Recently a gentleman by the name of ‘Albert’ contacted us to see if we had any information on water testing labs in Tucson, AZ.

Though we did not know the names of any specific labs in his area, we did provide him with some useful resources that could certainly help him find a qualified water testing lab in his area.

Good morning, Albert, and thank you for your inquiry regarding water testing labs in Arizona. Hopefully we can help you to locate a suitable home water testing lab in your area.

We first suggest taking a look at the EPA Web Site, specifically the page containing information about local water quality issues in Arizona. This page also contains contact information for the Arizona’s Drinking Water Offices… excellent sources of information on where to turn for certified drinking water analysis! See below for the link:

http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/az.cfm

Directly related to your question, however, the Arizona Department of Health Services Web Site has an online listing of labs in your area on the following page:

http://www.azdhs.gov/lab/license/env.htm

We hope this will at least point you in the right direction!

Best regards,

- Water Testing Blog Staff

For those of you NOT hailing from the Arizona area, the following web page will provide you with links to resources in other US States: http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/

Popular home water test kits?

As always, we suggest calling upon the services of certified water testing professionals if you have doubts about the safety of your water supply. At-home drinking water test kits do, however, give average home and business owners the power to keep an eye on basic drinking water parameters (i.e. heavy metals like lead, free chlorine, total chlorine, pH, hardness, etc.) whose levels, if seen fluctuating dramatically, could indicate the presence of issues requiring further investigation by a certified water testing lab like National Testing Laboratories or local water testing lab.

Childcare Water Kit	Free Chlorine Water Test	Ida’s Iron Check
Arsenic Quick Test Kit	Arsenic Quick Test Mini-Kit	Bacteria Check Test Kit
LEADQuick Paint Home Test Kit	Manganese Check Water Test Kit	Mercury Check Water Test Kit
Total Hardness Test Kit	Water Metals Test Kit	Water Quality Test Kit
Well Drillers Test Kit — Master	Well Drillers Test Kit –Standard	eXact Micro 7+ Pool Test Kit
eXact Micro 7+ Water Test Kit	Ammonia Aquarium Test	Nitrate/Nitrate Test Kit

After our recent posting about commercial reverse osmosis units we expected to receive inquiries about them, but we NEVER expected for so many of you to ask the same question: “What do the replacement RO membranes cost?”

Honestly, we had not pondered that question… until now. Though we checked only one site, it appears as though one may want to do their homework before investing in a commercial reverse osmosis water filter if pinching pennies matters because the RO membranes in the 4,000 gallons per day unit we brought to everyone’s attention uses 4″x40″ filters that cost no less than $290 apiece on the various sites we checked.

We suppose, however, that anyone willing and ready to drop around $5,000 on a high volume water filtration system probably expects to spend a few bucks on the unit’s replacement RO membranes

Thankfully, though, replacement reverse osmosis membrane prices for point-of-use systems for households, small businesses, etc. still cost in the range of $100 or so.

Now that we’ve done a little research, we can definitely say that anyone considering purchasing a reverse osmosis unit should make sure the unit they want to purchase uses a universal size of ro membrane — else face really high replacement costs and/or the risk of not being able to find a replacement at all!

Every once in a while we will get an inquiry from folks interested in water filters for larger, more robust applications… and for those folks we have written today’s post about a reverse osmosis filtration system for commercial applications capable of producing up to 4,000 gallons of highly filtered drinking water a day.

A company we have talked about in the past, Crystal Quest, has come out with a commercial (or whole house) reverse osmosis water filter system that uses (2) two 4″ x 40″ TFC HF1 Membranes, (1) one 4.5″ x 20″ Big White 5 micron sediment filter, (1) one 4.5″ x 20″ Big White 10 micron carbon block filter and, (1) one 4.5″ x 20″ Big White 1 micron sediment filter to effectively filter source water pushed through by a single 1 HP Multistage Goulds Pump and Motor (110/220 Volts AC, 60/50 Hertz).

Neatly packaged on a powder coated (white) aluminum, lightweight frame, this unit also boasts an inline TDS monitoring system so operators can keep a watchful eye on the purity of water produced by the system.

What good does monitoring TDS do?

When operating properly, a reverse osmosis system like the one pictured here, or like smaller, point-of-use versions such as the Crystal Quest Thunder 1000 CP, which combines reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration, will strip water of pretty much any dissolved matter… so if a TDS meter detects dissolved solids in water post-filtration, then something has gone wrong during the filtration process and one or more of the filter elements may need replacing.

If, by chance, your water usage does not require such a high volume of purified water on a daily basis, you may wish to consider the 2,500 gallon commercial reverse osmosis system or, if you just need a system for in-home use, you can find a number of units worth taking a look at on the Filter Water Web Site.

Rather than go into a (boring) chemistry lesson we will address the reason WHY so many of you have asked us this question: You want to know what it is because the pool guys left a bag of suspicious looking white powder at your house and didn’t tell you why.

DE (Diatomaceous Earth) Pool Filters

While many swimming pool filters use just sand as their primary filtration media, a good number of other pool filters use cloth-like filters covered in diatomaceous earth to filter pool water. The DE powder filters out particles far smaller than sand can remove and the cloth-like material over plastic framework stops large particles and debris from getting through.

Proper Use/Addition of Diatomaceous Earth

First and foremost, consult the manual that came with your filter system to make sure you actually HAVE a DE filter. Then, while you have the manual out, read the sections about starting a DE filter, backwashing a DE filter and cleaning a DE filter. Taking a few minutes right then and there to learn the correct way to care for YOUR filter system will save you innumerable headaches — and possibly a huge amount of money — down the road!

Now that you’ve read the manual you know that you should never operate a DE filter without adding the correct amount of DE through the skimmer, you need to replenish DE powder after backwashing and that once or twice a year you may need to put your filter elements (the ‘cloth’ covered things in your filter) through a process called acid washing (i.e. muriatic acid bath) to dislodge embedded microscopic particulates from their cloth covers…. right?!?

And for the record, you may NOT substitute cyanuric acid for muriatic acid, a chemical you will have to get from your local pool store or hardware store. Careful, though, if using product from a hardware store as it may have a much stronger concentration than its counterparts from the pool supply store!

Oh, and before we forget, many pool supply stores offer acid washing services with 48 hour turnaround times… in case you don’t feel like messing around with caustic chemicals in your backyard.

Not everyone has the opportunity or ability to open their swimming pools right when Summer starts to peek around the corner. Travel plans, work, attending school graduation functions, weddings and a host of other events can quickly fill up a family’s free time… and make opening the pool a waste of time — until it gets REALLY hot out and all those other activities come to a screeching halt!

The questions quickly becomes, “Does opening a pool later in the Summer mean adding different pool chemicals?”

In most cases, no, with the exception of chlorine or your primary sanitizer. Warmer water temperatures may have ‘driven off’ winterizing chemicals and allowed the water to turn some shade of nasty. You may find that you need an extra amount of your sanitizing system’s shock treatment to get your water back to a pristine, clean and clear state.

If you normally require pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness balancing chemicals when you open earlier, you will most likely still need them now. Proper use of algaecides and metal removing chemicals goes with out saying… right?!?

Didn’t see what you needed? Take a look at the pool chemicals section of the Pool Center Web Site for additional pool opening and pool maintenance chemicals.

Yesterday we discussed a few testing and removal options for nitrates. Today we’d like to address an issue brought to our attention by several readers: nitrate filters for existing filter housings.

A good number of water filter companies have started using one of several common sizes (20″x2.5″, 10″x2.5″, 20″x4.5″, 10″x4.5″) for their housings in an effort to standardize product lines between manufacturers and give consumers more filtering options once they own a particular type of filter system.

Many people refer to those sizes as ‘big blue’ sizes since at one time, and still to this day, a very popular brand of water filter (Pentek) manufactured its products using blue polypropylene.

Now that you know a bit more about filter housing sizes, and hopefully have figured out the correct size cartridge for the unit you own, below you will find several replacement nitrate filter cartridge options:

Few words capture the attention of people more easily than the word ‘free’. The very idea of getting something (hopefully of worth) in exchange for absolutely nothing appeals to the deepest, most sincere part of the human soul.

Today we’d like to highlight the free nitrate testing program that will run from July 18 to July 20, 2011 in Douglas County, Minnesota.

Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District, free nitrates in water testing will get offered to residents who bring samples of their well or tap water to the County offices in Alexandria.

Why test for nitrates?

For starters, the USEPA has deemed them a health hazard if consumed in too great a quantity — especially for young children and babies.

A condition known as Blue Baby Syndrome, experts believe, may result when nitrates hinder the ability of hemoglobin to carry oxygen in the bloodstream.

Reduced amounts of oxygen in the bloodstream can cause developmental problems and could even result in the death.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will offer a free nitrate water-testing clinic July 18-20 at the County offices located at 900 Robert Street, Suite 102, in Alexandria. Clinic hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The clinic is the latest in a series of water-testing clinics sponsored by MDA. Nitrates are the most common contaminants in Minnesota’s groundwater, and in some areas of the state a significant number of wells have high nitrate levels. With that in mind, experts recommend that homeowners who get their drinking water from wells should test their water regularly.

“Nitrates in drinking water can be a risk to human health,” MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson said. “Public drinking water supplies are monitored for nitrates, but it’s important for homeowners with private wells to check their water and take action if their water has high nitrates levels.” ( source )

For those not lucky enough to live in a place offering free nitrate testing, do not fret because everyone has the option of performing at-home testing for nitrates for less than $0.50 per test AND get dependable results in just a few short minutes. The WaterWorks Nitrate/Nitrite Test Strip gives homeowners and water professionals the ability to quickly determine if a Nitrate or Nitrite problem may exist in a body of water.

Filters to remove nitrates from drinking water?

Several different styles of filter exist to remove nitrates from drinking water. Depending upon the amount of water you want to filter and the amount of nitrates in your source water, pricing for a simple disposable nitrate removal filter start around $120, pricing for higher capacity undersink nitrate filters start around $125, and pricing for more sophisticated whole house nitrate removal systems starts around $1,370.

For the sake of argument we will assume you have installed some sort of filter on your kitchen sink… and it works perfectly fine for the times when you want water that contains no chlorine taste or smell in cooking water. But what if you want a glass of ice cold water straight from that fancy water dispenser on the front of your refrigerator? What then?

Do they make filters for the water passing through refrigerators? As a matter of fact, yes, they do.

Specifically, we know that a company called Crystal Quest makes an inline refrigerator filter that uses 4 stages of filtration including “post 5-micron filtration for bacteria, rust and sediment removal”, “KDF filtration for 99%+ chlorine removal”, and granulated activated carbon filtration for the removal/reduction of a wide range of organic contaminants, chemicals, pesticides, VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), bad taste, and odor.

Conveniently hooking up to pretty much any standard refrigerator water line, the Crystal Quest Refrigerator Filter makes an excellent addition to any household that wants to have clean tasting water dispensed from its refrigerator cold water tap.

As an added bonus, since this filter hooks in on the intake for the whole refrigerator, ice makers also will produce water using filtered water… meaning ice cubes should taste better, too!

Interested in improving the taste of water going into coffee makers, water coolers and/or drinking fountains? This in-line refrigerator water filter can also can be used on water fountains, water coolers and coffee makers.

How long will this filter last? A very good question! With normal water (i.e. typical municipal water) Crystal Quest says the unit will last for up to 6,00 gallons.

As we expected, the number of questions we received recently about swimming pool water has definitely increased. Today’s inquiry comes from a Water Testing Blog reader who hails from Pakistan and he/she asked:

Dear Sir/Madam,
hope you will be fine.i need some information regarding digital chlorine tester for swimming pool water .i read about extech cl200 testing metre.kindly send me the literature and price for it .
thanks
an early response is appreciable
farhan

Now before any of you go and criticize this person’s grammatical skills when typing in English, think more about the person’s commitment to keeping a proper chlorine level in swimming pool and the time it took to submit a question to this site.

WE commend ‘Farhan’ for his/her efforts and for transcending the language barrier to ask a question about proper chlorine testing in pool water.

On the topic of the “Extech 1200C” for chlorine testing in pool water, we took a look at the ExTech web site and did not find a meter in the chlorine/fluoride in water detection called the ‘Extech 1200C’… so we found ourselves a bit puzzled by your question.

We DID, however, see the ExTech CL200 Chlorine Testing Meter which uses Extech (CL203) Exstik ExTab™ Chlorine Reagent Tablets, a undoubtedly a proprietary blend of DPD-1 & DPD-3 reagents, to test for ONLY total chlorine concentrations in water.

The obvious problem we see with this meter for pool water testing, despite its USEPA credentials for total chlorine testing (in waste water), deal with the meter’s INability to test for free chlorine concentrations in water.

Proper Pool Water Testing Requires Free AND Total Chlorine Testing!

That heading said it all. Proper pool water care requires both free AND total chlorine testing.

Why? Quite simply, it does little good for the sanitation of a pool to have an in-range total chlorine reading with a very low, or non-existent, free chlorine reading. When that happens the pool contains mostly, if not entirely, chloramines (aka: combined/used chlorine molecules) which possess very little (limited) oxidizing power… and limited oxidizing power means limited sanitizing capabilities.

Improperly sanitized pool water can EASILY become a home in which various bacteria, parasites and viral ‘issues’ which will flourish, breed and infect swimmers if left unchecked.

Repeated Moral of the Story

Invest in a meter that test for both total chlorine concentrations AND free chlorine concentrations.

We suggest using a meter like the eXact Micro 7+ Pool & Spa Meter because it tests for not only free AND total chlorine, but also for Total Alkalinity, Bromine, Calcium Hardness, Copper, Ozone, Permanganate, and pH… all with the same meter!

Earlier we talked about the Extech’s USEPA credentials so naturally we figure you want to know if the eXact Micro 7+ Meter has credentials, too — and it does! When used with DPD chemistry (and the appropriate procedures, of course) the meter qualifies as an EPA Compliant device for testing free an total chlorine in drinking water.

“But Wait! There’s More!” Screamed the Announcer

As an added bonus, the eXact Micro 7+ Pool Meter also has the ability to test for Ammonia, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium Hexavalent, Cyanuric Acid, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity — when operated in ‘% Transmission’ mode with the appropriate eXact Micro 7+ Reagent Strips.