With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
The supply of water you typically consume has a long journey from your local treatment plant to the pipes in your home. During this journey (sometimes 20 to 40 kilometers long) the water can pick up contaminants along the way, including silt, microorganisms, sediment and with pipe corrosion along the way, added lead, copper and other metals. This can potentially lead to mineral deposits clogging your pipes and ruining your water using appliances or even creating a risk to your health.
Typically, consumers assume that the problem is hard water and their first remedy is to buy a water softener, but this ironically may not be the correct solution.
The Color of Water in Your Home
In ideal circumstances water should be clean and clear. But it is not all that uncommon to find discoloration, which is a good indicator that there may be contaminants present. Green or blue water are typically signs of copper. These issues can be an underlying cause of gastrointestinal illness. If your water has an orange or reddish rusty cast on the other hand, it is likely tainted by iron. This can create a metallic taste and lead to staining of fixtures, glasses and crockery. The presence of manganese is apparent from a black or brown color to the water, which also has a metallic bitter taste.
Hard Water Deposit?
This is one of the most obvious signs of hard water. The deposits are due to excess magnesium and calcium in the H2O. If your water has between 1 and 3.5 grains per gallon, it is classified as hard, but if you have 10.5 grains per gallon or more, your water is considered very hard. Water hardness can lead to soap residues, dry skin and scale deposits. Before you assume that you have hard water, however, you should know that there are other contaminants, which can leave stains and spots.
Does your Water Smell Funny?
Uncontaminated water has a neutral smell, so an odour can be a good indicator of a potential problem. If your water smells like a swimming pool, there may be excess chlorine in your water, which will dry out your skin and hair, and has been linked, in elevated quantities, to the development of cancer. A rotten egg smell usually indicates hydrogen sulfide. Unless it is in high concentrations however, this is not a particular health risk, but it can make the water truly unpalatable, if not downright undrinkable and highly corrosive to your plumbing and fixtures.
There are a host of possible contaminants you could find in your water supply. If your water smells, tastes or looks unusual, it is important not to automatically assume that it’s hard water and simply rely on a basic water softener system. Have your water tested by a CWQA Water Treatment Professional, and determine what the actual contaminants, affecting your water, actually are. Many can have detrimental effects on the performance of your appliances, the aesthetic appearance of your fixtures and even your health, so it is critical to have a water problem properly corrected. In many cases, this will involve the use of a water softener or some form of filtration, oxidation or chemical treatment with hydrogen peroxide or chlorine, but not always so you will need to first determine the actual problem through testing, to implement the correct method to effectively remove it.