Water Filters Can Help With Common Water Problems

Below are some of these water types that water filters can assist with.

Hard Water Problems

Hard Water is a condition in which there are high levels of calcium and magnesium in the water supply. This is a common water problem in the USA. Hard water leaves skin dry, hair dull, and requires more soap and cleaning products to get clean. It will also leave spots on dishes and shorten the life of your appliances. The solution is often a water softening system.

Bad Tasting Water

If you water has a bad or unpleasant taste such as a salty, bitter or metallic taste then this can be a sign of a high concentration of total dissolved solids in your water. A common TDS is chloride, sulfates or bicarbonates. The solution here is a water filter to eliminate high TDS from your water. Refrigerator water filters can reduce high concentrations of dissolved solids from your drinking water.

Bad Smelling Water

What if your water has an unpleasant smell? Often people will complain that their water contains a rotten egg smell, a musty smell, chlorine smell or chemical smell. This can result from cold or hot water use and can be from a multitude of issues. There are several treatment options including a faucet filter, refrigerator filter, gravity feed filter or even a whole house water filter.

High Iron Content in Water

Sometimes you will notice that you have a metal taste in your drinking water. Excessive levels of iron are usually the issue. You will notice red-brown stains on your fixtures or clothing, yellow or orange colored water, and of course that metallic taste. Iron Test Kit

High Copper Content

If you have blue-green stains on your water faucets then you have high levels of copper in your water. You will also notice a metallic taste to your water, color variations in your hair and corrosion of alluminum surfaces. The solution here is a water softener. Copper Test Kit

Home Water Filters Provide Best Protection for Drinking Water

As news reports about pharmaceuticals in water circulate, here are several facts for consumers to consider:

• Filtering systems in the home provide the highest technology available for treatment of drinking water. Less than two percent of all water consumed is ingested by humans, making these “point-of-use” systems the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
• While utilities are required to meet safety standards set by the U.S. EPA, home filtering systems
  act as a final contaminant barrier and can further purify water for drinking.
• While specific product performance standards have not yet been developed for pharmaceuticals,
  many point-of-use technologies have proven effective for some of these emerging contaminants. Nano-filtration and reverse osmosis systems removed drugs tested by the Colorado School of Mines at full-scale facilities in Arizona and California. Activated carbon, distillation, ozonation, and advanced oxidization have likewise shown promise in removing many of these contaminants. Individual manufacturers can also test products for specific pharmaceuticals if they choose.
• According to Utah State University Extension, up to 90 percent of oral drugs can pass through humans unchanged. These often then move through wastewater into streams and groundwater. It is generally cost prohibitive for utilities to use systems such as nano-filtration, long contact activated carbon, and reverse osmosis. However, these technologies have proven successful at removing many contaminants in home water treatment systems.
• In addition to pharmaceuticals, water quality experts are examining other emerging contaminants, such as those found in personal care products and pesticides. These are often referred to as endocrine disrupting chemicals. Home filtering systems have also been proven to treat threats such as lead and mercury.
• WQA provides Gold Seal certification for products that remove a variety of contaminants.
• Consumers can learn about different treatment systems and find locally certified dealers by visiting the WQA Web site’s Gold Seal and Find A Professional features.
• More information is available at WQA’s Water Information Library online, which includes a search feature.

WQA is a non-profit association that provides public information about water treatment issues and also trains and certifies professionals to better serve consumers. WQA has more than 2,500 members nationwide.

Free Press Release

Tap Water Found to Contain Drugs

Drugs found in Washington drinking water cannot be filtered out by most water treatment systems.  The pharmaceuticals include an anti-seizure medication, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and disinfectants.  The treated water services more than 1 million people and the long-term health effects to this exposure is unknown. In addition to these pharmaceuticals, caffeine was also present in the drinking supply of more than 24 U.S. metro areas that were tested. 

The drugs being found so commonly throughout the nation exposes a rising dilemma often hidden from the public. The drugs we use for our every day lives are being flushed directly into the metro wastewater which is then converted to drinking water.  Most of the countries wastewater treatment facilities are unable to filter out these chemicals.  Some scientists fear chronic exposure could alter immune responses or interfere with child development.

"We recognize it is a growing concern, and we're taking it very seriously," Benjamin H. Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator for water, said of the drugs' presence.

Nationwide, the AP reported that researchers found anti-depressants, antacids, synthetic hormones from birth control pills, and many other human and animal medicines in the water.

Image Source: NYTimes.com

How do I know it's time to change my filter?

While usually dependent on the quality of your incoming water, most sediment filters should last between 6-12 months, or when you notice a pressure drop. This drop in pressure is a sign that your filter is becoming plugged. A chlorine taste and odor filter should last between 4-6 months, or when you notice a change in your water pressure.

Take advantage of Freshwater Systems' Free Filter Reminder Service. You will receive a filter change reminder at the interval you specify via email.

Culligan® Expands Water Analytics Lab Services

With the move of its worldwide headquarters to Rosemont, IL, Culligan International Company has unveiled an expanded Analytical Laboratory and new services to meet the needs of consumers concerned about their water quality and safety. The 71-year-old, Chicago-based global innovator of water treatment solutions now houses state-of-the art equipment that tests water samples from virtually anywhere in the world. The new, 9,500 square foot lab also facilitates product innovations that promote greener practices to enhance the environment and healthier customer lifestyles.

Whether consumers have city or well water, many unknowingly expose themselves to contaminants* that can compromise taste, bathing, household cleaning, laundry and even their health. Culligan’s new Analytical Lab offers expanded testing capabilities that can evaluate specific impurities* (i.e. iron, chlorine, sulfur, arsenic, radium, nitrates, etc.) or level of hardness in water. The testing is based on water samples collected by local Culligan dealers (water professionals who know their region’s specific water conditions and unique treatment requirements) and sent to Culligan’s new lab. Knowing exactly what’s in their tap water supply helps people make more informed decisions about which water treatment approach is right for them. Culligan dealers can then recommend to their customers customized filtration or softening solutions – many of which also benefit the environment.

New Testing Capabilities

Culligan’s Analytical Laboratory tests up to 10,000 water samples every year using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved methods. Culligan has the only lab in the water treatment industry that is certified by the State of Illinois EPA to be compliant with National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) standards.

Now, Culligan’s expanded laboratory offers:

Organic Analysis as a new service. The addition of a new gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) can test for the presence of volatile organics (e.g., disinfection by-products, gasoline, oil, toluene, etc.) in water samples, upon request by a Culligan dealer or a customer. In addition to Organic Analysis, Culligan offers a comprehensive range of analytical services including: Standard Analysis – for sizing systems and general chemical water characteristics Hemodialysis Analysis – ensures that water meets Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) standards, including the analysis of heavy metals Scale Analysis – for determining the composition of water deposits Resin Analysis – for identifying the quality of cation resin

Advancing a Greener Product Pipeline

The data captured by its new Analytical Lab also helps Culligan to develop next-generation water treatment solutions for home and commercial applications that offer innovative and environmental benefits.

"More people are seeking greener alternatives to single-serve bottled drinking water to spare landfills of non-recyclable plastic and the atmosphere of excess fuel emissions. Culligan’s new lab supports ongoing engineering and development initiatives to design products with the environment in mind – and give consumers more eco-friendly water filtration and softening solutions for the home and workplace," said Mark Seals, Culligan’s chief executive officer.

Filtration Innovation

When it comes to drinking water, Culligan offers today’s homeowners and businesses many environmentally friendly alternatives to single-serve bottled drinking water, including reverse osmosis (RO) filtration and point-of-use (POU) solutions. For example, Culligan’s under-the-sink filtration systems for the home and "bottle-less coolers" for the office help eliminate the need for the throw-away plastic bottles that contribute to U.S. dependence on oil and are clogging landfills around the country. The company also offers a five-gallon bottled water service, where Culligan dealers deliver water in jugs that are sanitized and then reused up to 90 times.

Smarter Softening

For water softening, Culligan’s Smart-Sensor™ residential water softener automatically adjusts to changes in water conditions and activates regeneration only when needed. This helps to ensure optimal water and salt consumption while sparing environmental waste and saving energy. Using softened water also minimizes

build-up on fixtures and appliances, which means less soap and harsh chemical cleansers are needed to remove scale deposits.

"Culligan recognizes that customers crave smart technology that is eco-friendly, energy-efficient and low maintenance – while offering all the benefits of making their water the best it can be. Our new lab will enable us to engineer these innovations so we can provide more choices to our customers," added John Van Newenhizen, Culligan’s director of commercial products.

Freshwater Systems has a large selection of Culligan Water Filters.

The Dangers of Unfiltered Water

Most people understand the serious risks to your health from the inhalation of dangerous chemicals and contaminants.  But, many more people don't know the hazards some contaminants pose to many Americans' drinking water.

Contaminants in unfiltered water can cause a wide range issues. For example, lead found in water can impair the mental and physical development of children and can cause high blood pressure and hearing damage in adults. Asbestos can still be found in drinking throughout the United States and can cause several types of cancers, including mesothelioma and colon cancer.

What's the solution?

For many homeowners, the simplest and most affordable solution is to install a residential water filter system certified to filter all types of contaminants, such as any of the filtration systems available for home use.

Water filters provide the best solution to problems with bottled water and tap water.

When you use a water filter you are able to remove dangerous contaminants from municipally treated water. Drinking filtered water is more economical and easier on the environment.  With landfills growing to enormous sizes and recycling rates remaining low, the number of water bottles discarded by consumers is staggering.  1.5 million tons of plastic are used in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.  The energy alone required to manufacture and distribute these bottles to market severely drains limited fossile fuels.