The Truth of Water – Answers

• 15Dec

  Don’t believe them: Door to door water scams

  Uncategorized 1 Comment

  In today’s world, everybody wants to sell you everything.  You, as a consumer, must be a smart and savvy shopper to see through propaganda. You need to understand what you need and what you don’t, and see through salespeople who sometimes lie or bend the truth to make that sale.

  Unfortunately, this is sometimes hard to do. Not everyone is an expert on everything, and that is certainly true of water.  Water is one of those things that some unscrupulous sales people like to manipulate to their advantage, since it is crucial to your health and diet.

  To bolster sales numbers, there are a number of people going door to door.   Some people are simply trying to sell legitimate products to improve the aesthetics of your municipally treated water, like softeners.

  To help you identify what is what, I’ve come up with this simple checklist for you to follow.

  1. Municipally treated water is safe.

  Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you and trying to sell you something you don’t need. Don’t let them in the door.  If there was a problem with the municipally treated water supply, you’d receive either a “boil water order” or a “seek alternate supply order” from your local municipality or health unit via the local media.

  2. Don’t let them take a water sample or “do a test”

  The only people who will ask you to take a water sample or do a water test is your local municipal water department or local health unit.  Anyone else will use the opportunity to try to “trick” you into thinking your water is bad by various scams. They might add water to a vial, have it turn black due to a small amount of reagent in the vial, and claim this proves there is “E.Coli” or “lead” or some other harmful substance or microbe.  This is complete falsehood.

  3. Ask for their I.D.

  If they claim to be from the local municipality or health department, ask for their official identification.  Any member of the local government will have this and will have no problem showing it to you.

  4. Call your Municipality and Ask!

  If after seeing the identification of the people you aren’t convinced it’s for real, call your municipality! Ask them to wait outside while you make the call to verify who it is.

  5. You have the right to say no.

  Unless someone has a warrant or martial law is called, no one has the right to enter your home without your approval. If you have any doubts in your mind, tell them no and close the door. This is your right.

  6. Interested? By Invite Only.

  If you are interested in investing in home water treatment, call the sales company and invite them to your home for an assessment.  If someone drops by and they are reputable, they will have no problem giving you a card, leaving and coming back when it’s convenient for you.  If they try to get overly pushy and try to sell you something now, ask them to leave.  They may claim one time deals or last years model for real cheap right now, but it’s not worth it.  When dealing with home water treatment, you want a reputable company with reputable products.  Make sure you get that.

  Remember, unless your municipality tells you directly, your water is safe. No private company needs to test your water, and any reputable company will do so only at your request. Don’t let a door to door salesman into your home to pressure you into buying something.  Good salespeople make appointments.  Above all, ask for I.D. if they claim their with the municipality. It’s your right to the truth.

  

  Tags: fraud, salesmen, scams

• 10Dec

  FLOW – The Film

  Conservation, Drinking Water, Other 1 Comment

  Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.  It may not feel like it now, to you and me. It may feel like water is cheap, and plentiful, and we’ll never run out. But nothing could be further from the truth.

  Water is the planets most precious resource, and we are running out of fresh water faster than the planet can replenish it.  As such, more and more people with power and authority are tightening their grip on this most precious recourse, at the cost of the people.

  Nobody knows this better than Irina Salina, who produced an award winning documentary on the topic. From the website:

  Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis.

  Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

  Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question “CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?”

  Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. – Source

  I urge all of you who are reading this to watch this movie. Check out Irina’s website, participate in her blog, and take action.

  People like Irina and others who speak out on the water crisis are speaking the truth. We all must take action to protect the resource for ourselves and future generations.  Please check out this movie, and do your part to help.

  

  

  Tags: Conservation, Flow the Film, water

• 08Dec

  Soft Water in Tight Spaces

  softening 3 Comments

  Elizabeth from Pheonix, AZ writes:

  I live in Phoenix, Arizona, home to insanely hard water–according to the 2007 Phoenix CCR report, the lowest detected level of total hardness was 200 ppm/12 grains per gallon, and the highest was 341 ppm/20 grains per gallon. It is my understanding that anything over 7 grains/gallon is considered to be hard, which makes our water supply EXTREMELY hard.

  My dilemma is this: while I would like to get a whole-home filtering or softening system due to soap scum on dishes, gunk in my laundry, scaling in the pipes, shower soap scum, and many other seemingly hard water related misfortunes, I live in a rented condo and therefore can’t install anything like a whole-home system. However, I would like to do something about the water in my shower, as the hardness seems to take a very detrimental toll on my hair and skin.

  What I’m confused about is whether a filter, such as the Aquasana shower filter (http://www.aquasanastore.com/aq-shower-filter.html), would be adequate for improving the effect of the water on my hair/skin, or if I need a specific water *softener*, not a filter. I know very little about chemistry, so while I have tried to read up on water softening/filtering, it’s hard for me to really understand what’s what–especially given all of the misleading pseudoscience out there when it comes to water.

  Thanks so much for reading this, and hopefully you can help me out!

  Hi Elizabeth, thanks for writing in.

  Twenty grains hard is indeed very hard water.  Water hardness is caused by minerals in your water – mostly calcium but also magnesium and other trace minerals.  What happens with these minerals is they react with the soap you use, forming a precipitate you would call scum. Therefore, it takes more soap and a longer time to actually get yourself clean.  The same is true for your laundry and other cleaning activities.

  There are two ways to remove excess hardness from your water. The first is by using reverse osmosis filtration, which removes everything. However, R.O. filtration is very expensive solution.  Most home water treatment companies only sell small systems that treat a few gallons a day for drinking and cooking.  A system that could produce enough water for showering and washing activities would be cost prohibitive for the average home owner.

  The second – and more economical method – is by a chemical process known as “ion exchange”.  In this process, the calcium and other hardness atoms are “grabbed” by a resin media and in place the media gives back a sodium atom.  Sodium atoms do not react with soap and therefore there’s no scum formation and you get a better clean using less soap.

  Because this ion exchange process uses up sodium atoms, they must be replaced. All units us a brine solution to do this.  You fill the machine with softener salt, and when it needs a regeneration it goes into a regeneration cycle, washing the calcium away from the resin and replacing it with sodium. That process ensures that you always have softened water available from the machine.

  The shower filter you mentioned in your question will do a good job at removing chlorine from your shower water (until the carbon in the filter is used up) but it will not remove any hardness and you will still end up with the same problems you had before.

  Unfortunately, to get properly softened water, there is no way of getting around installing a unit in your plumbing.  However, I did find something that may be of use to you.

  There’s a large, well known water treatment company called Kinetico.  They specialize in home treatment, commercial, industrial and municipal treatment.  They manufacture a special softener for apartments, condos and other smaller spaces that is small enough to fit under a sink.

  Here’s a picture of the unit, and dimensions to show it’s size:

  

  The unit does not require electricity, it uses water pressure to power a timer and to power the regeneration cycle.  The unit also uses salt blocks, which you simply drop into the machine when they have been consumed.

  You will need a plumber to install this unit. It will probably be best in a laundry room, as the unit has a drain that discharges during the regenration cycle.  You will need to shut off the water as well, to install this unit.  It is my understanding that all apartments have a water shut off valve to them, as it is not practical to turn off water to the entire building to do repairs only to one apartment.

  If you want to find out more about this unit, it is a Kinetico 2020 compact softener.  You can click here, it will take you to the Kinetico locator website to find a Kinetico dealer closest to you.  They have professionals who will most likely be able to sell and install this unit for you.

  I hope I’ve helped you today. If would like further clarifications or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to write in again.

  

  Tags: apartment softener, shower treatment, softening

• 05Dec

  Air in Your Water Supply

  Drinking Water, aesthetics, health No Comments

  Ais from Sydney, Australia writes:

  I have been living in a building which was built in the 20′s o r 30′s. Our tap water is sometimes very milky/cloudy looking when it is first poured and then settles down to normal appearance when left to sit in a glass for awhile. My partner seems to think that it is just air bubbles, but I am concerned that it may be something else as we live in such an old building.

  Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated.

  Hi Ais, thank you for your question.

  Your partner is correct. This is indeed air.

  There could be many reasons for a milky/cloudy appearance to water, but if it disappears without leaving any sediment than air is the reason.  This milky appearance is caused by extremely tiny air bubbles and lots of them.

  Many people don’t know this but air plays a very important part in the complex dynamics of a water distribution system. It is impossible to keep air out of water mains, and without the appropriate air vent/intake valves placed along that main, the main would constantly break or collapse.

  It is possible that your building is located at a high point along the main where air can collect, introducing air into the apartmant buildings service lines on occasion.

  But more likely the air in your water is due to occasional changes in water pressure due to increased demands else where in the distribution system.

  Water naturally contains 2%-3% air by volume, being held in the water.  The higher the pressure you put in the water, the more air it can hold.  When the pressure is lowered, water can no longer dissolve as much air and the air is released from the water, forming air bubbles.  The same is true for temperature. Changes in temperature can effect how much air water can hold.

  You may want to pay attention to when this is happening. Perhaps it’s first thing in the morning, when most people are taking showers and getting ready for work. Or maybe it’s later in the evening, when some industry ramps up it’s use of water, filling storage tanks for the next day’s processes. It could be seasonal, or the water pipes in the building could run parallel to heating/cooling duct work, changing the temperature.

  Regardless, air in your water is normal and will not cause you any harm.

  I hope I’ve helped answer your question. If you have any other questions or require further clarifications, please don’t hesitate to write in again.

  

  Tags: air, milky water appearance, water

• 04Dec

  Storage of Distilled Water

  Drinking Water, disinfection, microorganisms 4 Comments

  Karen Writes:

  I have a home water distiller. How long is the water stored in glass bottles, safe for drinking?

  Hi Karen, thanks for writing in.

  Distillation of water is an effective way to ensure most chemical and biological contaminants are left behind.  It is an easy and fast way to treat water in your own home for drinking and cooking.

  When purchasing store bought bottled water, a reputable manufacturer will ensure that the water is completely disinfected before bottling.  Most will add a disinfectant like ozone to the process, because it is a powerful disinfectant. The bottle is then sealed and any remaining ozone quickly converts to oxygen shortly after that.  It’s this disinfection/sealing process that allows bottled water to be stored indefinately.

  The process you describe will allow for some interaction with the environment in the glass bottle.  Because there is no trace disinfectant left in your water, it could leave it open for propagation of bacteria.  In this case, you water should be consumed within the same amount of time that food can last in the fridge, within a week or two. Any longer and it could turn stagnant.

  If you would like to produce water that would last longer for storage, you could follow a pasteurization technique as you would with producing home canned goods.  Using heat on a sealed bottle in the proper technique would ensure any bacteria allowed to enter the bottle is killed, and would allow you for longer storage of your water.

  I hope this answered your question. If you would like further clarification or want to ask another question, please do not hesitate to write in again.

  

  Tags: distilled water, home water bottling

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