What does a water test find?
Safe water is critical to your health. Sometimes a strange color or odor can clue you in to a problem with your home drinking water, but some of the most harmful contaminants can’t be tasted or smelled. A water test can identify contaminants and allow you to take the necessary steps to correct any problems that have developed.
There are a lot of things that can make your home drinking water less than ideal. Common contaminants include:
+Bacteria- there are two types that can be found in your water:
– “nuisance”bacteria are not necessarily harmful to your health, but they can be harmful to your well by releasing iron and sulfur into the water and forming a biofilm on the surfaces of the well.
– disease-causing bacteria are harmful to your health and should be removed from your water supply. These can include e. coli, coliform, fecal coliform, and fecal streptococci, among others.
+ Metals
– Iron can cause yellow or orange stains in your appliances or on your laundry. It can
– Manganese can cause black or purple stains in your appliances or on your laundry. It
– Lead is a neurotoxin that can lead to health problems when ingested.
+ Calcium carbonate (salt) results in hard water.
+ Hydrogen sulfide (sulfur) emits a rotten egg smell.
+ Sand or grit
Any water line that serves 25 people or more is required to comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and is tested regularly. You can get a copy of the water test results by calling your water company and requesting its Consumer Confidence Report. Many of these annual water quality reports are now available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website. If you’re concerned contaminants are getting into the water between the treatment plant and your faucet, contact your water company to see if it will test the water in your house free of charge.
If your supplier doesn’t offer free testing, or if your water comes from a well, there are home water test kits with color strips to identify contaminants. Or, better yet, call Brenneco for a free water test! Once you know what’s in your water, one of our highly skilled plumbers can help you develop a plan of action to eliminate those contaminants and give you and your family the best home drinking water possible!
