Today we’d like to address an issue often overlooked by folks looking to install a water filtration system: the quality of water coming out of the hot water tap or going into the washing machine, dishwasher, etc.

Think of it this way: You don’t want water that contains potentially harmful contaminants in your drinking water or water that you cook with so… why would you want it in your bath/shower water or water used to clean your dishes?

At this time we’d like to point out that installing the correct whole house water filter system at the point of entry into one’s home — and therefore before the hot water tank — could certainly eliminate the need for a hot water filter.

Having said that, we’d also like to point out that some older hot water heaters may contribute to the contamination of the water they heat as their internal parts get older and begin to break down and/or corrode.

Types of filters for hot water lines?

For industrial applications where any number of potential water-based liquids need filtering companies make all sorts of highly specialized filters but for the average homeowner we have seen two basic types of hot water filters available: Carbon Block Filters remove chlorine, bad tastes, unpleasant odors and organic chemicals while Sediment filter out dissolved solids and other unwanted particulates.

How do I know if I should install a water filter?

You will never know for sure that you need a water filter, or what filter you should choose, until you have your water tested by a certified drinking water testing laboratory in your area or by a qualified mail-in water testing service such as National Testing Labs.

A while back we received a question from a soldier stationed in Iraq who wanted information on NSN’s (National Stock Numbers) for specific Katadyn Personal Water Filtration Products. Apparently he didn’t trust the water in a ridiculously hot and dry combat zone. Weird, right?

We forwarded as much information as we could to the soldier but neglected to post it on the site. Oops.

At the time we could only scrounge up a few NSN’s for Katadyn products:

• NSN for the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter Camping Filter: NSN 4610-01-503-4590
• NSN for the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter Replacement Filters: NSN 4610-01-503-4763
• NSN for the Katadyn Micropur Tablets: NSN 6850-00-985-7166.

In the original inquiry the soldier also asked if we knew the NSN’s for the Katadyn Vario System and where he could potentially purchase a few units along with replacement filters, etc. We did not have any luck locating an NSN for the Vario System but we did find an online retailer (www.waterfilters.net) that carried replacement filters for the Vario System.

Hopefully the answers we provided to the young man a while back and now to the rest of you will do somebody, somewhere, a little bit of good. To all the men and women who have served, currently serve, and will serve in any branch of the United States Military, we thank you for making it possible for us to wake up each day and enjoy a whole host of freedoms not found in many other parts of the world.

WARNING: We provide the following emergency water purification method for use strictly as a general guide and not as a guaranteed method for manufacturing safe, clean drinking water. Every emergency situation has different factors these instructions do not take into account. We make no guarantee that these instructions will work in all situations.

With that out of the way, please remember that the best preparation for an emergency begins long before the event takes or looms on the immediate horizon. Properly planning and preparing by stockpiling clean drinking water, emergency rations, candles, a radio that receives NOAA broadcasts, weather resistant gear, waterproof matches, a tarp, blankets, medical supplies, a supply unscented chlorine bleach, etc. can lessen the immediate sting of a short-term emergency and make surviving longer emergencies more likely.

1. After collecting the water in a container, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom and gently pour the clear water off the top into a second container. Filter this water using a clean piece of cloth or coffee filter to remove any remaining particles.

2. To disinfect by boiling, bring the water to a rolling boil and boil for a least 1 minute. Boil longer at high attitudes or if the water is from a source suspected to have Giardia or other protozoa (5 minutes boiling time is recommended at 10,000 feet above sea level). Boiling will kill disease-causing microorganisms present in water, but will concentrate non-volatile chemical contaminates, so it is unwise to boil for longer than necessary.

3. Let the water cool at least 30 minutes. You can re-oxygenate the water by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. This will improve the taste.

4. To disinfect by chlorination, use ordinary household chlorine bleach. Sodium hypochlorite with a concentration of 5.25% to 6% should be the only active ingredient in the bleach. There should not be any added soap or fragrances. One major bleach manufacturer has also added sodium hydroxide as an active ingredient, which will not pose a health risk for water treatment. Add 16 drops (¼ teaspoon) of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water, or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water. Stir to mix. If you do not have a dropper, use the following (instructions) to measure the correct amount of bleach.

8 drops = 1/8 teaspoon, 16 drops = 1/4 teaspoon and 32 drops = 1/2 teaspoon.

5. Let the water stand 30 minutes to give the chlorine time to kill the microorganisms present. This method is not guaranteed to be effective against certain encysted protozoa.

6. If it smells of chlorine, you can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, add 16 more drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water), stir, let it stand 30 minutes, and smell it again. If it smells of chlorine, you can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water. The only agent used to purify water should be household liquid bleach. Other chemicals, such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite are not recommended.

7. If the chlorine taste in the water is too strong after disinfection, pour it from one clean container to another several times. This will drive some of the chlorine off as a gas, lowering the level of chlorine in the water and improving the taste.

Source: Emergency Water Supplies and Treatment (Fact Sheet No. 6.704 by R. Waskom)

Not to sound like a broken record, but the creators of the instructions above (and ANY instructions you read on the internet or in books/magazines) could not possibly know the exact specifics of every situation where a person or group needs to create safe drinking water. Nor could they know the full list of contaminants one might find in their source water. Use the above instructions as a general guide only.

Most days we entertain questions from folks who want to make sure industrial facilities have not somehow contaminated or otherwise altered the quality of their water. Today’s question, however, deals with testing water before it gets used in a manufacturing operation.

Hi.

We are a detergent manufacturing company here in Malta and we need to make regular checks on water that is used in the manufacturing process especially for nitrates, bacterias, sulfide and others. What you can suggest me ?

Thanks and Regards

Jesmond F.

Thank you, Jesmond, for your inquiry. Given the items you wish to test for, we have a few suggestions:

• SenSafe manufactures a product it calls ‘Water Quality Test Kit‘ and we believe it contains tests for all of the items you mentioned.

• Another kit made by SenSafe called the Well Driller Test Kit includes tests for all of the tests you asked about and will make it possible for you to test quite a few water samples — up to 50 samples in some cases.

• No if you’d rather use a meter to perform testing, naturally we suggest the eXact Micro 7+ Meter which, according to the latest information we’ve read, can test for Ammonia, Bromine, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium (Hexavalent), Copper, Cyanuric Acid, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ozone, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity. Granted the meter cannot test for bacteria, but you can always pick up tests for bacteria separately.

• Speaking of separately, simple dip-n-read test strips exist for the purpose of testing each of the tests you asked about — with the exception, of course, of bacteria which uses a presence/absence ‘mug’ test procedure if you wish to test down to drinking water standards: Bacteria, Sulfides (as hydrogen sulfides) and Nitrates.

Hopefully one or more of the options above will suit your water testing needs.

According to what we recently read on the National Weather Center’s Disaster Supply Kit web page, one should stockpile at LEAST one gallon of safe, potable (i.e. OK for people to drink/consume) per person for every day a group expects to go without access to a safe, clean water supply.

Depending upon the size of your group, that COULD amount to quite a large amount of water. Ironically, having spent a lot of time in areas where blizzards routinely knocked out power, extreme cold caused pipes to freeze, etc., we have very few collective memories of people rushing out to purchase water as part of their pre-storm shopping. Just bread, milk, eggs, candles, batteries… and in many cases (literally) beer.

Moral of the Story?

Don’t forget the water! No matter how you have store or create it through appropriate filtering techniques, you will need safe, clean drinking water.

Very recently we received an email from ‘Julio N.’ requesting immediate assistance with a water quality situation that may have resulted from Hurricane Irene. Although we won’t reveal his email to the general public (to keep the poor guy from getting spammed to death), something in it made us believe he hails from an area in the Caribbean.

If anyone thinks they have a legitimate offer of assistance to make this fellow, please fill out our online form and we will forward your information along to him.

We need and URGENT quote on 150,000 Doulton W9361122
SS-2 Gravity fet filter system.

Many thanks for response ASAP.

Best regards.

Julio N.

As of right now we know of two companies that carry the Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter: Filters Fast (filtersfast.com) and Water Filters (waterfilters.net).

We seriously doubt, though, that either of those companies — or any distribution company has 150,000 units readily available. Therefore, it may make sense for you to contact a representative of the company that manufactures the Doulton SS2: http://www.britishberkefeld.com/.

We won’t pretend to understand everything in the article we just read ( Chemical degradation of polyethylene pipes due to water-based disinfectants )… because we certainly did NOT understand a a good deal of the mathematics used in the various examples given.

We did, however, take away a few valuable points we believe worthy of mentioning on our site:

• Many folks believed polyethylene piping would stand up to the rigors of continuous exposure to low levels of water-based disinfectants (i.e. chlorine, chloramines, peroxides, etc.) but now scientists realize that improperly balanced water quality parameters such as pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc. can aid in allowing those water-based disinfectants to prematurely degrade piping in our homes, offices, schools and pretty much anywhere it exists.

• Scientists and health officials really don’t know EVERYthing about the disinfectants commonly used to treat our water supplies but they (and we) firmly believe that NOT having them in our water supplies certainly cause a lot more problems than having them in our water could ever cause.

  Need an example? Just look at Haiti or any other Third World area that lacks properly sanitized drinking water. Waterborne diseases whose causes (bacteria, pathogens, etc.) would ordinarily get wiped out by the low levels of things like chlorine and chlorine dioxide spread like wildfires and kill thousands of people in no time. Have you already forgotten the cholera epidemic that happened, we believe, less than a year ago?

So… if we can’t use polyethylene for this reason, PVC because of the additives it can leach into water, metal because it costs too much can also leach unwanted contaminants into drinking water, what CAN or SHOULD we use?

Unfortunately no one seems to have an answer to that question just yet so we will all have to wait until science solves that mystery. In the meantime, Water Testing Blog will continue testing its water regularly using the tools available at the time to make sure the contaminants we do know about don’t sneak into our water supply somehow.

Many of you have asked us what to do if (or more like when at this point) a hurricane makes landfall. For questions like that we suggest visiting the National Hurricane Center Web Site’s “Be Prepared” section. It has a ton of useful information on how best to get ready for the arrival of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Doulton SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter Features and Specifications of the Doulton SS2 “Pour-Through” Gravity Fed System: High Grade Stainless Steel Construction Requires No External Plumbing Compact and Easy to Operate Easily Converted to the SS-4, a unit which utilizes 4 ceramic filters instead of 2 Dimensions: Assembled 8″ x 19″ / Stored 8″ x 13.5″ Capacity: 12 GPD (with 2 filters) 24 GPD (with 4 filters) Upper Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons (8 liters) Untreated Water Lower Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons (8 liters) Treated Water With regard to filtering capabilities, the Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter reduces: Chlorine by 99.99% Cysts by 99.99% Organic Chemicals by 99.99% Parasites by 99.99% Particulates by 99.99% Pathogenic Bacteria (i.e. E. Coli, Cholera, Typhoid, etc.) by 99.99% Rust & Sediment by 99.99%

One thing we know for SURE: If the authorities say, “Evacuate!”, don’t sit around like a lump on a log. Secure your property or properties as best you can (the link above has tips for that) and get out of the storm’s way!

Too many people think a storm will ‘blow over’ by the time it reached them and that the government is ‘pulling their leg’ when it comes to flood predictions, wind estimates, etc.

Entire cities have gotten leveled by hurricanes in the past. Don’t think it can’t and/or won’t happen again!

What if my property gets destroyed and I wasn’t there?

At least you’re ALIVE. Don’t think for one minute that you and a few family members or close friends pushing as hard as you can against the door to keep Mother Nature out of your home or business will do anything but put you and all those around you in the middle of something SHE intends to destroy — effectively making you and yours the meat filling in a demolished building sandwich.

Water quality after the hurricane passes?

Municipal Water: As a general rule of thumb, assume the worst when it comes to water quality after an event such as a hurricane until local health officials give the ‘all clear’ sign… and STILL test your water for contaminants such as bacteria, nitrates, and heavy metals such as copper, lead, iron, chromium, etc.

Just because the water filtration plant either survived unscathed or received the necessary repairs does not mean the miles of pipes leading to your faucet didn’t suffer damage.

Well Water: As we have said MANY times in the past and, will probably say several hundred more times in the future, no one but you has responsibility for the quality of the water coming out of your well.

We suggest not using your well until all flood waters have subsided and the area around your wellhead has dried so you can examine it for signs of water breach.

If ANY flood water (which definitely contained innumerable drinking water contaminants) seeped into the wellhead area you will definitely want to perform a thorough well disinfection… and for that we always suggest contacting a local water well servicing company or at the very least getting detailed instructions from your local health department.

Then, even after you get the ‘thumbs up’ sign from a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories which will test your water for a LOT more (noteworthy!) parameters than you can test for on your own, we still suggest performing a battery of simple tests on a regular basis for at least three to six months after the visual aftereffects of a natural disaster have gone away.

Why continue testing? Simple: Whenever flood waters enter an area and then leave, they leave behind a cornucopia of potentially harmful deposits that will, in time, find their way into bodies of surface water. Those bodies of water, at some point, do interact with, and often times directly affect, of surrounding water sources — despite the fact that drinking water aquifers exist deep in the ground.

Minute and not-so-minute cracks in the rock formations encasing the aquifers will eventually allow potentially contaminated water from the surface access to the aquifers.

Moral of the story?

We wish everyone formerly in the path of, currently getting battered by, and about to get thrashed by Hurricane Irene the best of luck during these extremely difficult times.

• Weather.Com — Great site for continuously updated Hurricane news.

• National Hurricane Center — Excellent site created and maintained by the National Weather Service for the purpose of helping people get ready for, and hopefully recover after, a hurricane makes landfall in the United States. On our last visit to this site we noted that they had audio instructions in both English and Spanish.

• Drinking Water Safety During/After Flooding — Similar to what we wrote above, but still might prove useful.

Stay safe, play it smart and always have a plan!

– Water Testing Blog Staff

As strange as that sounds, experts in the Philadelphia area have suggested that patients receiving treatment for thyroid cancer may have something to do with the presence of I-131, a radioactive isotope of Iodine used pretty much exclusively in the treatment of certain types of cancer, in local bodies of surface water.

We couldn’t have made this kind of thing up even if we tried. Scientists have hypothesized that the lack of any industrial applications using that specific isotope leaves few options other than human waste from patients receiving radiation treatment for cancer as the source of contamination.

For more information on this topic, you can read the whole article here.

While no at-home test kits exist to test for the type of iodine mentioned in the above article, some do exist for testing levels of ‘regular’ iodine which occasionally shows up in drinking and industrial water.

As an example, the SenSafe Iodine Test Strips can detect concentrations as low as .02 ppm without the need for messy reagents, advanced testing techniques or expensive meters.

SenSafe’s Iodine Test Strips

Now we come to our favorite part:The Moral of the Story

Whether the result of irresponsible actions on the part of industry, poor enforcement of environmental codes on the part of government bodies, or the unintentional discharge of questionable contaminants such as pharmaceuticals into the water supply by any person who takes medications, the fact remains that our drinking water MAY contain any number of potentially dangerous contaminants at any given time.

Simply put, the folks who designed and built the bulk of our water treatment facilities could not have planned for many of the potential drinking water contaminants we could find in our water supply today because we, as a culture, didn’t even know they existed until recently.

Therefore, Water Testing Blog continues to believe that a thorough testing of one’s water by a certified water testing company such as National Testing Labs, or one suggested by your local health department, followed by the proper installation of the correct home water treatment device(s) will always make sense.

Earlier this Summer we discussed this same topic and we feel quite certain that we will discuss it many more times in the future. Today’s inquiry comes to us from ‘JerseyGuy82560′ who asked,

Sas your answer regarding chlorine not lasting long with the answer being that liquid chlorine without a stablizer was probably the problem. I’m using powdered shock and put 2 pounds in last night at 10 PM. This morning at 6 AM, there was just a trace of chlorine. I don’t want to empty the pool in the middle of the season, so can I use conditioner to make the chlorine last longer? Thank you.

Thank you for your question, JerseyGuy. Many of the powdered (also called granular) shocks on the market have calcium as their base and do not possess stabilizer. For that reason the situation you described where 2 pounds of shock literally vanished overnight makes sense… providing you have not added chlorine stabilizer to the water at some point.

If you have not added any stabilizer (cyanuric acid) this year, then certainly putting some in now should help you maintain a healthy chlorine residual in your pool water.

If, on the other hand, you have added chlorine stabilizer and still cannot maintain a healthy chlorine level, you either have an abundance of contaminants in the water that require your chlorine’s immediate attention or you may not have enough chlorine stabilizer in the water.

Testing for Chlorine Stabilizer?

Several different test methods for cyanuric acid exist: 1) Wet Kits; 2) Test Strips; 3) Water Testing Meters.

• Wet Kits for Stabilizer Testing: Test kits of this nature use a chemical reagent that reacts with chlorine stabilizer to create a white substance in test samples which makes the water turbid and difficult to see through. Analysts then measure chlorine stabilizer levels as a function of turbidity.

• Test Strips for Stabilizer Testing: Test kits of this sort use a small piece of chemically impregnated cloth which changes color in the presence of cyanuric acid. Analysts then measure chlorine stabilizer levels as a function of change in color.

• Meters for Stabilizer Testing: These devices typically use the same principles as wet kits for determining cyanuric acid levels in pool water samples except the meter interprets turbidity levels instead of analysts taking the measurements. Given the very subjective nature of quantifying turbidity in a sample, meters generally tend to give more accurate and repeatable results.

So, JerseyGuy, if you have clear water at this time and still cannot maintain a proper chlorine residual, first we suggest determining if you have any stabilizer already in your water. Then we suggest bringing the level up to around 30 or 40 parts per million.

We hope this helps!