Article by Matt Chandler of PlumbPRO Services

A friend of mine once said “Water wants to be part of everything it touches”. I thought that was
a fantastic way to explain how water picks up bits and pieces of everything it comes in contact
with. It’s a solvent and things dissolve into it and travel wherever it flows.

For things such as minerals, high calcium and magnesium it’s an annoyance. Hard water can
really wreak havoc on your fixtures, scum up your shower, and dry out your hair and skin.
Hardness is absolutely an issue for many, but what about everything else our water comes in
contact with? Oils, plastics, metals, garbage, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals? They are
dissolved into your water just like everything else. These things get into our waterways, storm
drains, oceans, reservoirs, and also your drinking water.

Our water treatment plants typically treat our drinking water by way of extensive particulate
filtration on a humongous scale, then either add chlorine, or chloramine, which is a mixture of
chlorine and ammonia. These chemicals are great for cleaning, and killing organic matter such
as bacteria and viruses, which is important, as the water in your piping has a long way to travel,
and will need to be kept sanitary. Whereas these chemicals do kill organic matter, a new
chemical byproduct is created with the mixture of these chemicals meeting the organic matter,
Trihalomethanes. Google it. It’s scary stuff and it will in fact show up in your water reports. It
may be deemed a safe level, but when you read about it, the less of this byproduct the better.

Although our water treatment plants and municipalities do a phenomenal job of getting large
amounts of biologically safe potable water to your door, as the water crosses the threshold of
your home, some of the responsibility for the finishing touches of your drinking water quality
will ultimately be on the homeowner. This is where I’d like to introduce whole home carbon
filtration.

The first line of defense for municipal water in your home is a Catalytic Carbon filter. Catalytic
Carbon breaks up chloramine molecules, and absorbs chemicals such as chlorine like a sponge.
This method of filtration will greatly reduce chemical levels and also helps to reduce odor.
Carbon tanks are a great addition to homes with water softeners, as removing the chlorine adds
to the life of your softener resin and improves the taste of your drinking water.

A second option, if you’re just worried about the water you drink, could be a point of use
Reverse Osmosis system. RO water is filtered so finely that the only thing that passes through
the membrane is hydrogen and oxygen. This is a great option if you’re dealing with things such
as heavy metals, or just want a filtration system for one sink.

See what’s in your water here.

PlumbPRO Services is a Plumbing Service, Water Filtration, Drain Cleaning, and HVAC service
company in Ambler PA. We believe good health starts at home with the water you drink, the air
that you breathe, and sanitary drainage. Contact us to discuss the best plan of action for your
home’s water needs today.

PlumbPRO Services
info@plumbproservices.com
484-222-0689

For more information:

CDC – How Water Treatment Plants Make Water Safe
NIH – Tap Water and Trihalomethanes: Flow of Concerns Continues
USGS – Pharmaceuticals in Water
PBS – Scientists find about a quarter million invisible microplastic particles in a liter of bottled water