Water Quality Reports

Water quality reports and well water testing. The only way to determine how to properly treat or filter you water is to either test the water yourself or rely on water quality reports provided by others. Most municipal town or city water supplies have water quality reports from testing they have done. This sort of water quality report is often published on the local water provider or municipality's website. If you are a person who lives on a private well you must normally take steps to determine your own water quality. You have to arrange to have it tested yourself. Remember you can always get free basic well water testing from us.

Water Quality Reports

Follow the link below to find your local water quality report. Simply click on the link to that city or town and read the information. If your city or town is not listed here you can send us a sample of your water and we will test it for you free of charge.

Find Your Local Water Quality Report Here

Water Quality Testing for Private Well Water

If you have an issue with your private well. Such as well water iron, sulfur, hardness, nitrates or other unwanted contaminant. You must know what is in the well water, and how much of it is in the water to correct it properly. There are some important factors to remember when trying to correct a well water problem. It is essential to know the pH of the well water. A pH of 7.5 or higher is optimum for most well water applications, especially when removing iron, sulfur, manganese and other things that can be oxidized.

Generally a pH of 6.9 or less (Acidic) will damage most well water filters over time. pH ranges below 6.5 are very aggressive and can quickly damage water filters, water softeners, plumbing, fixtures etc. The EPA says in their safe water drinking standards not to go below 6.5 pH. Our opinion is it's best to always stay above 7.0 for drinking water. 7.5 is even better. The other essential factor in treating the water from a private water well is determining your flow rate.

Determining your flow rate

You can determine your flow rate by reading item #7 on this page:

Frequently asked questions

The flow rate tells us what SIZE filter you need. Your water quality information tells us what TYPE of filter you need. It is also a good idea on a private well that is existing (A well that is currently in use) to do a visual inspection for organics and iron bacteria. A visual inspection is easy for the home owner to do themselves in a few short moments.

How To: Visual Organics Check

Once you have quality tested the well water for iron, hardness, pH, TDS and nitrates preferably; and you have done a proper flow rate check as described above, you are ready to determine the type and size of water filtration equipment needed for your well. While we carry every type of water softener and water filter imaginable, our most popular private well water filter is the Terminox™ ISM Filter. It removes iron, sulfur, manganese, dirt, sand, turbidity, bad tastes and odors and even strong chemicals such as chlorine from your well water. There are no filters to replace and no salt or chemicals to add. It is virtually maintenance free. Just set it and forget it.

A Few Things To Remember

• Never use a water softener to remove iron, sulfur or manganese.
• And never drink the water from a water softener.
• Never use the same tank to remove iron and other contaminants AND raise pH. Always raise pH (If necessary) before it goes into any filtering tank or system.

The most common way is an inexpensive chemical feeder followed by a Terminox™ iron filter. And should you need to use the chemical feeder to disinfect with chlorine. The Terminox™ will also remove the chlorine from the water. The chemical feeder can raise pH. And add chlorine for disinfection.

Terminox™ ISM Iron Filters

NOTE: You should always be sure that any private well has been tested for harmful bacteria, such as e-coli and coliform. If you are not sure how to get these tests done we can help you test it.

Common City Water Issues

The most common issues we see on city water are hardness, lead, chlorine or chloramines and nitrates. Ideal water on city water supplies would have a pH of 7.2 to 7.8, chlorine levels of less that 0.5 with no nitrates or lead. Hardness is simple calcium and limestone which is not a health hazard at all.

But excessive amounts of hardness can cause problems with hot water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, plumbing and fixtures. Glass shower doors can be very difficult to keep clean with hard water as well. If you have water that is higher than either 7 GPG (Grains per gallon) or 120 PPM (Parts per million), then a water softener should be strongly considered. If your hardness level is above 10 GPG or 170 PPM, a water softener is considered essential.

IMPORTANT NOTE

When adding a water softener to your home water supply. Please remember that you should not drink the water from ANY water softener. Because a water softener trades the hardness in your water. With the sodium that comes from the salt. The process is commonly called "Ionic Exchange".

You are simply trading hardness ions for sodium ions. For example: If you have 170 hardness to begin with, it is quite common to see 170 sodium instead after it has gone through the softener. The EPA safe drinking water standard sets the maximum for sodium at 30 PPM. The American Heart Association says not to go over 20 PPM. Our recommendation is not to go over 20 PPM. Especially if you have high blood pressure or heart issues.

Be very wary of any company who says it is OK to drink the water from any water softener. It is usually your first indication you are dealing with people who either don't know, or don't care what they are doing. The best thing to do if you have to use a water softener is to either drink bottled water, or add a reverse osmosis filter in the kitchen for your drinking water (Around $200). It removes unwanted salt and sodium as well as other unwanted contaminants such as nitrates, TDS, chemicals, heavy metals and much more.

Questions? Call 800-684-0979 for assistance.

E-mail: support@waterfiltersofamerica.com

Please don't hesitate to contact one of our friendly expert techs for advice. Don't worry, our techs will never ask you to buy anything. They just answer your questions and give you free and helpful advice. There are three ways to reach us. DON'T DELAY. Talk to an expert Tech today!

Water Quality Reports and Well Water Testing