Common Water Issues and Solutions, Part 1 - Wisler Plumbing & Air

We’ve been discussing home water treatment systems in the past few blog posts. This time, let’s talk about some of the different problems a typical household’s water might have and which types of solutions are available. Water issues often become a nuisance that homeowners just wish would go away. Once we have an understanding of what is causing those nuisances, we can then figure out exactly how to deal with them. So lets take a look at what could be some common water issues and solutions to make it better.

First of all, there could be clearly visible indicators that something’s contaminating the water supply. You may see things floating in the water, or there may be sediment that you can feel settling to the bottom of the tub during bathing. If that’s the case, your household probably needs a water filtration system. Filtration simply means using a membrane or material barrier to remove particulate contaminants from the water.

On the other hand, what if you can’t actually see or feel contaminants in the water but you notice telltale signs? There may be visible stains in the dishwasher, refrigerator, toilet, or other fixtures/appliances. In this case, there are likely contaminants (such as iron) dissolved in the water. Since the contaminants are completely dissolved, they aren’t visible to the naked eye but they still leave their mark behind on household fixtures. To fix this issue, your home can use a water treatment system.

Finally, some homes have water with a noticeable odor. Typically those smells mean that there’s some form of bacteria present. There are two kinds of bacteria you may encounter in your water supply: harmful bacteria and nuisance bacteria. Of course, harmful bacteria can be detrimental to your health if ingested. Most commonly, homes with harmful bacteria will have either coliform or E. coli. (E. coli comes from the breakdown of decaying animal flesh, so hopefully it isn’t in your water.)

If your home’s water supply does have bacteria, the best solution is to render it ineffective with UV lights. UV (ultraviolet) light breaks down bacteria’s cell wall, rendering it unable to reproduce. Since the bacteria can no longer multiply, they are no longer dangerous because they cannot spread inside the body if ingested.

Of course, more problematic water systems may have a combination of several of these common issues. What if you suspect that there might be bacteria in your water supply? How would you learn exactly what kind of bacteria your water has? In part two of this blog post, we’ll discuss that along with some other common issues your water supply might be experiencing.

In the meantime, give us a call at (540) 483-9382 if you have any questions about how we can solve any water issues in your home.