Water System

Water System for Your Home – The Benefits

Do you need a whole house water system or just something for your drinking water?

We’re living in a city, in a country, which by all accounts, does a terrific job of providing clean water to its citizens. Local municipalities have water treatment plants that filter, clean, and sanitize the water that comes into our homes and businesses. Most of the time, this sanitization is done with the use of chlorine. The question arises, “what impact does chlorinated water have on the pH of the water, and on our health?”

First let’s look at what chlorine does to the pH of water.

When chlorine gas (Cl2) is added to the water (H2O), it hydrolyzes rapidly to produce hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and the hypochlorous acid will then dissociate into hypochlorite ions (OCl-) and hydrogen ions (H+). Because hydrogen ions are produced, the water will become more acidic (the pH of the water will decrease). 

What is the pH of tap water?

EPA guidelines state that the pH of tap water should be between 6.5 and 8.5. Still, tap water in the U.S. tends to fall below that — in the 4.3 to 5.3 range — depending on where you live.

But here’s the bottom line. If your water tastes or smells like chlorine then it might be time to think about installing
a water system that can give you clean, healthy drinking water. 

What is the pH of water? And will a water system change that?

Most city water or commercial uncontaminated bottled water won’t make you healthier or sick due to its pH. Depending on the source and processing, most bottled water stays between a pH of 5 to 8.

Your body likes to stay at around a blood pH of 7.4, which is almost neutral. The pH of your body depends on how well your kidneys are doing their job. If your water is too “acidic” or too “basic” — meaning it’s been contaminated with caustic cleaners or acids — your pH can be thrown off, which could make you very sick, damage certain tissues, or even kill you.

A few bottled water brands run almost toward a pH of 8, but slightly more alkaline water doesn’t mean you’ll get additional health benefits. There isn’t any solid scientific evidence that says eating more alkaline foods or drinking alkaline water helps keep a person more disease-free than someone who doesn’t.

With all that said, that doesn’t mean that removing contaminates will change the pH. That depends on the contaminates. However, changing the pH of the water and removing contaminants can improve the taste of the water. Using a water softener or conditioner and then a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink for drinking water can dramatically improve the taste and quality of your water. 

History of the the Water System and the Desire for Clean Water

As far back as 1500 BC, starting with the Egyptians the idea of procuring cleaner water was beginning to be considered. By 500 BC we can find in Sanskrit writings that many methods were being used to purify water including:

  • filtering water through sand and gravel
  • and/or boiling water with heat from the sun.

In 460 BC Hippocrates developed a cloth sleeve that filtered water, understanding the importance of water to the human body. Then the Romans developed miles of aquaducts supplying water to a much larger population. When the dark ages arrived that development was put into retrograde. However, we begin to see things moving forward when, in 1670, the development of microscopy allowed micro-organisms to be seen in water.

In the mid 1800’s, the cholera outbreak was seen to be less pervasive with people who lived in areas where their water was being filtered through sand. In 1903 experiments began to show that there was a system called ion exchange that could dramatically clean water compared to other options. Chlorine was also beginning to be used.

The 1950’s saw the beginning of domestic water softeners. These units has an electric timer and could regenerate themselves with a salt solution. Nowadays many people use magnesium chloride instead of sodium chloride to clean their water softening units.

How can I tell if my water is already soft?

Each city in your area puts out a yearly water report. In addition, you can also buy a hardness tester at your local hardware store. Simply dip them into your water and then use the color meter to see how hard your water is. Anything over about 8-10 is hard water and you’ll do well to get it softened with a residential water softener. Another quick test you can do on your own is to put a little more than a cup of water into a bottle with a bit of Ivory soap then shake it. If the result is water that looks milky rather than having buoyant, bouncy, bubbles, you have hard water.

If you would like to enjoy the many benefits of soft water and a drinking water system like:

  • Soft, silky hair
  • Smoother skin
  • Less mineral buildup in your showers and sinks
  • Water appliances that last longer
  • Plumbing fixtures that last longer
  • Using less soap – a lot less soap!
  • A better tasting, and perhaps healthier water for drinking and cooking

…then call Mitch Clemmons Plumbing at (562) 246-9778. We can help you pick out a softener or conditioner, along with an under-the-sink system that works with your budget and lifestyle. We’ve helped hundreds of families discover how great really clean water can be.

So don’t hesitate. Call the experts at Mitch Clemmons Plumbing today! (562) 246-9778

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water filter system

What to Know About Your Water Filter System

A basic breakdown of different types of water filtration

Some types of water filtration media strain out particles. The amount of filtration depends upon the micron rating of the filter media. The smaller the number, the smaller the particles it will filter out. These filters are generally called sediment filters since they filter out undissolved particles. Another type of filtration is a process that changes the chemical makeup of the water.

An example of this is when you filter water that has chlorine in it. The chlorine goes through activated carbon, and the electrons change the water. This happens as it passes through the carbon filter media and becomes a harmless chloride.

Most dual or multi-stage basic filter systems use a sediment filter followed by an activated carbon filter. Most whole-house water filters use a process of layering filter media in a single tank to filter many things out all at once. Single, dual, & multi-stage systems can be installed under your sink to improve the water’s taste and odor. A faucet can be installed in-line on a refrigerator and as a whole house system at the water service entrance to the house to filter everything.

water filter systemReverse osmosis water filtration

Reverse osmosis uses a combination of different stages to filter your water. A basic RO system will have a carbon pre-filter. This is followed by a membrane filter (the actual reverse osmosis stage) and then a carbon post filter. The precise reverse osmosis stage filters the water with dissolved impurities. This stage works much like a sediment filter, except the way this system is designed. It allows water with dissolved solids to pass through to a drain, and the “pure” water can pass through to a storage tank. These units are usually installed under a kitchen sink with a separate spout mounted on the sink or countertop. This is the most effective way of getting purified water.  

Whole House Reverse Osmosis

Though purified water may not necessarily be the best thing for you, water with valuable minerals is better in most cases. Reverse osmosis wastes some water, but it is very effective. Remember, if you are buying bottled water, most of the brands use reverse osmosis to clean the water. Plus, you end up with plastic waste.

There are also extensive reverse osmosis systems available. It is possible to have reverse osmosis water for your whole house, but it would be pretty costly, starting at about $5,000.00 just for a small full-house reverse osmosis filter system.  

Installing these types of systems requires that you have special piping in your home. You will want to separate the toilets, sprinklers, and hose bibbs onto unfiltered water to conserve the filtered water. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, but I thought it was interesting knowing these types of systems are available.

Water Softening

Lastly, there is water softening, which is a whole subject. Living in southern California, we nearly all have hard water. It leaves crusty deposits on our faucets, shower heads, and other plumbing fixtures. Hard water leaves your skin dry and makes it so that you need to use more soap to clean laundry than you would if you had soft water.

Hard water also builds up in your water heater. Suppose you have a tankless water heater unit. In that case, it probably has a warranty stipulation that requires you to have some scale inhibitor to keep the hard water buildup from getting into the heat exchanger. You likely hear a rumbling sound if you have a traditional tanked water heater. This is caused by the water buildup in the bottom of the tank. There are many approaches to dealing with hard water. The only way to eliminate hard water is to “soften” the water.  

What Type of Water Systems Do We Install?

We are happy to announce that we use Performance Water Products

  • Known for technical expertise, quality service and reliable products.
  • 100 years combined experience in the field of Water Treatment and Purification.
  • Specializing in both Commercial and Residential applications.
  • Custom water treatment equipment created for both the Domestic and International market.
  • Committed to service, quality and reliability, while continuing to be an innovator in the water treatment industry.
  • Link to their website

Traditional Water Softeners

A traditional water softener uses an ionic exchange process to remove the water’s complex water ions (typically calcium and magnesium) and replace them with either sodium or potassium ions (I recommend using potassium). Some scale reduction filters use this same principle but do minor softening. Other types of scale inhibitors include pass-through filters and electronic units. They isolate the hard water molecules and then pass through your plumbing system without attaching to anything.  

I’ve found that most of these types of systems are only marginally effective. In addition, a water softener requires it to be connected to the inlet water supply to your house. A plumbing drain and an electrical connection are two things that are needed. 

As a side note, most municipally supplied water is tested regularly and must pass specific safety regulations set by the government to ensure it is safe to drink.

If you have more questions about water filtration, call Mitch today at (562) 242-3218

Related Links:

Water System

Water filtration

Basic breakdown of different types of water filtration

Some types of water filtration media strain out particles.  The amount of filtration depends upon the micron rating of the filter media.  The smaller the number the smaller the particles it will filter out.  These types of filters are generally referred to as sediment filters since they filter out actual undissolved particles.  Another type of filtration is actually a process that changes the chemical make up of the water.  An example of this is when you filter water that has chlorine in it. The chlorine goes through activated carbon and the electrons change the water. This happens as it passes through the carbon filter media and changes into harmless chloride.

Most dual or multi stage basic filter systems use a sediment filter followed by an activated carbon filter.  Most whole house water filters use a process of layering filter media in a single tank to filter many things out all at once.  Single, dual, & multi stage systems can be installed under your sink to improve the waters taste and odor at a faucet, can be installed in line on a refrigerator, and can be installed as a whole house system at the water service entrance to the house to filter everything.

Reverse osmosis water filtration

Reverse osmosis uses a combination of different stages to filter your water.  A basic RO system will have a carbon pre-filter. This is followed by a membrane filter (the actual reverse osmosis stage) and then a carbon post filter.  The actual reverse osmosis stage filters water that has dissolved impurities in it.  This stage actually works much like a sediment filter except that the way this system is designed it allows water with dissolved solids to pass through to a drain and the “pure” water is allowed to pass through to a storage tank.  Normally we see these types of units installed under a kitchen sink with a separate spout mounted on the sink or counter top.  This is the most effective way of getting purified water.  

Whole House Reverse Osmosis

Though purified water may not necessarily be the best thing for you… water with useful minerals is actually better in most cases.  Reverse osmosis does waste a lot of water, but it is very effective.  There are also very large reverse osmosis systems available.  It is possible to have reverse osmosis water for your whole house, but it would be quite a costly system, starting at about $5,000.00 just for a small whole house reverse osmosis filter system.  

Installing these types of systems requires that you have special piping in your home. You will want to separate the toilets, sprinklers, hose bibbs onto unfiltered water to conserve the filtered water.  I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone, but I thought it was interesting to know that these types of systems are available.

Water Softening

Lastly, there is water softening, which is a whole subject in itself.  Living in southern California we nearly all have hard water.  It leaves crusty deposits on our faucets, shower heads, and other plumbing fixtures.  Hard water leaves your skin dry and makes it so that you need to use more soap to clean laundry than you would if you had soft water.  Hard water also builds up in your water heater.  If you have a tankless water heater unit it probably has a warranty stipulation that requires you to have some sort of scale inhibitor to keep the hard water build up from getting into the heat exchanger.  If you have a traditional tanked water heater you likely hear a rumbling sound. This is caused from the water build up in the bottom of the tank.  There are many approaches to dealing with hard water. The only way to eliminate hard water completely is to “soften” the water.  

Traditional Water Softeners

A traditional water softener uses a process called ionic exchange to remove the hard water ions (typically calcium and magnesium) which are in the water and replace them with either a sodium ion or a potassium ion (I recommend using potassium).  Some scale reduction filters use this same principal but just do less softening.  Other types of scale inhibitors include pass through filters and electronic units. They isolate the hard water molecules in some manner and then pass through your plumbing system without attaching to anything.  

I’ve personally found that most of these types of system are only marginally effective.  A water softener requires it to be connected to the inlet water supply to your house. It must be connected to a plumbing drain, and needs an electrical connection.

As a side note, most municipally supplied water is tested regularly and must pass certain safety regulations set by the government to make sure it is safe to drink.

If you have more questions about water filtration call Mitch today at (562) 242-3218