Monday 30 October 2017

Choosing the Right Water Filter

At some point, we become paranoid into thinking if our tap water is safe to drink. In this case, we prefer to be sure and install a water filter. But how do we choose the right water filter for our household?

Choosing a water filter

Residential water filters are primarily designed to back up the water treatment facility in your community. They’re good for reducing unpleasant odors and tastes, discoloration and other annoying features that the water utility doesn’t remove.

The key to choosing a filtration device is knowing which contaminants you want to remove. Your first step should always be a call to your local water utility. A water engineer can almost always tell you what’s in your water and what’s causing the problem you’re dealing with. If you have health concerns, follow up with a call to your local department of public health. You’ll get more information about the issues involved and how to test for and solve problems. Although some filter systems go a long way toward purifying water, don’t rely on them alone to solve potential health problems. Read more...

As stated above, it is best to now first what kind of water issues you are having. Once you and your plumber are able to figure that out, you can choose the right water filter for your household.

Here are the most common types of water filter to choose from:

Types of Water Filters

If the only problem with your water is grit, dirt, sediment, rust, or other such particles, a screening filter may be sufficient. Made of fiber, fabric, ceramic, or another screening medium, these simply catch particles—including, in some cases, small organisms like cysts and some bacteria. But don’t rely on them to handle disease-causing organisms, VOCs, metals, or the like.

Carbon Water Filters
If your water tastes, smells, or looks bad, a filter containing activated carbon (AC) may solve the problem. If you want to remove chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, radon, trihalomethanes (THMs), and some inorganic chemicals, carbon may do the trick.

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters
If you must remove inorganic chemicals such as salts, metals (including lead), minerals, nitrates, asbestos, and some organic chemicals, consider a reverse-osmosis (RO) water filter.

Water Distillers
If you just want a portable, sink-top appliance that will rid water of most dissolved solids, such as salts, asbestos fibers, metals, minerals, particles, and some organic chemicals, an inexpensive water distiller may be just the thing.

UV Water Purifiers
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection water filters, which typically cost $150 or more, may kill bacteria and viruses, and clear the taste and odor of water, but they are not effective against chemical pollutants and may not work against cysts and spores.

Buying a Water Filtering Faucet
With the popularity of water-treatment devices, a number of manufacturers have introduced products that integrate water systems seamlessly into the kitchen. For example, American Standard makes the Streaming filtering faucet that works with an under-sink filter to deliver filtered water through the main kitchen faucet. read full article...

Choosing the right water filter for your household is a big task. The first thing to consider is what kind of water contaminants you want to eliminate, then your budget. If you are hesitant to do all the decision, make sure to ask help from a plumbing professional.

Published First Here: Choosing the Right Water Filter

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Common Water Issues and Importance of Water Treatment System

Have you ever experience smelling something bad while taking a shower or washing the dishes? You wonder where is this smell coming from? Then you realized it comes from your water.

These are the common water issues you should look out, as shared by theplumbinginfo:

Common Issues With Potable Water

We Will Start With Hard Water
Have you ever wondered why soap won’t lather in hard water situations? Well Soap attracts hard water particles i.e. calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. and unless these particles are removed soap won’t lather. These dissolved solids can also severely affect the performance of your plumbing system.

What About Iron in Our Potable Water? – Rust Stains on Clothes and Plumbing Fixtures
The next huge issue is iron in our drinking water. If you aren’t anemic there is nothing good about having high iron content in your water. It tastes horrible and it stains your clothes and almost anything else it comes in contact with namely plumbing fixtures and appliances a nice shade of burnt orange.

What’s the Black Staining on My Plumbing Fixtures?
Another pretty common issue with our water occurs when manganese is present. Manganese shows it’s ugly face by staining plumbing fixtures, clothes etc. a blackish color.

Is My Water Supposed to Smell Like a Rotten Egg?
The answer to the above question is a resounding no. When your drinking water smells like rotten eggs you have hydrogen sulfides or sulfur in your water and although it doesn’t have a super strong taste it certainly smells nasty." read more...

In the US and Canada alone 85% of household are experiencing water issues. To address this issues, it is recommended to install a water treatment system.

Water Treatment Systems: Healthy Advantages

Having a home water treatment system can be a great way to increase your families health. With many of our lifestyles, having a purification system in your kitchen is a great way to ensure your family stays healthy with little effort.

Our water supplies are polluted with chemicals, toxins, and bacteria every day. Installing a water treatment system directly to our kitchen faucet is simply another way of removing what gets left behind. read full article...

Next time you smell something from your water or see rusty colored water, or any abnormalities in your water system, call a plumbing professional and install a water treatment system.

Source Here: Common Water Issues and Importance of Water Treatment System

Friday 6 October 2017

The Importance of Plumbing Inspection before Purchasing a House

plumbing inspection

Purchasing a home is a big decision and bigger investment to make. There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding to buy a house. It is important to be very meticulous on every aspect and do a plumbing inspection.

There are 10 basic things, as shared from Hometips, that you need to check for yourself:

Home Inspection Checklist

  1. The structure
  2. Water control
  3. The roof
  4. Details
  5. Kitchen & bath fixtures
  6. Electrical system
  7. Water heater, plumbing
  8. Heating
  9. Insulation
  10. Fireplaces

One of the most important thing to check when buying a house is the plumbing system. It's always a good idea to have a checklist to see if the house has a good plumbing system. According to Bruce Davis Jr., there are 3 plumbing features you need to check before buying your dream house.

3 Plumbing Features to Check Before Buying a New Home

Before you buy the home of your dreams, be sure to inspect these plumbing features.

1. Main sewer

It is strongly recommended that a professional plumber perform a camera inspection on a main sewer line after it has clogged. If you're purchasing a home, this is doubly important. You can't always be certain whether the home has had drainage problems, and if so, whether the previous homeowner knew the reason for the clog. A simple camera inspection could make you aware of a hidden and very costly problem prior to the purchase.

2. Water heaters

The average water heater lasts about 10 years. This depends on the water quality, how the water heater is being used, maintenance and installation. Water heaters that heat your home, in addition to providing hot water for each of your faucets, tend to have shorter lives.

3. Toilets

One problem homeowners often neglect to have fixed is a leak at the base of a toilet. The leak often appears small or insignificant, but over time the water will begin to rot the subfloor and even get between the subfloor and the finished floor. Someone unaware of the damage this kind of problem can create, may try to seal this themselves, sometimes making it worse. Read full article here...

If you are unsure how to check the plumbing system, asking help from a professional is the best option, as stated by Lillian Connors:

Asking for a professional opinion

If you are uncertain about any plumbing issues the home may have, it is strongly advised to consult a plumbing professional to do a plumbing inspection. It would not be the first time that new owners failed to notice some serious problems due to their inexperience, say the guys who own and operate Dial up Plumbing, which in return will set them back way more than professional plumbing inspection service fee would. On top of that, you will get a repair estimate and you can negotiate a discount with the sellers to cover the unexpected expenses. Read more...

A simple plumbing inspection checklist is a way to determine the quality of the house.

Learn More Here: The Importance of Plumbing Inspection before Purchasing a House