Your home’s water quality directly impacts your health and that of your family, but it doesn’t stop there. It also impacts the lifespan and efficiency of appliances like your water heater, dishwasher, clothes washer, and even your home’s faucets and shower heads.
Many people think that water quality is a simple thing, and if you filter out enough contaminants, it will be perfectly fine. However, water quality goes much deeper with a variety of things that you should consider. Discover the three categorical factors that affect water quality and the options you have for improving it.
The Physical Factor
The first category that most people consider is the physical qualities of their water. The most obvious physical parameter is the solids within the liquid. This includes both dissolved and suspended solids, though many people think only of suspended solids because those easily filter out of the water. However, dissolved solids are just as important, especially for your appliances, plants, and pets. There are many other issues that you might understand intrinsically, but they may not be at the top of your mind.
There’s a characteristic called turbidity, a technical term for the water’s cloudiness. Ultimately, cloudiness is the result of undissolved solids in the water. However, not all undissolved solids will cause cloudiness. Water with high turbidity makes most people avoid using it because it gives the appearance of not being clean or pure.
Alongside cloudiness is the water’s color, which is separated into apparent color and true color. Apparent color is the way it looks before running it through a filter to remove undissolved solids. This is more of an aesthetic issue that affects desirability but does not have much to do with health implications.
Taste and odor are two other factors that come to mind when considering whether to use your water. If your water has even a tinge of color or if it smells bad, you’re not going to want to drink it, leaving you purchasing bottled water or risking dehydration.
Sediments and Dissolved Minerals
Hard water contains high amounts of dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium. These minerals are found naturally in soil and rock. As a result, they can easily leach into your water supply through underground aquifers. Although hard water is not harmful for consumption, it can cause problems in household appliances and plumbing systems, including reduced efficiency, scale buildup, and stains.
One of the most obvious ways hard water affects your home’s water quality is by causing scale buildup in pipes and plumbing fixtures. The scale buildup leads to decreased water pressure and makes it difficult to use multiple plumbing fixtures simultaneously. Hard water also causes corrosion in pipes, leading to leaks and costly repairs.
Additionally, hard water leaves mineral deposits on dishes and clothing. These deposits can cause stains and discoloration, making them look dull and unappealing. Hard water also leaves stains on sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, which can be unsightly and difficult to remove.
Hard water also affects how soap lathers and leaves a film of soap scum and residue on skin, hair, and laundry. This makes it difficult to clean clothes and dishes and leaves your skin feeling dry and itchy.
Lastly, hard water affects the taste and smell of your water, making it unappealing to drink and use. This can be especially problematic for cooking and brewing coffee or tea.
You can take some measures to mitigate the effects of hard water on your home’s water quality. One popular solution for treating hard water is using a water softener, which can significantly improve your home’s water quality.
A major advantage of using a water softener to treat hard water is stopping mineral buildup in pipes and plumbing fixtures, thereby increasing water pressure and preventing your dishes and sinks from accumulating stains. Additionally, using a water softener leaves your skin feeling softer after a bath, makes your clothes brighter after doing laundry, and allows you to use less soap for your laundry and dishes as the water suds up more easily.
Filtration systems also help soften hard water by removing minerals that make water hard. The filtration begins as water flows through a bed of resin, which acts as a trap for these minerals. The resin exchanges the minerals in hard water with sodium ions through ion exchange.
The Chemical Factor
When you hear about the chemical factor, you may think of chemical contaminants in your water, and this is part of the discussion. However, the reason the chemical contaminants are important is because of what they do to the chemical makeup of the water. This is really the focus for scientists working on water quality.
The first area of discussion for water’s chemical makeup is its pH level. As you may remember from high school chemistry class, pH is the measure of a solution’s acidity or alkalinity. The range considered safe for human consumption is between 6.5 and 8.5, with 7 considered neutral. Standard rainwater usually has a pH of around 5.6 due to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Your water can cause harm to your home, your family and pets, and your lawn and plants when it becomes too acidic or alkaline. There are controllable variables that affect your water’s pH level. We already mentioned how carbon dioxide can make water more acidic, but so can mineral acids and hydrolyzed salts. Conversely, alkalinity in water is commonly caused by hydroxide ions, carbonate ions, and bicarbonate ions.
The other chemical factor most people are at least vaguely familiar with is hardness. Most people tend to notice when they’re using hard water versus softened water, especially when doing dishes or bathing. Hardness refers to the amount of dissolved minerals in the water. The minerals most commonly found in high concentrations are calcium and magnesium. There are also two types of hardness: temporary and permanent. Permanent hardness is what remains in the water after boiling, and it’s usually caused by sulfates and chlorides. Boiling will remove temporary hardness, which is often caused by carbonates and bicarbonates.
Finally, you have the chemicals added to the water, either intentionally or unintentionally. Unintentional water contamination comes from spills, dumping, and runoff that makes its way into the water supply. However, there’s also intentional chemical alteration from an effort to disinfect the water of biological contaminants. This is usually an infusion of chlorine or chloramine. Although they accomplish the desired goal, these chemicals may make the water less desirable due to the smell and taste. Further, they can cause problems ranging from dry skin to diarrhea, stomachaches, and vomiting when the concentrations are too high.
The Biological Factor
The biological factor refers to various organisms that live in the water. Most people may think of harmful bacteria and viruses, but it doesn’t stop there. There are also protozoa, algae, and coliform organisms. Over time, the inside of the water heater tank can accumulate various forms of buildup, such as rust, sediment, and bacteria. This buildup can leach into the water supply and lead to discoloration, bad taste, or foul odors.
Bacteria are arguably one of the most important variables to control in residential water. The pipes serving your home must maintain a certain pressure to reduce the risk of bacterial proliferation. This is why you may receive a boil-water notice if the pressure in your municipal system drops for some reason. Bacteria are responsible for several waterborne diseases, including the following.
- Typhoid and paratyphoid fever
- Leptospirosis
- Tularemia
- Shigellosis
- Cholera
Along with bacteria, viruses are among the top concerns for water treatment plans. Waterborne pathogens cause diseases such as hepatitis and poliomyelitis, both of which can produce significant long-term impairment such as liver damage and damage to the nervous system. Viruses are small enough to flow through most filters, often requiring chemical disinfection to prevent widespread infections.
Algae is primarily considered a nuisance contaminant, giving the water a bad taste and odor. However, some strains are problematic, such as blue-green algae, which can harm some animals.
Finally, protozoa perform a vital role in natural bodies of water as they feed on organic particles, algae, and bacteria. Multicellular aquatic animals then feed on protozoa. In some cases, protozoa cause diseases like malaria, giardia, and toxoplasmosis. Unfortunately, protozoa are resistant to many disinfecting agents used in municipal water treatment throughout the United States. This makes proper filtering and passive disinfection, such as UV light, critical to dealing with this type of contaminant.
A dirty water heater also affects the performance and efficiency of the heater itself. The buildup of rust and sediments insulates the heating element, reducing its ability to heat the water. This ultimately results in higher energy costs. The buildup of rust and sediments also causes corrosion to the water heater tank and other internal components, leading to leaks. This could also cause the water heater to fail entirely.
Therefore, it’s crucial to regularly clean your water heater to ensure that there is clean and safe water in your Las Vegas home. Maintenance may involve draining the water heater tank and flushing out the sediment. A professional plumber can help identify the best maintenance measures for your water heater so that it operates at optimum efficiency.
A Malfunctioning or Old Plumbing System
A malfunctioning or old plumbing system can significantly impact the water quality in your home. Among the most common issues that affect old plumbing systems is the presence of leaks, which can introduce contaminants into your water supply, including bacteria, pesticides, and other harmful substances that can cause health problems for you and your family.
It is important to properly maintain your pipes and plumbing fixtures to prevent blockages and leaks in your drainage system. Proper maintenance practices include regular cleaning, inspecting for damage, and repairing or replacing any worn or damaged parts in your plumbing system. We recommend that a professional plumber inspect your drainage system regularly to ensure it works properly and fix any potential issues.
Old plumbing systems are also more prone to corrosion, which can increase the amount of lead and other heavy metals in your home’s water supply. Lead can enter the water supply through old pipes, plumbing fixtures, and solders that contain lead. Lead contamination is a serious issue that can cause significant health problems for you and your family. Long-term exposure to lead can lead to cognitive impairment, developmental delays, and anemia.
Testing your home’s water supply for lead and replacing any lead pipes, fixtures, and solders is crucial to prevent contamination. You can also install a water filtration system specifically designed to remove lead deposits from your water supply.
Additionally, raw sewage from blocked sewer lines can risk your home’s water quality if it leaks into the groundwater. Raw sewage contains harmful chemicals, microorganisms, and contaminants that can cause disease and unpleasant tastes or odors in drinking water.
Sewer leaks are usually caused by tree root growth, shifting soil, earthquakes, foundation loss, flooding, or sewage backup. High-pressure systems can push sewage leaks to the surface, where they can be easily detected by sight or smell. Suppose you want to prevent groundwater contamination from sewer leaks. In that case, we advise you to dispose of hazardous waste properly, adhere to modern construction and maintenance standards, and have a qualified plumbing professional inspect your home’s sewer lines regularly.
Options for Improving Water Quality
Because of their ready availability and relatively low cost, filters are the first step that most people consider when looking to improve their water quality. The options start with simple gravity-fed filters that sit on your counter or in your fridge. There are also more substantial filtering devices that install in your plumbing system. These include reverse osmosis systems that can remove even small contaminants like viruses.
Installed filters are available in two options: point-of-use and whole-house, also called point-of-entry. Reverse osmosis is at the high end of these filtration systems because of both the installation cost and the cost of replacement filters. For municipal water, you may only need a simple filter that primarily removes chlorine. This type is substantially less expensive.
With a whole-home water filtration system, you can easily use clean, soft water for various household tasks without worrying about running out of pure water. You don’t have to rely on costly bottled water from the grocery store to enjoy the benefits of clean water.
A whole-home water filtration system offers multiple benefits. These include:
- Improves the taste and odor of drinking water
- Provides safe and clean water for you and your family
- Protection of plumbing fixtures and appliances
- Reduces the amount of soap required for laundry
Water softeners are another very common component of residential filtration. Not only do softeners make water less irritating to your skin, but as they also remove excess minerals from the water. Consequently, they can extend the life of your home’s water appliances.
If you’re concerned about biological contaminants like bacteria and viruses, you may want to consider a UV treatment option. Ultraviolet light, specifically UV-C, damages the microorganisms’ cellular function. This prevents them from growing or replicating. For a virus, it damages the structure of the DNA so that it cannot proliferate once it enters a host organism.
Reach Out to the Pros
Water quality is a crucial aspect that homeowners should not overlook. Our professionals are well-experienced and have adequate knowledge of water filtration systems and water softening techniques.
Homeowners looking for home services they can trust around Las Vegas turn to us at BEST Air Conditioning Plumbing Repair. Besides heating and cooling installation, repair, and maintenance, our award-winning team provides a full range of residential plumbing services such as water filtration. Call today to schedule your water quality consultation with one of our trusted plumbers.
