Why Install a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter?

Many of our readers have asked questions about reverse osmosis drinking water filtration systems and want to know more about them. Hence the purpose and reason for this deviation from the normal subject matter in this Water Testing Blog entry.

“Today, people are increasingly concerned about the quality of the water that they consume. Under the best of conditions, it’s possible that water may contain hazardous contaminants, ranging from dissolved organic and inorganic materials, to suspended particles and microorganisms. If you live in a home with older pipes, you may also be exposed to lead in your water. Even the chemicals, like chlorine and fluoride, that many municipalities add to water to kill bacteria or to fight tooth decay may be harmful to humans. If such chemicals are not used, your water could be harboring deadly parasites. If you suspect your water may contain microorganisms, lead, or other contaminants, have your water tested.

To decrease their exposure to possible contaminants, many people drink and cook with bottled water or put distillers or disposable cartridge filters on their water supply lines and faucets. However, bottled water may not be any purer than the water taken from your faucet, distilled water requires boiling and tastes flat, and although charcoal filters improve the taste and remove odors from water, they do little to remove chemical contaminants and microorganisms. If you find your water is contaminated, choose the correct water filtration system to correct the problem.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is generally recognized as the best system for purifying water while retaining good taste. The EPA recommends reverse osmosis filters for microbiologically safe water. Yet, an RO system alone will still allow certain waterborne germs to pass through. To knock out these types of contaminates, most RO systems incorporate some additional type of filtering, usually a replaceable carbon post filter. ( source )”

For those looking to purchase a good quality reverse osmosis drinking water filtration system, please take a look at the reverse osmosis units offered by FilterWater.Com, the Water Filter SuperStore

Although one would normally only find bacteria strains such as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium in surface waters such as rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, etc., they can contaminate a well during a flood.

• Symptoms shown by a person afflicted by Giardia include, but may not be limited to, diarrhea, fatigue, and cramps.
• Symptoms shown by a person afflicted by Cryptosporidium include, but may not be limited to, diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps. Additionally, this type of bacteria resists many common disinfection methods quite well.

note: Individuals with suppressed or compromised immune systems may exhibit worse symptoms for longer periods of time than peole with ‘healthy’ or ‘normal’ immune systems.

The best way to guarantee the safety of your water after a flood means getting the water tested by certified water professionals. Home water test kits for bacteria serve as excellent maintenance tools for checking the bacteria levels of well water, but in the event of an actual ‘incident’ such as a flood, which may have caused the contamination of your drinking water, always seek the advice and assistance of Water Quality Experts in your area.

Locating Certified Drinking Water Laboratories

The United States Environmental Protection Agency suggests you contact the State Certification Officer for Drinking Water Laboratories for your state.

Click here to access a list of contact phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses for State Certification Officer for Drinking Water Laboratories on the United States Environmental Protection Agency web site.

Several membsers of the Water Testing Blog staff have spoken with members of the military, both currently enlisted and recently discharged, and found out that some soldiers do not have access to simple, efficient tools they can use to test potential drinking water while deployed in foregin countries.

In most cases they carry packets of sanitizing/disinfecting tablets which they can use to put into their canteens to kill off bacteria, but what about lead, arsenic, cyanide and other items which can EASILY render an entire unit inoperable and take them away from their assigned duties?

Thankfully US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps medical units deployed around the globe now have the ability to make use of simple water quality test kits which give them the ability to read basic water quality parameters quickly and easily.

Arsenic in Water and Soil: Arsenic Quick^TM

Bacteria in Water: Bacteria Check

Chlorine Residual (Free): SenSafe^TM Free Chlorine Water Check

Chlorine Residual (Total): SenSafe^TM Total Chlorine Water Check

Cyanide in Water: Cyanide ReagentStrip^TM

DPD-1 and DPD-4 (Chlorine Testing): eXact DPD ReagentStrips^TM

Lead in Water: Lead in Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (6 Parameters): Well Water Check

Multi Parameter (11 Parameters): Well Driller Standard Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (13 Parameters): COMPLETE Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (15 Parameters): Water Quality Test Kit

Most of us know how badly we feel after ‘a night on the town’ filled with margaritas, martinis, cocktails and body shots because of dehydration. Now try to imagine how our soldiers must feel after a few MONTHS in the desert wearing full combat gear.

Safe drinking water means safer soldiers.

Thoughts of testing water for specific chemical parameters scares a lot of folks because they remember all the horrible nights they spent cramming for an upcoming Chemistry test in high school and/or college. Trust us when we say, “We feel your pain. Been there and done that.”

You should also trust us, though, when we say you don’t need complicated chemistry sets or highly specialized training to find out if your tap water contains dangerous levels of things like:

Worried about the quality of the drinking water in your home, office or school? Inexpensive, easy-to-use home water test kits are just a click or a phone call (800-861-9712) away!

Now, of course, should the results of your home water testing for key water parameters yield results above expected and/or acceptable limits, you will most certainly want to have a certified water professional perform more advanced tests on your drinking water and at no time should you rely on home water quality test kits if you have serious reason to suspect that your water contains know carcinogens or other life threatening contaminants. Leave that sort of testing up to the Water Testing Professionals in your area.

Many microorganisms and forms of bacteria, including coliform bacteria, occur naturally in our environment and not all forms of bacteria or types of microorganisms cause harm to humans. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Primary Drinking Water Standards states that most harmful types of bacteria and microorganisms such as Legionella, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium, E. Coli, fecal coliform, and enteric viruses come primarily from human and animal waste.

Simple Testing Methods for Bacteria?

Yes. Homeowners wishing to test their water for the potential presence of harmful bacteria can use a number of kits such as the 48 Hour Presence/Absence Bacteria Check test kit which is also available in 2-pack and 6-pack versions.

WaterWorks^TM Bacteria Check

Bacteria Check will not tell you what KIND of coliform bacteria it detected, but it will tell you that the sample water contained at least ONE coliform unit of bacteria in the 100 mL sample and that you may want to get the water professionally evaluated.

We have all read about folks getting sick from bacteria in water or seen the television reports about entire communities contracting strange ailments which eventually trace back to the indroduction of bacteria into the public water supply.

Believe it or not, not all forms of bacteria pose a danger to human life. In fact, the killing off of too much naturally occuring bacteria in the human body will lead to illness. Hence the reason why we now have yogurts and other products which encourage the growth of specific cultures in the human digestive tract.

Fact remains, though, that the introduction of harmful bacteria such as E. Coli, a bacteria strain well known for its ability to harm and even kill people, into potable water is an issue that all people who maintain their own wells or live, perhaps, at the tail end of a public water system’s line ought to check on a regular basis.

How Can People Test for Coliform Bacteria in Water?

A very safe and easy test from Industrial Test Systems, Inc. called Bacteria Check detects the presence of coliform bacteria down to 1 cfu per 100 ml — the EPA limit for coliform bacteria in drinking water — and requires no incubation. The test takes 48 hours and gives results much faster in the case where the sample water contains higher levels of coliform bacteria.

WaterWorks^TM Bacteria Check

Please note that Bacteria Check will not tell you what KIND of coliform bacteria it detected. Instead it will tell you that the sample water contained at least ONE coliform unit of bacteria in the 100 mL sample. 

Looking for just a few of the Bacteria Check tests? You can find 2-pack and 6-pack versions of the Bacteria Check test on a web site called H2OKits.Com.

Tomatoes and salmonella poisoning made the news again and with them came some startling scientific revelations. An article written by Lauran Neergaard (AP Medical Writer) and released/published on June 23, 2008 revealed new information about how tomatoes may possibly trap, carry, and incubate salmonella.

“WASHINGTON - Pick a tomato in the blazing sun and plunge it straight into cold water. If that happened on the way to market, it might be contaminated. Too big of a temperature difference can make a tomato literally suck water inside the fruit through the scar where its stem used to be. If salmonella happens to be lurking on the skin, that’s one way it can penetrate and, if the tomato isn’t eaten right away, have time to multiply.

That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t wash their tomatoes — they should, just probably not in cold water.

But as the Food and Drug Administration investigates the nation’s outbreak of salmonella from tomatoes, the example shows the farm isn’t the only place contamination can occur — and checking things like water quality and temperature control in packing houses and other supply stops is one key to safety.”

This raises the question of what sorts of water quality parameters packing houses should monitor on a regular basis.

Sanitizer and Disinfectant Levels — If the water used to wash, rinse and cleanse the tomatoes contains enough sanitizer, then theoretically no salmonella or other forms of bacterialogical contaminants could survive in the water. No contaminants in the water means no contaminants that a tomato could ’suck up’ if submerged in cold water.

“Water is an automatic first suspect. Was clean water used to irrigate, mix pesticides sprayed on crops, wash down harvest and processing equipment, and wash field workers’ hands?

Then in packing houses, tomatoes often go straight into a dump tank, flumes of chlorinated water for a first wash. To guard against salmonella washed into the water in turn being sucked into the tomatoes, producers often keep wash-water 10 degrees warmer than the incoming crop, says food-safety scientist Keith Schneider of the University of Florida, also part of FDA’s tomato initiative.

Beyond packing houses, the industry points to cases where suppliers were shipped unwashed, warm tomatoes and dunked them in ice-water baths to firm them for further processing.

Another question: How often does the water have to be changed? Dirt, leaves and other sediment reduce the chlorine’s effectiveness.”

Produce handlers and packing houses could reduce the chances of accidentally passing fresh produce through improperly disinfected wash water by implementing test procedures and protocols which make use of simple, inexpensive chlorine test strips such as SenSafe^TM Free Chlorine Water Check, a product approved by the USEPA and by several states for drinking water compliance monitoring.

The manufacturer of this product also has dip-n-read test strips capable of detecting chlorine concentrations as high as 2,000ppm and as low as 0.005ppm.

The majority of people in the United States already know that our country sends a lot of aid to foreign countries in the form of water purifiers and water quality test kits in the wake of heavy rains or other natural disasters which result in massive flooding… and now we must turn our attention to the plight of millions of Americans whose homes, neighborhoods, schools and places of business have fallen victim to the mighty power of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

As flood waters begin to recede back towards the river banks which once held them in place, the returning residents of recently flooded areas face seemingly endless hours of cleaning, millions of dollars in property damages… and uncertainty as to what sort of contaminants the flood waters have left on their lawns, on their roads, and in their wells.

The same millions of gallons of river water which burst through levees also tore through landfills, soaked up runoff/drainage from septic systems, picked up debris from swere systems, scrapped up trash from the streets, and carried the carcasses of countless animals and bugs whose lives it claimed.

Large amounts of that ‘dirty’ water may have found its way down into aquifers through open wells and other means so now the water getting pulled from wells could contain any number of natural and/or manmade chemicals.

Individuals and companies looking to perform multiple tests on numerous water sources may want to consider picking up a water testing kit like the Well Drillers’ Master Kit, as it contains a good number of tests for items which can have and adverse effect on human health:

Well Drillers’ Master Water Test Kit

Each Well Drillers’ Master Water Testing Kit contains:

• 50 Free Chlorine Test Strips
• 50 Ultra Low Total Chlorine Test Strips
• 50 Hydrogen Sulfide Test Strips
• 50 Total Hardness Test Strips
• 50 Nitrate/Nitrite Test Strips
• 50 pH Test Strips
• 24 Manganese Tests
• 50 Water Metals Test Strips
• 10 Arsenic Test Strips
• 50 Iron Tests
• 50 Copper Test Strips
• 2 Lead in Water Tests
• 2 Pesticide Tests
• 1 bottle of Bacteria Test

Full kits, refills, and extra tests for each parameter can be ordered independently and in small quantities through the Industrial Test Systems, Inc. web site.

“Salmonella in Tomatoes”

Article Written by MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer.

ATLANTA - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states, U.S health officials said Tuesday. Lab tests have confirmed 40 illnesses in Texas and New Mexico as the same type of salmonella, right down to the genetic fingerprint.

An investigation by Texas and New Mexico health authorities and the Indian Health Service tied those cases to uncooked, raw, large tomatoes.

At least 17 people in Texas and New Mexico have been hospitalized. None have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another 30 people have become sick with the same Salmonella Saintpaul infection in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana. CDC investigators are looking into whether tomatoes were culprits there, too.

In Texas and New Mexico, raw large tomatoes — including Roma and red round tomatoes — were found to be a common factor in the 40 illnesses. But no farm, distributor or grocery chain has been identified as the main source, said Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist working on the investigation.

“The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation,” she said.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.

Many people recover without treatment. However, severe infection and even death is possible. Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe infections.

In Texas and New Mexico, the patients ranged in age from ages 3 to 82. Of the 40, 38 were interviewed. Most said they ate raw tomatoes from either stores or restaurants before becoming ill between April 23 and May 27.

Another 17 cases are under investigation in New Mexico, CDC officials said.

As a result of this recent outbreak of illnesses related for foodborne contaminants, many restaurants and supermarkets have pulled tomatoes off the shelf and/or stopped serving them until they hear an official OK from Federal, State and Local Health Officials.

So if you thought water testing had very little to do with the handling and processing of fresh produce such as tomatoes, you thought wrong. At each step of the handling process the quality and nature of the water used to sanitize/disinfect, wash, rinse and clean the dirt off of fruits and vegetables needs continuous monitoring.

Monitoring Free Chlorine Levels in (Produce) Wash Water:

Many fruit and vegetable packing houses rely upon the WaterWorks^TM Free Chlorine Check test strips with a detection range of 0-25ppm to let them know if the wash water contains enough free chlorine residual to effectively keep their finished product free of contaminants.

Monitoring Free Chlorine Residuals Used to Wash Equipment:

Healh officials on every level require the operators of fruit and vegetable processing plants to clean off their machinery with a strong disinfectant solution. WaterWorks^TM Free Chlorine (High Range) test strips have a detection range of 0-120ppm, a range well suited for monitoring the free chlorine residual levels in the solutions used to hose down (wash) the equipment in a fruit and vegetable processing plant.

Making Sure No Chlorine Remains on the Fruits and Vegetables:

The presence of chlorine residual on fresh produce leads to premature rotting of the product so workers in fruit and vegetable processing plants check the total chlorine levels in water used in the final rinse stage with products like the WaterWorks^TM Total Chlorine test strips before allowing the produce to go into its final packaging.

We have all read about folks getting sick from bacteria in water or seen the television reports about entire communities contracting strange ailments which eventually trace back to the indroduction of bacteria into the public water supply.

Believe it or not, not all forms of bacteria pose a danger to human life. In fact, the killing off of too much naturally occuring bacteria in the human body will lead to illness. Hence the reason why we now have yogurts and other products which encourage the growth of specific cultures in the human digestive tract.

Fact remains, though, that the introduction of harmful bacteria such as E. Coli, a bacteria strain well known for its ability to harm and even kill people, into potable water is an issue that all people who maintain their own wells or live, perhaps, at the tail end of a public water system’s line ought to check on a regular basis.

How Can People Test for Coliform Bacteria in Water?

A very safe and easy test from Industrial Test Systems, Inc. called Bacteria Check detects the presence of coliform bacteria down to 1 cfu per 100 ml — the EPA limit for coliform bacteria in drinking water — and requires no incubation. The test takes 48 hours and gives results much faster in the case where the sample water contains higher levels of coliform bacteria.

WaterWorks^TM Bacteria Check

Please note that Bacteria Check will not tell you what KIND of coliform bacteria it detected. Instead it will tell you that the sample water contained at least ONE coliform unit of bacteria in the 100 mL sample.

Looking for just a few of the Bacteria Check tests? You can find 2-pack and 6-pack versions of the Bacteria Check test on a web site called H2OKits.Com.