What to look for in your water

Keeping your family and friends safe is a top priority. There are a lot of harmful things that can seep into a home from places you might not expect. Case in point, the water that comes in through your pipes. It’s never too late to be vigilant about the water that’s coming in and out of your home and knowing what to look for if there’s something inside of it. Yes, it’s true that most water softener and filtration companies do an excellent job of protecting all of us but it never pays to be too careful. There are all sorts of things that can get into your water that you might not expect. It doesn’t have to be drinking water, either. We use water in all areas of our lives, even in places you might not think. From pools to showers and more, it’s our responsibility to make sure all of our water is safe and pure. Here are a few things to look out for that might in your water and what to do about them if they are.

Starting with recreation
Let’s start with a hypothetical family named the Callahans. The Callahans live in a nice, large home in the Chicago suburbs with a bevy of nice and congenial neighbors. They’ve got two cats, serviceable jobs and one son. It’s a real Americana type of situation and not one where you’d think anything could really go wrong. Water softener and filtration problems are the farthest thing from their minds. But, as we all learn at some point, everything that can go wrong will go wrong eventually. The Callahans have it nice but there’s always something that you need to look out for. Case in point, their pool. Like many families, they have an indoor pool that they need to periodically clean and maintain and, like many families, they are responsible for making sure water systems of the pool are well cared for. That means making sure the chlorine and chemical levels are exactly right so they don’t run the risk of hurting anyone. So what could the problem be? There’s been an issue with the plumbing and now there’s chlorine in their stand alone pump and well water.
Constant vigilance
This problem might not sound serious but it can get to be out of control real fast. This is no simple water softener problem that can be solved with a flick of the wrist. They are going to have to call specialists who can easily perform a thorough chlorine removal on their main water source. Luckily, most companies who perform this job make fine, fast, cheap and efficient work of it. But how can the Callahans know if they’ve got a chlorine problem? First of all, they can stay sharp and always be on alert for any funny smells. Chlorine has a very distinctive smell and is easy to detect if you look. Secondly, they can, again, stay sharp and communicate if any one of them finds that their water suddenly has a funny taste to it. See, the issue with the Callahans is that they have an independent water source, which is good but also poses some issues. Since they are not connected to city water, it is up to them to make sure they are all safe. This independence comes with responsibilities and responsibilities come with knowledge.
Other problems
So what else can they look for if they know that there might be problems? What other problems might there be as well? Well, runoff or dirt for one. If a main break occurs, water can have a slightly different color or taste. Again, no water softener will fix this rather serious problem so it pays to be careful. Main breaks can make a person sick for several days and this is the last thing you want. Being out of commission for several days can put even a hole in a family’s budget so it’s to be avoided, if possible. There’s also residue from older pipes to look out for as well. The Callahans will need to stay sharp to stay safe but it will pay off!