The necessity of home water treatment
Published November 21, 2008 | 
Sylvian from Orlando, Florida writes:
Should I treat my tap water? I was going to buy a water ionizer machine, but after reading your site, I won\’t buy it now. But what about a product called “RAINSOFT”? It’s a whole house water treatment/purification system which has a brine filter tank and an external salt pellet tank. Is this a scam too? What do you suggest I do? Should I simply drink tap water???
Hi Sylvian, thanks for writing in.
Very simply, here in North America municipally treated tap water is safe to drink. The regulations are strict and much time and money is spent ensuring the public water supplies will do no harm.
Unfortunately, many water treatment companies rely on fear mongering tactics to sell more home water treatment equipment. If a company that sells home water treatment equipment tells you that your municipally treated tap water will kill you or harm you in anyway, don’t believe them. Much of these claims are based on half truths associated with treated water. For example, while it is true that there is a potential for chlorinated water supplies to form carcinogenic compounds, it is not true that they will always be in your drinking water. It’s also not true that municipalities don’t know/care about any of these things. Some companies go so far as to say they are not tested for, which is completely untrue.
Municipal drinking water goes through a gambit of testing on a regular basis not only to ensure the water is free from harmful pathogens, but that is it contains less than the maximum allowable concentration of potentially harmful chemicals, both from natural water supplies and potentialy produced from the water treatment process.
All maximum allowable concentrations of chemicals are continuously under review by water treatment, health and government officials.
The bottom line is the quality of your drinking water is produced and monitored by people who are more qualified than any employee of a home water treatment store. And unlike some of these private treatment equipment sales organizations, the only ulterior motive water treatment professionals have is to ensure your water is safe to drink.
Now that you know that tap water is safe to drink, you can shop for water treatment devices without being lead astray by over zealous sales people looking only for more money.
If this Rainsoft product uses salt, it is an ion exchange unit designed to soften water. While this will improve lathering and reduce the need for soap, it also adds sodium to your water, making it less healthy to drink.
Other considerations for aethetics are taste. Carbon filters are available that removes the trace amounts of chlorine in your tap water and makes it more palitable but remember: change your filter often as carbon filters can be a place where bacteria can accumulate and grow.
I hope this has answered your question. Please write in again if you need further clarification or have another question.
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Sampling for Bacteria in Your Home
Published November 19, 2008 | Anyone who is on their own water supply at home invariably has – or should, take samples to be tested for bacteria on a regular basis. Taken on a quarterly basis, this kind of check keeps tabs on the effectiveness of a water treatment system and/or the quality of your water supply.
We live in a bacteria world. There is bacteria on us, in us, and all around us. The technique you use for sampling your home has a huge effect on the reliability of the results. You need to sample in such a manner as to exclude outside interferences.
Sample location is one of the most important considerations. It is better to choose an area that’s kept clean of dirt and clutter on a regular basis, such as a kitchen tap. This is a better choice than say a basement laundry room tub that probably has years of accumulated dirt, grime and grease.
The type of tap is important too. The best tap to take a sample from is one that has separate hot/cold faucet handles, rather than one hot/cold faucet handle. The latter uses a mixer valve, and over time those mixer valves can leak hot water into the cold water side, even when not asking for hot water. Hot water tanks and heaters tend to grow bacteria, so could skew your results.
Make sure you run your water for at least two minutes. You want to make sure that your water is fresh, clean water, and not stagnant water that has been sitting in your pipes for some time.
Before you take your sample, remove your aerator. Aerators can collect sediment which can harbor bacteria. Filling your sample bottle, turn your water off. Heat up the tip of your tap with a propane torch, just until you hear a squelching noise when the water is turned back on. This will kill any bacteria that is on the surface of your tap from daily activities that will skew your result.
Finally, make sure you inspect your sample bottle. Bottles should come from your lab or health unit pre sealed and steralized. Give your bottle a squeeze. If air enters or escapes, throw the bottle out and get another one. When you are sampling, take the cap off carefully. Do not touch the inside of the cap, don’t put it down, and make sure that you hold the cap in such a manner (downwards), so nothing can fall into it.
When submitting your sample, use a small cooler and ice pack. Most laboratories prefer it at refridgerator temperature. This is to ensure that if there is any bacteria in the sample, it will not grow while in transit, skewing the results.
Follow these simple steps when taking your bacteria samples, and you can be sure that you’ll have accurate results.
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