Blog

  • PFAS: the ‘forever chemical’ problem

    The PFAS results from Consumer Reports tests are particularly troubling. Manufacturers use PFAS to make stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, water-repellent clothing, nonstick cookware, and hundreds of other common products. The compounds can seep into water from factories, landfills, and other sources. And because they don’t easily break down in the environment, they’re often called “forever chemicals”. Investigation into the health effects of PFAS exposure is ongoing, but some of the strongest evidence about their potential risks comes from research of about 69,000 people in and around Parkersburg, W Va. It found a “probable link” between exposure to a type of PFAS and six health problems: high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and testicular and kidney cancers. Research has also linked some PFAS to learning delays in children. At least 2,337 communities in 49 states have drinking water known to be contaminated with PFAS, according to a January analysis by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an advocacy organization. CR’s tests results confirm the ubiquity of the chemicals: PFAS were found   in 117 of the 120 samples we tested, from locations across the country. Despite mounting evidence of widespread contamination and health risks, the EPA has still not set an enforceable legal limit for PFAS in drinking water. Instead, it has established only voluntary limits, which apply to just two of the better-studied forever chemi...
  • VINYL CHLORIDE AND CERAMIC FILTER

    Vinyl Chloride is a lab-made chemical commonly used in making plastics, namely PVC for the ubiquitous pipes inside homes and buildings. It’s a volatile organic compound, a group of chemicals that people are exposed to every day, whether it’s while standing at the gas pump, burning wood, or, especially, smoking or being exposed to cigarette smoke. Ceramic filters performance in removal of Vinyl Chloride; EPA guidelines allow no more than 2µg/L of vinyl chloride in drinking water. Testing by Envirotek on the ceramic filter such as the HydroCare Cermax has been performed with an influent of ~20µg/L. It has a removal capacity of >99.4% at 10000L or 6.000 gallons, reducing vinyl chloride to <0.1µg/L. The “<0.1µg/L” quoted is in reference to the lowest detectable limit for that machine, indicating that the true value is between 0-0.1µg/L.
  • The Dangers of Waterborne Parasites

    Children infected even just once with a certain type of waterborne parasite are nearly three times as likely to suffer from moderate or severe stunted growth by the age of two than those who are not - regardless of whether their infection made them feel sick, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests. The spread of Cryptosporidium can be blamed on a lack of access to clean drinking water and proper toilets. It is resistant to chlorine, which is often used to clean water. It has been thought that the diarrhea that results from Cryptosporidium infections was causing the dehydration and malnutrition that can lead to stunted growth," says the study's leader Poonum Korpe, MD, an assistant scientist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School. "This study suggests that while diarrhea is certainly a problem, infection with the parasite itself - even if there are no diarrheal symptoms - is causing the malnutrition. These children don't even get sick and their growth is stunted. We think it's possible that the parasite is damaging the gut at this early age, making absorption of vital nutrients more difficult." While the greatest risk to children is in 3rd world countries, there have been sporadic outbreaks in the United States, typically in the summer when a pool is contaminated with the Cryptosporidium parasite.  
  • 3 Benefits of Installing a Whole-House Water Filter in Your Home

    If you’re ready to eliminate the full range of additives and pollutants from your household tap water, consider a whole house water filter system. Clean filtered water not only provides you with great-tasting drinking water and an improved aesthetic experience, it also safeguards your family’s health and lengthens the lifetime of your plumbing fixtures. The EPA notes that standard municipal chlorine-based disinfectants can create toxic byproducts, and absorption through the skin is a significant risk with many types of water contaminants. Here are three important benefits of installing a system to filter all the water in your house. Maintenance Is Minimized Whole-house water filtration systems rarely need attention. At most, you will need to change filters a couple times a year, and no tools or professional assistance is needed in this simple operation. There are two ways to purify water, and WAVE offers both: Canister: In this type of system, the water goes through filters and then through the house. You will need to change the filters every six to 12 months. Backwashing: There is a filter used in this type of system. With the backwashing process, water drains to the outside, which automatically cleans the filter every few days.   Bad Smells and Stains Disappear It’s difficult to feel clean after a shower that smells like rotten eggs or a swimming pool. A WAVE water purifier will remove those smells entirely, while also eliminating the iron that causes ugly b...
  • Be on the alert for Lead Contamination

    Lead contamination poses a serious threat to drinking water safety. Both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree that Lead is harmful to health, especially for children. There is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Taking action to reduce these exposures can improve outcomes. Lead is much more likely to enter water from household plumbing, especially for homes with lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. For this reason, lead is a potential concern for all homes whether you are on a public water supply or private wells. Laws have restricted the amount of lead allowed in new pipes, fixtures, and solder, but many homes contain older materials. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986. For homes without lead pipes, the most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and plumbing with lead solder.
  • Taking the Guesswork Out of Home Water Filtration

    As the United States continues to experience a crisis with aging water distribution systems, you’ve probably spent some time wondering what’s in your own home’s water supply. The thought that your water might be contaminated in any way can be alarming, especially when you’ve grown up believing that having access to clean, pure water is as simple as turning on the tap. The first solution that comes to mind when you consider water quality issues is probably to use a water filter. However, not all filtration systems are created equal. To begin with, each water filtration system will have varying levels of effectiveness depending on how it’s installed and how it’s constructed. While many people simply buy a water filter that has good reviews, then assume or hope that it’s doing some good for the quality of their water, that’s a mistake. The best water filtration system should meet the specific needs of your water supply, and should be able to guarantee that it can remove the type of contaminants you may need to worry about. What Does a Water Filtration System Actually Do? Water treatment systems come in a wide variety of forms. Businesses and healthcare settings usually make use of technologies like ultraviolet treatment systems, which use ultraviolet light to disinfect water. Distillation systems are common for businesses that need to treat water that’s seriously contaminated with industrial waste, such as heavy metals and chemicals, or by high levels of microorganism growth...
  • You Need Iron...Just Not in Your Water

    Iron is important for proper blood flow and energy. We get the iron we need each day from things like green, leafy vegetables. At first thought, it may seem fine to also have iron in your water, but this isn't the case. For the most part, the iron that is often found in well water is not in a form easily processed by the human body. It can also contain bacteria that is harmful to your health. It is also the reason that your sink, toilet and clothes may be stained red. Let's take a look at how iron gets into your water system and why you need an iron filter for well water. How Iron Gets in Well Water Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the Earth. In many areas of the country, certain stones are mined regularly in order to extract the iron from them. As rain and snow falls, it soaks into the ground and causes the soil to loosen. This soil often finds its way into wells, ponds, creeks and other bodies of water. Types of Iron in Water Iron comes in different forms and it is important to know what kind you are dealing with before you buy an iron filter for well water. *Ferrous iron - This is often referred to as "clear water iron" because it comes out of your faucet clear. After sitting for a time, however, it turns red or brown. *Ferric iron - This is referred to in lay terms as "red water iron". It comes out of the faucet with a yellow or red coloring and is often the type of iron that people first see as a conce rn. *Organic iron - This is formed from naturally occu...
  • Do You Know the Most Common Well Water Contaminants?

    If you are a homeowner who receives well water, it's important to be aware of various factors that may affect the water in your home. Many wells contain contaminants that can cause plumbing problems or affect your health. Each private well has its own unique issues, but certain chemical compounds are very commonly found in well water. Read on to learn about these compounds and why well water treatment systems can protect your health and your plumbing. Iron and Manganese While these two metals are toxic when they occur in very high levels, lower levels of contamination can still cause a number of problems when they’re dissolved in your well water. Iron may leave brown rust stains in your sink, while discoloration from manganese will be closer to black. Furthermore, soaps and detergents don’t have any effect on these stains, and if you resort to bleach or baking soda, you will probably make the stain worse. Iron and manganese dissolved in your drinking water give it an unpleasant taste, but they cause even more problems when they stop being dissolved and build up deposits in your pipes. Clogged plumbing and expensive water system repairs become necessary over time. Hydrogen Sulfide The presence of hydrogen sulfide in drinking water is usually the result of sulfur bacteria or decayed plant material, although it can also be created by chemical reactions caused by components in your water heater. Hydrogen sulfide gives your water a “rotten egg” smell, affecting your entire...
  • Hard Water Treatment Methods

    Most of us place a lot of faith in the quality and healthiness of our home’s water, but rarely do we think about water quality in terms of our home’s well being. Hard water, water rich in minerals, can pose long-term risks to your home appliances and plumbing. It can take years off your dishwasher and water heater. There are several methods of hard water treatment with varying degrees of success, varying price points, but predictable consequences. However, there are some promising solutions to hard water without the negative effects of traditional water softeners. Hard water is water that’s rich in minerals, though the two minerals we’re mostly concerned about are calcium and magnesium. When these minerals are heated, like in your water heater, they’re deposited on the surfaces of pipes and appliances. As those deposits build up, they form what’s called scale. Scale can leave your skin and hair feeling dry, and you’ll notice it coating the inside of your bathtub as well as your dishes. Scale can clog up your pipes, but you might also notice your energy bills going up because scale reduces the efficiencies of your hot water appliances. Needless to say, hard water and scaling need to be treated to protect the investment you’ve put into your home as well as your general sense of comfort. That’s why many people use water softeners. Water softeners are an effective hard water treatment for removing minerals from water. You soften water with the help of salt and a tank of polyst...
  • What Is Hard Water And What Does It Effect

    If you’ve been told your home has hard water but you’re not exactly sure what that means, you’re not alone. Water is described as being hard when it has a high content of minerals like calcium and magnesium. This occurs when your water runs through limestone or chalk deposits in pipes or the soil. Certain regions of the United States, such as Southern California, Arizona, West Texas, Greater Chicago and other areas have great incidences of hard water than most of the country. The compounds found in hard water can create expensive problems in your home over time if a solution is not found. What Is Hard Water and How Is It Measured? The hardness of water is measured using instruments and can be expressed in many different ways, including grains of calcium carbonate per gallon, parts per million, Clark degrees and French degrees. None of these particular units are important to you as a homeowner, but the United States Geological Survey uses these units, combined with temperature and pH, to put fresh water into several different categories. The classifications are: Soft Moderately hard Hard Very hard According to the USGS, more than half of the homes in the United States have water that is hard or very hard. You can learn about the current conditions of water in your area by visiting the Water Quality Portal, a website jointly run by the USGS, EPA and National Water Quality Monitoring Council. A professional can also visit your home to directly measure the hardness of water ...
  • Why You Should Stop Drinking Bottled Water

    It’s not uncommon to see people toting clear plastic bottles of water. Bottled water was designed for city dwellers without access to the freshest-tasting water, and it's become chic to drink water, especially imported types, from bottles. For some, and maybe even for you, it’s a status thing to be seen with a portable plastic water bottle when driving to work, at lunch or while at the gym. However, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t be carting around plastic water bottles and should instead transition back to your tap water. Environmental Risks Environmental dilemmas result from constantly purchasing bottled water. It’s unkind to the environment, especially since only 15 percent of water bottles are recycled. That means 26 billion bottles that never biodegrade are pitched in the landfill annually.   Health Risks You are probably drawn to bottled water for the reputed positive health benefits, which is paradoxical since the phthalates and BPA in the plastic cancel those benefits. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that 22 percent of tested bottled water contained contaminants greater than legal state limits. Some cancer sites warn about the health effects attributed to bottled water.   It’s Not Actually Better Than Tap Water Water manufacturers target you with their aggressive marketing campaigns, but their dirty little secret is that nearly 40 percent of bottled water hails from municipal sources — places just like your town. To get the best-tastin...
  • Chlorine: Should you remove it from your water?

    Chlorine is a chemical most commonly known for its use in pools. However, it is found in more places than just this summer hangout. Chlorine is a key component in products ranging from pesticides to solvents to rubber and often even drinking water (yikes!). Although many of us are exposed to chlorine in our attempts to cool down from the heat, not many are aware of the dangers of this chemical. Unwanted exposure to chlorine can result in chest tightness, blurred vision, nausea/vomiting, and a burning sensation in the nose/throat/eyes. Long term complications are even more precarious, resulting in pulmonary edema (fluid build up in the lungs.) It is important to note that chlorine exposure does not occur solely through the contact of the chemical with the skin. Contact between the chemical and the eye can occur if chlorine is released into the air. Additionally, chlorine can be breathed in once released into the air. Chlorine also becomes problematic when it comes to bathing and showering as it can be absorbed through the skin. It is imperative for the safety of your home to ensure that the levels of Chlorine in your water are reduced. This includes not just your drinking water, but water used for cooking and washing must be chlorine-free. Click here to learn more about how to reduce chlorine from every faucet.