear but turns a color when left in a cup.

Multi-Stage Iron Removal Systems
When iron is not dissolved (ferric) or appears in excessive amounts, a specialized iron removal system may be required. Aeration equipment or chlorine can be used to change the dissolved iron into ferric iron, which is filterable. The ferric iron can then be removed by special automatic backwashing filters, leaving the water clean and clear. In some cases, special filters can perform both the oxidation and filtration functions.

Chlorine
Chlorine is typically used by municipal water suppliers for disinfection, but it can dry skin and hair. Chlorine can also be inhaled in shower steam; some question the long-term health effects it has on the body.

Chlorine can be easily removed by installing a carbon filtration system where the water enters the home. Combination systems that soften and dechlorinate water are also available and eliminate the need to purchase separate softening and filtration systems.

Hydrogen Sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide (commonly referred to as "sulfur"), although not a cause of staining, leaves water with an obnoxious "rotten egg" odor that makes it unbearable to drink, cook with or even bathe in. Because it is a weak acid, hydrogen sulfide can also promote corrosion. And its presence in the air causes silver to tarnish in seconds. High concentrations are flammable and can be poisonous.

Luckily, hydrogen sulfide can be removed using specially-designed sulfur system that employs sulfur removal media. Such systems typically eliminate the need for expensive, multi-stage configurations that require several pieces of equipment.

An excessive amount of hydrogen sulfide can be removed by first using aeration or chlorination to convert it into elemental sulfur, a yellowish powder that can be removed with filters. The process works similarly to that which is used to filter iron from water.

Acid Water
When water is acidic, it must be neutralized or it will cause corrosion of plumbing and fixtures, and could damage water-using appliances. A neutralizer containing calcite is often used to reduce water acidity. As water flows through the tanks, the calcite dissolves into the water and neutralizes its acidity. It also adds hardness minerals to the water, which can then be removed by a water conditioner.

A Final Note
Whatever system you choose, whether it's for drinking water, whole-house softening, problem water filtration or a combination, you can rest easy knowing that you're protecting the quality of your family's water. And you won't be alone; according to the WQA study mentioned earlier, one out of every ten people who don't currently own a water treatment system plan to purchase one within the next year. And 55 percent said they would be more likely to purchase a home with a water treatment device.

The availability of water treatment products makes it easy for you to make your water your next home improvement project.