Choosing a Water Treatment Contractor

What is a water treatment system?

A water treatment system is used to improve the quality of water from a municipal water system or well water system. For example, a water treatment system can be used to soften hard water by filtering out magnesium and calcium. Many homeowners and business owners use a water treatment system to filter out contaminants, improve the taste of drinking water, or both.

What type of water treatment system do I need?

There are two types of residential water treatment systems: point-of-entry and point-of-use. Point-of-entry water treatment systems treat most of the water as its entering the home. Point-of-use systems treat the water in batches before delivering it to a tap. Most water treatment systems use water softeners, water filters, distillation, disinfectants, or a combination of these. The right type of water treatment system for your home depends on the specific minerals or bacteria present in your water.

What are the benefits of whole house water treatment systems?

A whole-house water treatment system is a point-of-entry system that offers several benefits over point-of-use or standard drinking water systems.

• Treats water at the point of entry to be used for drinking, washing clothes, showering, etc.
• Filters unwanted contaminants from water supply
• Can be designed to remove a variety of contaminants

A qualified water treatment contractor can help you choose the right water system for your home. Before you install a whole-house water treatment system, you should have your water tested and determine what your specific needs and goals are.

What are the signs that I need water treatment?

There are a few ways to tell if you need a water treatment system.

• Water tastes or smells bad
• Dry skin and hair
• Faded or rough clothing and linens
• Scale buildup on appliances and fixtures

The first step is determining what is in your water is with a water quality test from our local water utility company. If you have a private well system, you can have your water tested to determine what contaminants are in your water. Based on the water report or your water testing results, you can decide what contaminants you want to reduce in your water.

How do water softening systems work?

Hard water contains high levels of calcium and magnesium. Water softeners use resin beads to filter out these minerals from the water. Water enters your home and flows through the resin beads in the softening system, removing the hard water minerals from the water. As the water flows through the beads, positively charged sodium ions swap with the calcium and magnesium ions. After several cycles, the calcium and magnesium replace all of the sodium ions in the beads. When this happens, the water softener enters a regeneration cycle in which the beads are soaked in a brine solution. The brine and hard water minerals are then flushed from the tank and the water softening system can continue softening the hard water.

How do I test water hardness?

There are several ways to test for hard water.

• Sending a water sample to an independent laboratory will provide the most accurate results, but this is typically the most expensive option.
• A “soapsuds test” can give you a rough estimate of your water hardness. Fill a clean glass or plastic bottle with tap water, then add 10 drops of pure dishwashing liquid and shake well for at least 10 seconds. If the solution creates a lot of suds and the water below the suds is clear, your water is likely on the soft side. If the solution doesn’t foam well and the water below the suds is cloudy, you likely have hard water.
• Some DIY test kits test for water hardness. A wet-strip test works similar to tests for swimming pool or spa water.