For the past few years Sylvan lugged 5 gallon bottles of water around and paid a ton of money each week just so that his customers didn’t have to eat food cooked in chlorine and drink water that he currently refers to as ‘pool water’.

Sylvan had his water tested by a local lab and also tested it himself (using SenSafe Free Chlorine & SenSafe Total Chlorine) and the results always showed that his water contained far less free and total chlorine than the MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) set by the USEPA — but that certainly did nothing about the stench of chlorine in his water.

In a case like this where a whole KITCHEN in a restaurant needs better quality water we believe devices like inline filters for ice makers and undersink water filters will not get the job done.

For applications where multiple unwanted water contaminants need to get removed on a larger scale (i.e. for a restaurant’s kitchen), commercial water filters stand out as ideal filtration options.

Other places where commercial water filters make the most sense include large private residences (over 4000 sq.feet), businesses, manufacturing facilities, apartment buildings, retail establishments, and schools.

Granular Activated Carbon is Good for VOC’s & Chlorine

UV Water Sterilizer is Good for Well Water

Reverse Osmosis System is Good for Well & Tap Water

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/04/27/commercial-water-filters-one-application/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2012/02/20/arsenic-levels-found-in-well-water-deemed-unsafe/ http://watertestingblog.com/2012/02/20/arsenic-levels-found-in-well-water-deemed-unsafe/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:03:01 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=5283 Yesterday we touched on water quality issues in California involving unsafe levels of Chromium-6, a known carcinogenic compound, in well water. Today we sadly report that the same region of the country, Coachella Valley, California, also has troubles with higher than desired concentrations of arsenic in well water.

In addition to high levels of chromium-6 found across the Coachella Valley, residents in east valley also cope with high well-water concentrations of another naturally occurring element: arsenic.

Thousands of residents live in areas that contain hazardous levels of arsenic in their groundwater, a problem that would cost millions to remedy.

In January 2010, Riverside County environmental health officials knew of wells at 19 mobile home and RV parks that had tested positive for dangerous levels of arsenic ranging from 12 to 91 parts per billion, a Desert Sun probe found.

Studies have linked arsenic, a naturally occurring tasteless and odorless element, to risks of cancer when ingested over decades at levels of more than 10 parts per billion, according to state and federal health officials. Children are even more susceptible because of their low body weight.

Federal health officials used to consider any levels of arsenic above 50 parts per billion unsafe. In 2000, they lowered the standard to 10 parts per billion, based on new studies. ( source )

For those who do not already know, “The USEPA has determined that ingesting arsenic in too high a quantity can make a person very ill and possibly even cause death. Throughout history, and possibly even in some countries today, you can find arsenic listed as an ingredient in mouse and rat poison. Additionally, the USEPA classifies arsenic as a carcinogenic compound.” ( source )

Testing for Arsenic?

As usual we will bring up one of our favorite water test kit lines, the Arsenic Quick line of home, field and industrial water testing kits for As⁺³ and As⁺⁵ dissolved in water.

We like this product Arsenic Quick product line for several reasons including, but not limited to, its use of food grade reagents for improved safety, its fast and easy testing procedures, its ability to detect very low concentrations w/o the use of a meter, and its affordability.

For under $20 the average person can get a test kit that will let them know if their well water contains unsafe levels of dissolved arsenic and the testing won’t take more than around 15 minutes.

Arsenic Quick — 2 Tests Detection Range: 5 ppb up to 500 Dissolved Arsenic in Water

Arsenic Quick II — 2 Tests Detection Range: 1 ppb up to 160 ppb Dissolved Arsenic in Water

For those in need of more definitive and potentially more legally defensible water testing options, contact your local health department for a list of local laboratories certified to perform the sort of water testing you require. And, as always, if no local labs exist, companies like National Testing Laboratories offer comprehensive water testing packages that include tests for a large number potential of water quality contaminants and critical water quality parameters.

Reducing Arsenic levels in Water?

Few methods for point-of-use arsenic reduction/removal exist for homeowners except for units such as the Pentek RO-3500 Reverse Osmosis System which bears NSF 58 Certification for the reduction of unwanted drinking water contaminants such as Pentavalent Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Copper, Hexavalent & Trivalent Chromium, Cyst, Fluoride, Lead, Nitrate/Nitrite, Radium 226/228, Selenium, TDS and Turbidity.

Other, more robust 4 and 5 stage reverse osmosis systems such as the Goldline 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis System also bear the NSF 58 mark and include additional features such as pre and post carbon block filters for additional water polishing.

Pentek RO-3500 Reverse Osmosis Water System

Goldline 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water System

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/02/20/arsenic-levels-found-in-well-water-deemed-unsafe/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2012/02/19/chromium-in-well-water-a-reality-in-california/ http://watertestingblog.com/2012/02/19/chromium-in-well-water-a-reality-in-california/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:34:25 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=5258 We continually find articles these days that report about well water test samples containing unwanted heavy metal contaminants such as Chromium-6… and yet many private well owners still won’t get their own water tested on a regular basis.

Today’s Chromium-6 well water finding comes to us from the Coachella Valley region of California known and the detected levels of Chromium-6 in the water greatly exceed California’s public health goal.

Hexavalent chromium, a potentially cancer-causing heavy metal made famous by activist Erin Brockovich, is found in drinking water supplies throughout most of the Coachella Valley at 150 to more than 1,000 times above California’s public health goal, a Desert Sun review of local water agencies’ well-testing results found.

The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded in 2008 that hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, in drinking water shows “clear evidence” of causing cancer in laboratory animals. And a 2010 draft toxicological review by the EPA found the contaminant in tap water is “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”

But scientific study on chromium-6 is ongoing, and some recent findings call into question at what levels and under what circumstances ingesting the metal may cause cancer.

California’s public health goal for chromium-6 levels is not a regulatory standard, only a step in the process of establishing one. State and federal regulators have yet to set a maximum allowable drinking water contaminant level for the metal, but work toward one is under way. ( source )

Regardless of whether or not California or the USEPA has established an official safety limit (i.e. Maximum Contaminant Level) for Chromium-6 in drinking water, none of us here at Water Testing Blog would want to drink water that contained that high a concentration of Chromium-6.

Testing for Chromium-6 in water?

You may pick up an easy-to-use test kit for chromium made by SenSafe/WaterWorks in our online water testing store.

As an alternative, yo can use a test called Heavy Metals Water Check Test Strip, a product also manufactured by SenSafe. It detects Chromium-6 but the product will not differentiate between Chromium-6 and the other metals it can detect. But, in all honesty, any heavy metals detected in one’s drinking water should make a person want to take action.

Removing or reducing Chromium-6?

A company called ZeroWater manufactures point-of-use water filters & water pitchers using NSF Certified (NSF 42 & NSF 53) technology that supposedly reduce the number of Total Dissolved Solids in drinking water to zero.

ZeroWater ZD-018 Refrigerator Water Filter Dispenser (23 cup)

ZeroWater ZD-013 Water Filter Pitcher (8 cup)

For those who in search of a water filter system capable of producing quality drinking water out of the tap rather than a pitcher or dispenser, the NSF 58 Certified Goldline Reverse Osmosis System which carries the WQA Gold Seal installs under the sink (i.e. out of sight) and produces just under 11.5 gallons of purified drinking water per day.

NSF 58 Certified RO System for the Reduction of Barium, Chromium III & VI, Fluoride,
Lead, Nitrate, Nitrite, Radium, Selenium, and TDS Levels

Hundreds of Stamford residents have registered for the health department’s new water testing program scheduled to launch early next month, leaving about a third of the tests budgeted for this fiscal year available.

Officials are encouraging Stamford homeowners to sign up for the public service, which is mandated under a new city ordinance the Board of Representatives approved late last year. The Health Department will share the data it gathers with state health and environmental agencies in an effort to better understand the scope of water contamination in the area of Scofieldtown Park.

The park is the site of a former landfill and had been thought for years to be the source of potentially cancer-causing chemicals discovered in nearby wells in 2009.

…

Premier Laboratory in Dayville won a competitive bid to perform the testing at a rate of $89.50 per test, Murray said. Homeowners will be charged a flat $100 fee, which will cover the cost of the test itself as well as mailing, printing and logistical expenses associated with the program. Murray said the public service is a good deal for Stamford residents, who would likely pay between $200 and $300 to have their well water tested privately. ( source )

Granted the testing will still cost residents $100, but one has to admit that the fee definitely ranks as a pretty decent bargain considering the alternative: full price. Local officials encourage residents to take advantage of this water testing deal and so do we.

A problem with well water clearly exists in that area and only a properly implemented (thorough) testing of well water in the region surrounding the suspected contamination site will allow officials to get a real good look at the scope and magnitude of the problem.

Removing and/or reducing VOC’s in drinking water?

Naturally the question that follows the discovery of contaminants in one’s drinking water has to do with how to remove or reduce them to ‘safe’ levels. In the article one family had a carbon block filter of some sort installed. Below you will find an example of a carbon block filter hooked up to the Pentek RO-3500 currently offered by numerous online water filter systems vendors like WaterFilters.Net and FiltersFast.Com.

Pentek US-1500 Under Sink Water Filter System certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for the reduction of Taste and Odor, Chlorine, and Particulate Class I as well as Standard 53 for the reduction of Lead, Mercury, VOC, Cyst, Asbestos, and Turbidity

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/01/27/deeply-discounted-water-testing-in-stamford-ct/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2012/01/04/quick-testing-method-for-fluoride-in-water/ http://watertestingblog.com/2012/01/04/quick-testing-method-for-fluoride-in-water/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:03:15 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=5091 Today’s question came to us from ‘Malli’ who asked, “tell me simple method to find out the flourine percentage .Thanque”

For the sake of this article, and because it would make his/her inquiry make more sense, we will assume that Malli intended to ask for a method of testing for FLUORIDE levels in water.

Regretfully we have not heard of any ‘new’ methods a person can use to detect fluoride levels in drinking water since we last addressed this topic. Therefore we will continue to suggest using a meter such as the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter that uses Fluoride (SPADNS) Reagent to detect fluoride levels in water as low as 0.1 ppm and as high as 1.1 ppm.

One could also use the mail-in fluoride testing services of a company called National Testing Laboratories to determine how much, if any fluoride their drinking water contains.

eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter

Fluoride Test Reagent

So, Malli, once you determine if your water contains fluoride, next you will need to decide if you wish to remove or reduce that fluoride level… assuming you have fluoride in your water to begin with.

Removing/Reducing Fluoride Levels in Drinking Water?

When it comes to finding an effective means of reducing fluoride levels in drinking water, thus far our ‘research’ always points us down the same path… towards reverse osmosis water filters. The unit you see on the right, the Pentek RO-3500, has gone through testing and gotten certified by NSF/ANSI to Standard 58 for the reduction of Pentavalent Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Copper, Hexavalent & Trivalent Chromium, Cyst, Fluoride, Lead, Nitrate/Nitrite, Radium 226/228, Selenium, TDS and Turbidity.

Though definitely NOT the most expensive unit on the market, this filter has successfully passed third party testing, can produce nearly 8 gallons of crystal clear, filtered drinking water per day, and does so while reducing fluoride levels by more than 90%.

Moral of the story?

You will never know exactly how much fluoride, iron, copper, manganese, chlorine, salt, or other unwanted contaminants your water contains until you perform the appropriate tests on your water. Then, and only then, will you have the ability to make an educated decision regarding water treatment options.

I live in a small twin (3 bed/1.5 bath) that I lease. When we moved in, we noticed the water was particularly hard (10 GPG) and it was causing dry skin after showers and other issues. We don’t use a lot of water and we don’t have much space (1,300 sq. ft.). I also don’t much prefer the saltiness of “softened” water. My landlord gave me the OK to install a simple filtration system. I’m looking for something cheap, compact and simple. I don’t need 0gpg either, if I can lower down to a 3-4 GPG I would be happy.

Seems simple right? I was thinking maybe a 400GPD RO system but they all come with faucets which makes me think they may not be usable to throw in-line on the water system.

Do you know of anything (under $1,000) I can do to clean up my water and make it just a little softer?

Good news, Mike! Recent developments in the water softener industry include water softeners that do not use salt as the primary treating agent. Reasons for the salt-free water softeners range from States like California putting a ban on them for environmental reasons to people (like yourself) simply not enjoying the taste and/or texture of the water produced by salt-based water softeners.

Eagle A1000AS Anti-Scale Saltless Water Conditioner

To the left you will see an example of a water softener that uses a special filtration media to remove calcium and magnesium from source water instead of salt. The unit also comes equipped with a sediment filter, solid carbon block filter for VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and an Ultrafiltration Filter good for removing particles as small as .01 microns.

Mike, you mentioned reverse osmosis as a possible option and based upon what you said you wanted from the water treatment system, we don’t think that will work out as well as you’d like, though we do agree that reverse osmosis water filter do an excellent job of filtering water.

Reverse osmosis units do not connect up as inline filters as neatly and tidily as it sounds like you’d prefer. They require drains for ‘waste water’ that gets rejected by the membranes and flushed out during backwashing. Also, reverse osmosis water filters require power which means running a power line to the unit.

The Eagle A1000AS Anti-Scale Saltless Water Conditioner uses no power, requires no drain, uses no salt or environmentally harmful chemicals, and supposedly will help to remove existing calcium and magnesium deposits already clogging water lines.

Moral of the story?

Mike, we suggest having your water tested by a certified laboratory in your area or having a mail order service such as National Testing Laboratories perform a thorough analysis of your water. From the sounds of things, your faucets could possibly have more than just calcium and/or magnesium coming out of them and you will not know for sure until you test.

We feel the importance of the study lies more in how some experts believe people have become overly exposed to estrogen.

Rather than simply stating that the increased estrogen levels come directly from ingestion of birth control medications, the study implied that people re-ingested estrogen that had worked its way out of women on the pill via normal waste channels, wound its way through (or in some cases around) waste water treatment facilities, entered the environment, and finally gotten consumed or absorbed by plants and animals that people then ate as part of their everyday fare.

Removing estrogen from drinking water?

We wish we had better news on this topic, but we must sadly report that we have yet to hear definitively that any one type of water filtration unit does a good job of removing estrogen from drinking water — nor possibly a number of other pharmaceutical byproducts currently entering our water supply every day.

We have, however, seen that some companies tout reverse osmosis as an effective way to remove MANY of those pharmaceutical byproducts, but NOT all — and we would certainly suggest that anyone considering the purchase of a reverse osmosis for the purpose of removing pharmaceutical residuals review the specifications carefully before making an investment.

Moral of the story?

Experts tell us our water supply keeps getting tainted by new things, or possibly by things we could not test for until recently, and the majority of us just sit idly by and say, “Oh well. The government (or someone else) will take care of it.”

Listen folks: The contaminants already exist and just like with soooooo many other ‘newly detected risks’ the responsibility to safeguard one’s self and loved ones will fall squarely on the shoulders of the individual… until those in power agree which bill will do the most good w/o ruining careers of friends, family, etc.

All of us here at Water Testing Blog would love to know if folks in power and/or in big business already have water filtration units installed their homes and offices and/or have their water trucked in from suspected safe sources. How many, if any, will answer that question?

For more specifics on the study, take a look at this page ( Prostate Cancer May be Linked to Birth Control Pills in Water Supply ); one of several we found while doing a search on the topic.

Apparently some folks believe that water lacking ANY minerals will somehow cause problems for people who consume it as drinking water, cook with it, bathe in it, etc. While somewhat true that water produced by reverse osmosis may have ‘aggressive’ tendencies in certain plumbing situations, we have found that the largest ‘problem’ people have with demineralized reverse osmosis water… is its flat, boring taste and not its lack of minerals.

Water’s ‘taste’ comes from its dissolved minerals content so it stands to reason that without any minerals would also have no ‘taste’ — a problem easily remedied by the use of a remineralizing cartridge after the reverse osmosis system.

Don’t we need minerals in our water for health?

To this day we have not personally found any solid evidence to support the notion that an appreciable amount of necessary dietary elements gets absorbed by the body from drinking water — unless, of course, the water got used to wash down a vitamin or supplement.

Humans obtain the bulk of nutrients required for healthy living from the foods they eat… EXCEPT when they eat mostly (and too much) fried stuff like this.

Moral of the Story?

Eat healthy and drink clean water… and don’t buy into every ‘health trend’ and health fad’ that flashes on your television screen or in banner ads that pop up on web sites you visit.

The water we drink needs to have unwanted impurities removed. End of story.

If given a choice, we’ll take flat-tasting water over water containing potentially dangerous and/or bothersome levels of dissolved heavy metals (i.e. lead, copper, iron, manganese, chromium, arsenic, etc.) and other junk any day of the week!

While attending a birthday party for a young child recently a fellow parent attending the party remarked how the restaurant’s water ‘tasted an awful lot like pool water’ and later ‘that it probably had a ton of fluoride in it, too.’

Several other parents chimed in about the quality of the water of the water at the restaurant and eventually the conversation worked its way around the table until finally some asked if we knew of an inexpensive filter that would remove fluoride and get rid of ‘that nasty chlorine taste’.

Apparently one of our other friends spilled the beans about our interest in water quality at some other gathering we couldn’t attend.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to share a bit of water quality knowledge with an eager audience, we pulled out the laptop (since the restaurant DID have free wireless service… despite its lousy water!) and visited a few sites that we knew carried water filters to reduce fluoride in drinking water.

One noteworthy thing we noticed right away: Although genuinely interested in improving the taste of their water and having the option of whether or not their families consumed fluoride via tap water, few seemed willing to cross the $200 mark for a system. Whether a sign of economic hardship in average families or an indicator that people really don’t care THAT much about the quality of their water, we do not know and we dare not get too involved in topics like that.

At this point we would like to point out that we had more than enough parents in the restaurant watching the kids play in the ball pits, blast aliens on the video games, etc. that our small little group’s conversation did not in any way jeopardize the safety of any children OR result in the disruption of others’ peaceful enjoyment of the establishment.

So… With THAT declaration out of the way, our searches and discussions brought us to the doorsteps of two products that seemed to meet our audience’s needs: the Undersink Fluoride Filter Triple and Pentek RO-3500 Water Filter System.

Both water filter systems claimed to reduce fluoride levels — and on that note we want inform all of you that pretty much NO fluoride filter we came across totally removed fluoride from drinking water — and so we’ll flip a coin to decide which system we discuss first.

* flip * . . . . . Heads. The Crystal Quest Triple Under Sink Water Filter wins.

Cost: Ringing in at the cash register between $173 and $213 depending upon how long you want the multi-stage filter last. You have the option of 10,000, 20,000 or 30,000 gallons. Last time we checked, Filter Water had the unit available (with all three third cartridge options to choose from) with free shipping in the Continental United States.

Fluoride Reduction: In this unit’s second filter cartridge, water travels through fine-mesh ‘pre-resin media’ (SIR-900) to reduce fluoride below 0.5 ppm. At the same time, this filter also reduces arsenic levels if present.

Other Contaminants: In the first cartridge water passes through a carbon block which removes and/or removes volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), insecticides & pesticides (such as atrazine and simazine), and a number of industrial solvents commonly found in drinking water. Chlorine taste and odor also get reduced in this stage.

Our ‘Final’ Opinion: If you want a simple under sink water filter system that will do a lot to improve the taste and safety of your drinking water, the Crystal Quest Triple Under Sink Filter stands as a solid contender from what we have read. Well worth taking a look at if you want to keep spending down and still reap the rewards and benefits of a fluoride (and other contaminants) water filter.

In closing we’d like to offer the testimony of an actual Crystal Quest Triple Under Sink Filter user:

On 2/16/2011 ‘Lynn’ said, “The Undersink Fluoride Filter is a grand product. With the filter your water goes through a cleaning series of 8 stages to prevent all the harmful government added substances from entering the body. It comes with 3 cartridges two that need to be replaced every 6 months to a year. The filter was simple to install and works wonderfully! I would recommend this filter to all citizens who want ‘Big Brother’ out of their water.” (on FilterWater.Com web site)

And now we shall discuss the Pentek RO-3500 Water Filter System. . .

Cost: Ringing in at the cash register at either $199 and $259 depending upon whether or not you want an electronic monitoring system keeping an eye on the effluent stream (water treated by your unit), this unit packs quite a punch for the money.

For around $200 or $260 dollars homeowners can get their hands on a reverse osmosis water system certified and tested to NSF/ANSI Standard 58 for the following: Arsenic (Pentavalent) Reduction, Barium Reduction, Cadmium Reduction, Copper Reduction, Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction, Chromium (Trivalent) Reduction, Cyst Reduction, Fluoride Reduction, Lead Reduction, Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Radium 226/228 Reduction, Selenium Reduction, TDS Reduction, Turbidity Reduction, Chlorine Reduction – Aesthetic, and Taste & Odor Reduction.

Fluoride Reduction: As stated in the last paragraph, the Pentek RO-3500 Water Filter System has passed rigorous testing by an independent laboratory proven that it’s fluoride reduction capabilities meet the requirements of NSF/ANSI Standard 58.

Other Contaminants: We already discussed how the Pentek RO-3500 has tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 58 for the reduction of a bunch of potentially dangerous and definitely unwanted drinking water contaminants so we won’t bore you with the full list a second time.

Our ‘Final’ Opinion: Before we tell you much we like the benefits this system offers, we do want to mention a few reasons why a reverse osmosis water filter system like the Pentek RO-3500 and others may NOT work well for everyone:

1. Some people feel they waste water since not all of the water that goes into the system will wind up as usable drinking water and gets discharged as waste.

2. The water generated by reverse osmosis systems tends to have an aggressive nature.

3. Reverse osmosis water treatment systems produce ‘flat’ tasting water that some people find a bit unpleasant. Because of that taste many owners of reverse osmosis systems choose to install a simple post-ro re-mineralizing cartridge that adds important minerals for taste and nutrition while also balancing the pH of the water before consumption.

OK, so having said ALL that, we found the Pentek RO-3500′s NSF Certification extremely appealing since it ‘guarantees’ the performance of the unit for at the very least, its ability to reduce concentrations of a known list of contaminants.

Water Test Kit for Bacteria

Fluoride in Water Test Kit

Water Contaminant Test Kit

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2011/07/28/fluoride-filter-systems-for-underaround-200/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2011/07/20/does-reverse-osmosis-remove-fracking-chemicals/ http://watertestingblog.com/2011/07/20/does-reverse-osmosis-remove-fracking-chemicals/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:43:06 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=4540 The double meaning of ‘fracking’ in this instance makes us chuckle. It could either serve as a replacement word for a curse word or as an accurate description of the chemicals in question.

The other day we received an email inquiry from ‘Wesley’ who asked a question that no one, surprisingly enough, has ever asked: “If drinking water was contaminated by fracking chemicals, would a reverse osmosis remove them and make the water safe to drink? If not, what would remove these chemicals from the water?”

Very good question! Too bad we don’t have a definitive answer.

Why no definitive answer?

Quite honestly, until gas companies come clean with the full list of ingredients they put in fracking fluids we will never really know what method of water filtration will work best to remove them. We do know, however, that properly functioning reverse osmosis water filter systems will put a serious dent in the concentrations of commonly found drinking water contaminants… including a number of the compounds currently identified as fracking fluid components.

Will reverse osmosis save your bacon, if fracking fluid somehow makes its way into your water supply? As of right now we don’t know for sure, but we bet water treated using reverse osmosis will contain far fewer contaminants and we, if given the option, would rather drink the RO (reverse osmosis) water!

Please note, however, that as we conducted the research for this blog posting we uncovered something that we did not, previously fully understand… reverse osmosis units on their own do an excellent job of improving water quality by cleansing it of SOME unwanted contaminants potentially found in fracking fluids (i.e. dissolved metals), but a person looking for a water filter certified to remove other common fracking fluid components like VOC’s (volatile organic contaminants) should seriously consider purchasing a unit equipped with pre and/or post filters that scrub the water for VOC’s.

As an example, of what we just talked about, the Pentek RO-3500 reverse osmosis system has tested and certified to NSF/ANSI to Standard 58 for the reduction of Pentavalent Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Copper, Hexavalent & Trivalent Chromium, Cyst, Fluoride, Lead, Nitrate/Nitrite, Radium 226/228, Selenium, TDS and Turbidity in water, but not VOC’s.

Don’t get the wrong idea about the Pentek RO-3500, though. The reviews we found for the unit speak VOLUMES about its ability to clean up otherwise unpleasant drinking water. It just may not work as well for the purpose of removing fracking fluids from drinking water.

So… If not reverse osmosis, then WHAT?

Again we want to stress that until gas drilling companies must reveal the full list of potential ‘nasties’ they put in fracking fluid, no one will really know the best way to remove fracking fluid from drinking water.

Having said that, we came across a non-RO unit called the Pentek US-1500 Chemical/Lead System that uses two different types of filters to clean drinking water… and it has tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for the reduction of reduce 43 different VOCs, lead, cysts, mercury, asbestos, chlorine taste and chlorine odor.

No, the Pentek US-1500 will not filter out the contaminants that a good quality reverse osmosis unit will. . . so we suggest TESTING YOUR WATER before investing in a water filtration unit!

If you plan to buy a water filter, also plan to have your water tested by a certified drinking water testing laboratory. Whether you choose use a mail order water testing service like National Testing Laboratories or you opt for the services provided by a local laboratory, a water test may keep you from foolishly spending your hard earned money on the wrong type of water filtration system!