Treating your home water should be your priority, whether you use a public or a private water supply. The authorities treat water when it’s part of the public supply, but sometimes, contaminants slip into the water anyway. The risk of contamination is even higher for private water supplies because they aren’t treated or regulated by any bodies. Many homes use private water supplies like wells and boreholes. And they’re highly prone to heavy metal and microorganism contamination.
This article will guide you through different home treatment options you can try and help you know what’s best for you.
Home Water Treatment Options
Your choice of water treatment should be based on the type of contaminants present in your water and the underlying chemistry. The best way to determine your exact water conditions is to test your water sample at a state-certified laboratory. Alternatively, you could use home water test kits. Once you have your test results, you can now use this guide to choose the most appropriate water treatment option. The options include:
1) Heating
Heating or boiling your water is a simple, effective way of treating it at home. The CDC calls boiling the “surest way to remove disease-causing germs from water.”
To make your water safe, heat your drinking water until it starts to boil. Then, leave it to boil continuously for about three minutes. Microorganisms and germs that cause waterborne diseases cannot withstand such high temperatures, so they become neutralized.
However, boiling is only effective for removing microorganisms from water. If your water contains more serious contaminants like chemicals or heavy metals, you have to use another home water treatment option.
2) Filtration
Filtration is the process of passing water through a medium that blocks the passage of contaminants and allows only clean water to flow through. It is an effective method for removing metals, chemicals, and even dangerous compounds from water. But there are different filtration methods suited for different contaminants. Here’s a breakdown to help you choose the best filtration method for your home:
- Activated carbon filters. These are water filters made of activated carbon pores that adsorb contaminants in water. Pollutants like chlorine, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are attracted by the carbon pores, and they stick to the pores while clean water flows through. Activated carbon filters improve water taste because they remove odor-causing minerals from water.
- Reverse osmosis. RO systems work by pushing water under high pressure through a membrane that filters out pollutants. The membrane blocks the passage of chemical contaminants like arsenic, chromium, and nitrates. RO systems are great because they effectively remove even toxic contaminants like lead. You can install them as point-of-entry (whole house systems) or point-of-use systems. Whole house systems are installed at the point where water enters your home and automatically filter the water before it gets into your home. Point-of-use RO systems can be installed under the sinks.
- Distillation. Using water distillers is another method of treating your water at home. Water distillers contain a boiling chamber where water is heated until it’s converted to steam. Contaminants like lead, arsenic and other metals cannot be vaporized, so they remain in the boiling chamber. The vaporized water goes into a condenser, where it is converted back to liquid. Then, it passes through a post-filter that blocks any contaminant that may have survived vaporization. The post-filter releases clean, filtered water into a reservoir where water is stored for use. Water distillers effectively remove over 99% of contaminants, including bacteria, nitrates, metals, and even volatile organic compounds.
Aside from understanding how these filters work, honest reviews can guide you through your choice of water filters. Want to know what experienced users are saying about different filters? Find out yourself at Water Masterz.
3) Softening
Using hard water at home can be a hassle. It leaves stains on clothes and surfaces and spoils water appliances. Water softening can help you get rid of hard water and its numerous issues.
Water becomes hard when it contains high amounts of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Water softeners are designed to remove these hardness-causing minerals from water.
Types of water softeners that you can use in your home are:
- Salt based water softener. This type contains “resin beads” that collect calcium and magnesium ions from water and replaces them with harmless sodium (salt) ions. If you use a salt based water softener, you should clean the resin weekly to remove trapped minerals and replace the salt.
- Water conditioner. This type contains “polymeric beads” that attract and neutralize hardness-causing minerals in the water. It does not replace hardness-causing minerals with salt, so it’s a great choice if you do not want salt ions in your water.
- Dual tank water softener. This type has two tanks that both contain resin beads. As one tank softens water, the other replaces the used-up salt. It is suitable for treating large quantities of water.
- Magnetic water softener. This type uses a magnetic field to neutralize hardness-causing minerals so that they become harmless in water. It is small-sized and suitable for tiny homes.
4) Disinfection
If a water test reveals that your home water contains high amounts of microorganisms, disinfection is an appropriate and effective water treatment option. Disinfection is the process of adding disinfecting material to your water to neutralize microorganisms. You can use any of these disinfection methods at home:
- Shock chlorination. This is the process of adding chlorine to your water supply. Most microorganisms cannot survive the presence of chlorine, so they become neutralized. Chlorination effectively removes bacteria and certain viruses from water but it cannot neutralize harmful protozoa like Guardia.
- UV disinfection. This method involves emitting UV light into water to eliminate microorganisms. A UV light source like the low-pressure mercury arc lamp is usually used for home water treatment. With UV light disinfection, you can eliminate bacteria, viruses, and even certain types of cysts from your water. An added pro is that this method does not introduce chemicals into your water. However, most cysts will not be neutralized by UV light. Also, you’ll need to replace the lamp yearly because its efficiency reduces with time.
- Ozonation. This method uses ozone gas, generated using ozone electric generators, as a chemical disinfectant in water. Ozonation is a very effective disinfection method. It removes bacteria, viruses, cysts, organic compounds, and even metals like iron and manganese from water.
5) Neutralization
If your home water is acidic, neutralization is an appropriate home water treatment. Acidic water at home can discolor and ruin water appliances. It can also increase the chances of toxic contaminants like lead leaching into your drinking water. You can neutralize your water by using:
- Acid neutralizers. These systems contain minerals with high pHs like calcite, limestone, or magnesium oxide. These minerals reduce acidity by increasing the pH of water as it passes through the neutralizer. To keep acid neutralizers effective, you’ll need to periodically change the filters according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep in mind that using neutralizers may make your water hard. You might want to combine this treatment option with water softening.
- Chemical injection systems. This neutralizing option involves using a pump to inject soda ash into your water source. Soda ash has a very high pH that will help neutralize even highly acidic water. Chemical injection systems are hard to maintain and require lots of attention, but they are a great option if your home water is highly acidic.
Using the Appropriate Treatment Option
Treating your home water becomes easier when you use an appropriate treatment option. Remember, you need to get a water test to know your exact water contaminants first.
You can then use this guide to choose the best treatment option(s) for your home. With the right treatment, you will effectively get rid of water contaminants and avoid terrible health effects.
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