Read this before you take another sip of water
By Adam Cook
It’s easy to take the water that falls from the sky and flows from our taps for granted. We drink it, cook with it, bathe with it, and hardly give it a second thought.
Darrell Weeter, president of Home Environmental Services, a Northeast Ohio water treatment company, might make you think twice the next time you take a sip.
“Water comes from the sky, absorbs carbon dioxide and other emissions, and then percolates down through the ground through industrial and agricultural pollutants and natural deposits of heavy minerals,” he says.
The only way to be clear on what’s in your water is to put it to the test, and HES offers a free water analysis. Whether you have well water or city water, there’s cause for concern.
If sulfur is present in your well water, it tends to smell like rotten eggs and can contain bacteria since no chlorine is present. Wells are also known to contain pesticides and herbicides. Staining in your sink, toilet or shower is a sign your water could have iron in it. It’s important to have a good water system in place to help provide good, clean water.
While chlorine in city water is a generally harmless and effective disinfectant, chronic exposure to disinfection by products known as DBPs increases health risks, including certain cancers. What’s more, there are 140 known chemicals in tap water that the EPA doesn’t regulate. Chlorine doesn’t kill parasites like cryptosporidium, giardia and legionella.
“Solutions depend on many factors. What else is in your water…phosphates, ammonia?” asks Darrell. “You need to consider the plumbing, usage, and the hardness of your water.”
Hard water, evident in scaling, is caused by a buildup of minerals and makes your pipes run slow, your water heater less efficient, and shortens the life spans of your water heater and appliances by as much as 50%.
There are many good water treatment solutions from brands like the Hague and A. O. Smith that connect right to your tap and provide all the clean water you could ever use in a day to drink, cook and bathe with, but before you invest in a less-than-adequate solution, you need to be clear on what’s in your water.
“One of the most practical solutions is a reverse osmosis system right at the kitchen sink for great-tasting drinking and cooking water,” says Darrell. “You won’t ever have to buy bottled water again or have a second thought that the water you cook with is clean.”
Call 440-546-0041 to have Home Environmental Services come out and conduct a free water analysis. For more information, visit OHHomeServices.com.