Water Quality: Testing, Filters for, and Purification of Drinking, Ground and Pool Water » Iron

Testing for Nitrates in Drinking Water

Water Testing Blog — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:27:49 +0000

Blue baby syndrome. A very good reason to test the water coming up from your well for nitrates.

Blue baby syndrome can also be caused by Methemoglobinemia. It is believed to be caused by high nitrate contamination in ground water resulting in decreased oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin in babies leading to death. The groundwater is thought to be contaminated by leaching of nitrate generated from fertilizer used in agricultural lands and waste dumps [4]. It may also be related to some pesticides (DDT, PCBs etc), which cause ecotoxicological problems in the food chains of living organisms, increasing BOD, which kills aquatic animals. ( source )

So… elevated nitrate levels in drinking water can lead to ‘methemoglobinemia’, but what does that word MEAN?

source: Wikipedia User

The disorder methemoglobinemia typically means the blood contains elevated levels of methemoglobin (metHb), a form of hemoglobin that really and truly likes to attach itself to oxygen molecules — and if present in too great a quantity it will latch onto enough oxygen molecules to cause living tissue to die as a result of oxygen-deprivation.

Where does the ‘blue’ part of blue baby syndrome come from?

Without proper oxygenation of red blood cells a condition known as cyanosis occurs. Note: The term has nothing to do with cyanide, though cyanide poisoning can definitely result in skin turning a shade of blue due to oxygen deprivation.

But, since the topic of cyanide has come up, if you believe you may have someone out to get you, maybe you should consider testing your water for cyanide. It will let you test cyanide levels from 0.05ppm up to 200ppm.

Getting back to the topic of nitrates, though, health officials and water quality professionals agree that owners of wells should, at the very least, periodically test their well water for the presence of nitrates & nitrites, coliform bacteria, lead, copper, total iron, total hardness, pH and commonly used pesticides/herbicides.

Moral of the story?

In the end, if you have a private well, the responsibility for making sure the quality of the water coming out of that well falls squarely on… your shoulders. Therefore, test your well water at least once a year. It’s your well, your water, and ultimately your LIFE.

Arsenic Low Range Test Kit

Pesticide Test Kit

Heavy Metals Test Kit

City Employee Gets Probation for Falsifying Water Test Results

Water Testing Blog — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:03:44 +0000

We often get asked if people who have city/town water ought to test their drinking water from time to time. If you live in the city of Edgewood, Iowa, you no longer have to ask that question.

While the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says they do not believe any dangerous water safety issues avoided detection, the fact that a city employee responsible for testing the city’s public drinking water supply on a regular basis purchased only enough supplies for 100 tests — despite claiming to have performed 3,889 water tests between January 2006 and July 2009 — would make just about anyone curious.

A former Edgewood city employee has been sentenced to probation after he admitted that he failed to test the town’s water supply and submitted false reports to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

…

Harris, 43, pleaded guilty in April to one count of making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the plea agreement, Harris admitted he sent false monthly reports to the DNR from February 2008 and July 2009. He falsely claimed testing for fluoride, chlorine and manganese. DNR tests showed less chlorine in the water than the 1.5 milligrams per liter required by state law to kill bacteria.

The review found lower-than-acceptable levels of fluoride, which reduces tooth decay, and manganese oxide, which helps remove cancer-causing radium from the water. Residents in the eastern Iowa town were not exposed to any short- or long-term health risks, a DNR officer said.

The DNR originally alleged that Harris claimed to have done 3,889 water tests between January 2006 and July 2009, but bought enough material for only 100 tests. Harris resigned in August 2009.

The investigation began after some residents complained about declining water quality. ( source )

OK, now having read that, does the statement, “DNR tests showed less chlorine in the water than the 1.5 milligrams per liter required by state law to kill bacteria.” make you feel… safe?

How about “The investigation began after some residents complained about declining water quality.” Does that give you any sense of security?

Can individuals test their city/town/tap water?

Of course they can! While only certified water testing laboratories can give the absolute last word on the safety and potability of drinking water, at-home drinking water test kits from companies like SenSafe and WaterSafe allow the average homeowner to test critical water parameters on their own, whenever they want, and for little money.

What water parameters should homeowners test?

Given the number of possible drinking water contaminants, the average homeowner would find it difficult (and expensive!) to test for them all… but as a general rule, if typically makes sense for people on city/town/tap water to test for water parameters such as:

free chlorine residual
total chlorine residual
lead in water
copper in water
iron in water
total hardness
bacteria in water
hydrogen sulfide

Should homeowners with city water test for other things? That all depends on where their water company gets its water. As an example, if the water comes from a well, other potentially harmful water contaminants such as pesticides and arsenic could find their way into the water supply and an ill-equipped water treatment facility may not have the proper technology installed to remove them.

As always, though, if you have serious reason to suspect that your tap water has ‘issues’, seek advice from certified water quality experts. Home water test kits serve as great field tests, but the final word regarding a water supply’s potability should come from a certified water testing laboratory.

Question: Swimming Pool Water Not Holding Chlorine Levels?

Water Testing Blog — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:38:34 +0000

Ah, yes… a question about a swimming pool not holding its chlorine residual came in recently and we must say that it took longer this year than usual.

Hi – We just got a pool put in (a 24′ round) and it does not hold any chlorine. We pour a gallon in at a time and test the next day and we have almost no chlorine showing up and also our water stays cloudy. What are we doing wrong? Thanks. Annie.

Well, Annie, we will start with the type of chlorine you most likely have: liquid. Sodium hypochlorite works very well as a chlorinating agent, disperses into pool water seamlessly, and has a relatively low cost (usually around $2 per gallon if bought in 5 gallon jugs).

Aside from liquid chlorine’s tendency to bleach any clothing it touches and weigh a lot in those bulky 5 gallon containers, liquid chlorine also lacks any kind of stabilizing compound in its chemical makeup. Without a stabilizer such as cyanuric acid, the chlorine added to a pool via liquid chlorine can readily exit the pool for a number of reasons (i.e direct sunlight, warm water temperatures, etc.)

If you have not already added pool stabilizer (cyanuric acid), you may want to do so pretty soon. We do, of course, suggest you test your pool for cyanuric acid before adding any chemicals… in case some other, more insidious reason exists for your pool not holding a chlorine level.

Unsure as to how you can test pool water for cyanuric acid? You can take water to your local pool store, use a liquid test kit or use something like the 6 Way Pool Check test strip.

Other Chlorine Eaters

By any chance do you have a fair amount of leaves, tree branches, dead animals, dead neighbors, or other debris in the water? If so, the chlorine will act like a human and choose the easiest (biggest) target to attack rather than go after smaller, harder to attack targets. Get the debris out right away.

Don’t Skimp on the Filtration/Circulation

The cloudy water in your pool may come from poor water circulation and/or filtration as well as the low chlorine level you initially inquired about. Until you clear up the water, try running the filter 24 hours a day if you do not already do that.

If after running the filter a full day you do not see an increase in pump pressure on the gauge attached to the filter and/or the strength of the jets pushing water back into the pool has not diminished, you may have filter problems. Now on the other hand, if you DO see increased pressure and diminished return jet strength, backwash the filter and it will begin collecting more junk from your water at a faster rate.

Simplified List of Steps for Annie to Take

Granted we cannot possibly address Annie’s problems completely since we do not know all of the factors affecting her water condition, but the we have personally used slight variations of this advice to help quite a few people clear up their pool water.

Remove large debris from pool, if present… especially any dead bodies.
Test stabilizer level and adjust if needed by adding cyanuric acid per the instructions given by the chemical’s manufacturer.
Test other critical water parameters such as pH, Alkalinity, Copper, Iron, Hardness, etc. and make corrections as needed — per instruction(s), of course.
Add more liquid chlorine… roughly 1 gallon per 10,000 gallons of pool water.
Run filter 24 hours a day until problem clears up.
Backwash filter when necessary to improve filtration and water circulation.

Never hesitate to go in and pester your local pool store employees for pointers, free water testing and advice. They relish the opportunity to snicker behind your back because they cannot believe you cannot figure out what pool chemicals you need… but try not to let that deter you because they know a lot about how to properly maintain pools and generally give good advice!

Cyanuric Acid Test Kit

6 Way Test Strip w/ Cyanuric Acid Test

Filter Media for Water Softener

Water Testing Blog — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:15:10 +0000

Certified to NSF/ANSI 61 standard, this water softener resin media works for both residential and commercial applications.

How Does the Softener Media Work?

This particular Water Softener Media operates using a widely used cation exchange mechanism like many other resins on the market.

Advantage of This Softener Media?

As a convenience, water softener owners may regenerate this media with either potassium chloride or sodium chloride salt, though use of potassium chloride for the task drastically reduces the amount of sodium content discharged in the softeners’ backwash streams. This matters a lot in states like California which have tried to outlaw water softeners because of their sodium discharges into the environment.

If using sodium chloride to perform media regeneration, backwash must get discharged into a sewer system.

One other perk of this type of media: It also removes up to 4 ppm of iron from the water it treats (if the water contains iron.

Crystal Quest Replacement Pitcher Filter (CQE-RC)

Water Testing Blog — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:15:27 +0000

Crystal Quest pitcher replacement filter

Manufacturer: Crystal Quest
Model Number: CQE-RC

4 stages of convenient filtration with a 2,000 gallon capacity.

In stages 1 and 2 KDF55 and KDF85 media reduce iron, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, other dissolved metals, and harmful bacteria.

Stage 3 features an ion exchange resin that reduces heavy metals (such as lead, copper, aluminum) and lowers water hardness.

The fourth and final stage, a bed of granulated activated carbon (GAC) reduces chlorine by 99.9%, gets rid of bad tastes and odors, reduces pesticides and chemicals that are linked to cancer risks (i.e. benzene, THM’s, toxaphene).

How do you know if you need a water filter?

The answer, quite simply, involves testing your water. You can either test it yourself using a home water testing kit like the Water Quality Test Kit from SenSafe… or you can have a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs analyze your water.

In cases where homeowners suspect contamination, we always suggest using a certified water testing lab. Better to play it safe than sorry because… It’s your water, your health… and your LIFE!

Big Blue Filter for Iron Reduction (Pentek)

Water Testing Blog — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:34:53 +0000

Got a problem w/ iron in your water? If so, you have joined the millions of other folks who have the same problem.

Iron occurs naturally in the environment and as water passes across it in rock formations small amounts of iron dissolve into the water. Over time the amount of iron dissolved into the water can grow to a large amount and in too great a quantity iron in water can result in stains on fixtures, metallic taste, the formation of precipitates which can clog plumbing and filters, etc.

You can find additional information on iron in drinking water on an earlier blog posting… here

For those reasons, and more, most people prefer to filter iron out of their water before using it in their homes, schools and places of business. The Pentek RFFE20-BB Iron Reduction Filter helps people accomplish that goal.

Configured as a 20″x5″ radial flow ‘Big Blue” cartridge, the Pentek RFFE20-BB reduces iron in drinking water and has a genuine Pentek part number of 155263-03. This product effectively removes up to 3 ppm of dissolved iron from water and in doing so reduces the metallic taste caused by iron and reduces orange/brown staining found on sinks, tubs, toilets and other plumbing fixtures.

Size of Filter: 20″ x 5″, w/ actual measurements of 19 3/4″ x 4 7/8″

Optimal pre-filter water conditions:

pH: greater than 7.0 (test for pH)
Silica: less than 100 ppm
Manganese: less than 1 ppm (test for manganese)
Iron: less than 3 ppm (test for total iron)
Iron Bacteria: None
Hydrogen Sulfide: None (test for hydrogen sulfide)

Using the Pentek RFFE20-BB Iron Reduction Filter to treat water outside of specified limits may result in shortened filter life.

Water Filter to Remove Tannins

Water Testing Blog — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:03:33 +0000

The presence of tannins in drinking water can give water a “tangy or tart aftertaste. Some people have also attributed a musty or earthy odor in their water to tannins.” Also, “They normally have a faint yellow to tea-like color, and can cause yellow staining on fabrics, fixtures, china and laundry.” ( source )

For the reasons mentioned above, and possibly a wide range of others, most people would prefer their drinking water not contain tannins. If you find yourself in that category of people, then the whole house water filter for tannin removal ought to pique your interest.

In the first stage water travels through a 20″ sediment cartridge designed to remove sediment, silt, sand and dirt… an action which helps to extend the life of water softeners/filters and helps to prevent damage to control valves and pumps.

In the second stage, water travels through a 1.5 (or 2.0) cubic foot Tannin reducing mineral tank controlled by an Automatic Microprocessor Control valve which regulates the amount of time water spends in the tannin reducing tank. The longer time the water spends in contact with the special ion exchange media, the more effectively the media works to remove naturally occurring organics and organo-metallic complexes

In the third and final stage of filtration water travels through a 20″ solid carbon cartridge designed to remove volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents.

Maximum Removal Capacities: 5ppm Tannins and 40 grains hardness
Maximum Iron and Manganese Levels: Combined Manganese and Iron levels must be below 0.2ppm (test for total iron, test for manganese)
Filter Life: 1.5 cu.ft – 5-7 years, 2 cu.ft – 7-8 years
Conforms to paragraph 21CFR173.25 of the Food Additives Regulations of the F.D.A.
Solid 316-Stainless Steel Tank
Stainless Steel Bypass Valve
10 Year Warranty on Resin Tank and Brine Tank Assembly
5 Year Warranty on All Computer Monitored Control Valves

For more information on this tannin removal system, click here.

Water Pitcher Filter to Remove Chlorine and Heavy Metals

Water Testing Blog — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:03:16 +0000

Crystal Quest Pitcher Water Filter
Manufacturer: Crystal Quest
Model Number: Pitcher-Ultimate

Large capacity water pitcher w/ built-in filter provides clean, great-tasting water conveniently chilled and stored in your refrigerator.

Capable of removing more than 99% chlorine from more than 2,000 gallons of water, this large 10-cup (2.5 quarts) pitcher features a slim, space-saving shape that fits neatly in pretty much any refrigerator. Filters have a life expectancy of between 6 and 12 months depending upon water usage rate.

The Crystal Quest Pitcher Water Filter makes use of a high quality 4 filter technology to produce drinking water of superior quality:

Stages 1 & 2 — Two types of specialized filtration media (KDF55 and KDF85) greatly reduce and/or eliminate dissolved metals such as iron, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium. Bacteria also gets filtered out at this stage.
Stage 3 — Ion exchange resin reduces heavy metals such as lead, copper, and aluminum. Water hardness levels get drastically reduced in this stage as well.
Stage 4 — Granulated activated carbon (GAC) reduces chlorine (99.9%), removes bad taste(s) and odor(s), and reduces pesticides and chemicals linked to increased cancer risks (i.e. benzene, TTHMs and toxaphene).

Need another great reason to consider the Crystal Quest Pitcher Water Filter? Consumer Digest rated it as a best buy for 2 years in a row (2006, 2007).

Your Cost at FilterWater.Com: Around $25

Drinking Water Quality Test Kit on Sale

Water Testing Blog — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:03:50 +0000

Water Quality Test Kit for 15 Parameters
Regularly $40, Now Just $32.00

Everyone loves a bargain, right? Well if you have waited to purchase a test kit for drinking water because you could never find one on sale, well, you no longer have a reason to wait.

FilterWater.Com recently dropped the price of Sensafe’s most popular test kit for drinking water quality, an easy-to-use test kit that tests for 15 critical water quality contaminants and does not require users to mix powders, crush tablets, or have a degree in chemistry to figure out the directions.

Considered by some the most complete do-it-yourself Water Quality Test Kit on the market, this water test kit tests up to 2 water sources for 15 critical water quality parameters and allows you to quickly and easily test your drinking water and/or check to see if your water filter does a good job.

In this particular drinking water test kit you will find the only available USEPA Approved Free Chlorine Test Strip as well as color-coded, visual, on the spot tests for 13 other parameters. The bacteria test kit, however, requires 48 hours, just as it does in kits manufactured by all other companies.

Need to test more often?

If so, then should definitely look at contents of the Well Driller Standard and Master test kits which contain a minimum of 25 tests for most parameters and come packed in a convenient, hard plastic carrying cases

Well Driller Master

Well Driller Standard

In total, the Water Quality Test Kit contains the following:

Included with the kit you will receive a chart so that you can compare your results to USEPA recommended levels is included.

And remember…

Despite the great price on this home drinking water test kit, no at-home testing can ever take the place of having a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs analyze your drinking water if you have serious reason to suspect contamination.

Water Filter to Remove VOC’s, Oils and Hydrocarbons

Water Testing Blog — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:08:07 +0000

With all the talk about oil washing up on the shores as a result of the BP oil platform disaster, some people have started to ask a very smart question:

Could some of that oil somehow end up in my well water if I live close to the shore?

At this point no one can answer that question definitively, but rest assured plenty of people would prefer to err on the side of caution and have a water filter system capable of removing any trace elements of the BP disaster that may find their way into their water supply.

The Crystal Quest Mega Triple Undersink Water Filter, known by manufacturer’s part number CQE-US-00309 and good for proper filtering of up to 10,000 gallons of drinking water, uses a combination of three separate filter chambers:

Water flows through a sediment filter cartridge that removes sediment, silt, sand and dirt. This helps to extend the life of water softener and water filters and prevent damage to control valves and/or pumps.
In the second filter chamber, water flows through pre one – micron filter pads which remove suspended particles such as silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved matter.

It then flows through a bed of media made of a special high-purity alloy blend of two dissimilar metals — copper and zinc (Eagle Redox Alloy® 6500 and Eagle Redox Alloy® 9500) — that works using electro-chemical and spontaneous-oxidation-reduction (REDOX) principles. At this stage chlorine gets instantaneously and almost inexhaustibly oxidized iron and hydrogen sulfide get oxidized into insoluble matter which attaches to the filter media, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, and other dissolved metals also get removed by the electrochemical process.

In the next stage, water flows through the ion exchange resin, further reducing heavy metals such as lead, copper, aluminum, and water hardness.

Next, water passes through granulated activated carbon (GAC), a compound universally recognized and widely used as an effective adsorbent for a wide variety of organic contaminants such as chlorine (99.9%), chemicals linked to cancer such as THM’s and benzine, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), PCB’s, MTBE’s and hundreds of other chemical contaminants potentially found in drinking water. It also works to greatly reduce and/or eliminate bad taste and odors in drinking water.

The last section of this filter chamber contains another one-micron filtration pad for further reduction of undesirable particles.
In the third filtration chamber water travel through a solid carbon cartridge designed to remove remaining volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents.

Need replacement cartridges for the Crystal Quest Mega Triple Undersink Water Filter?

10-Inch Ultrafiltration Filter Cartridge

Carbon Block Filter

6 Stage Filter Cartridge