As most of you know, the safety and quality of life is a personal concern in all that we do here at Euro Design Build. Regardless of what we are doing for our clients, whether it’s a master bathroom renovation, kitchen renovation, or just replacing a water heater in your home; our focus is always to consider the impact that a product will have on the quality of your life.
For that reason, our specific focus this month is on water, the one thing that is critical to our existence, but taken for granted because we don’t think about it. Water and the quality of it can have a significant impact on the quality of your health. I know, you buy your drinking water in a bottle and have it delivered to your home, so that you and your family can have “clean” water to drink, but have you considered the quality of the water you are bathing with or cooking with? If not, you will be surprised if not shocked by what you will find is in our city drinking water that you are taking in through your skin, eyes, nose and mouth when you bathe, not to mention when you wash your dishes or cook.
Over the past decade, the problem with clean water in our homes seems to have gotten worse and will continue to get worse instead of getting better. This is a hurdle that we always consider with every home renovation project. So, what can we personally do to change the quality of water that is coming into our homes? Great question, right? For that reason, I asked our trusted plumbing professional to share his knowledge, findings and recommendations for a healthy solution to this growing health problem.
The article below was written by Joe Schulten, a Responsible Master Plumber (R.M.P), with whom we at Euro Design Build trust and work with on all of our projects.
OUR DRINKING WATER:
Protecting your health and your investment.
By Joe Schulten of Texas Joes Plumbing
Today’s drinking water has many chemicals and contaminates that can negatively affect us in many ways. Our water treatment facilities treat our water with a number of chemicals and different methods of filtration, but the treatments are not fool proof and have many inconsistencies with annual reports depending on where your house is located.
Water can pick up many contaminates and deteriorating heavy metals en route to your home, so it’s important to note that the tested and treated water still has a long way to go before it makes its way to your tap. The regulated amounts of chemicals used to treat our water are on the high side of our EPA regulations maximum allowances and the contaminate levels are able to change at any time due to rapid population growth, improper plumbing installations and improper or inadequate testing procedures.
One of the chemicals used for the treatment of our drinking water is chloramine, and I want to briefly discuss chloramines and its effects on your health and your plumbing systems. Then I will give you some methods to combat your families exposure to this carcinogen and how to protect the longevity of your plumbing system.
Let’s talk about chloramines.
Chloramines are a disinfectant that kills bacteria and are used to treat water, however it can have numerous negative effects on us, such as skin irritation, respiratory problems, can damage kidney function and can also be cancer causing!
Chloramines eat away at metals and have been known to leak lead and other harmful heavy metals from old plumbing service pipes and fittings after the tested water leaves the treatment plant.
How does this affect you?
Chlorine and Chloramine are absorbed by our skin when we take a shower or swim in most swimming pools. Infants, elderly and auto immune disorder patients are at a much higher risk of the negative effect of these chemicals, not to mention your plumbing system!
Listed below are a few methods of how to control your exposure to these chemicals and heavy metals to protect your health and your home.
Method #1: Carbon whole house water conditioners
These are the best protection for your home. Installation of these units can vary depending on the location of where your water service enters your house. Unfortunately, these systems are not cheap. These systems maintain themselves by agitating and rinsing the carbon materials inside of them and purges the waste on a regular basis. The life span is usually around 10 years with no maintenance. The product water is safe to drink and bathe in. This is total protection for your entire home.
If this is not an option that you can afford or if you do not own the property you live in, there are still some options for you.
Method #2: Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis drinking water is very clean and it is considered to be the best for your drinking water and can be installed under your kitchen sink. The maintenance cycle on these filters are between 1 and 2 years depending on usage. R.O. water is great for cooking and drinking.
Method #3: Shower head filters (to be used in conjunction with #2)
This protects you from skin absorption and these filters must be serviced more often, usually around 3 months. I would definitely make sure the product you buy protects you from chloramines. A little research goes along way.
The only way to protect piping, plumbing fixture finishes and water heaters is to reduce the chlorine, chloramine, and calcium levels in your water by using option #1, the whole house conditioner.
There are other options, like using a type of inline sediment and carbon filter that are not self-maintaining. These filters must be changed annually. It can be a cheaper option for shorter term use but the installation of the filters can still be costly and is installed in the same location as the water conditioner.
The benefits of clean water are endless. Less exposure to these contaminates leads to better health, skin, hair, laundry and plumbing system longevity. These are some of the most noticeable effects of filtered water.
SOLUTIONS:
As with anything else in our lives today, we have to become an advocate for our own well-being. Thankfully, we have water treatment solutions that we can implement in our homes to help us stay healthier. To find out what system would be best for your home, will depend on the city you live in. For more information and to find a solution to healthier cleaner water in your home, please call our office and schedule a complimentary consultation.
Have any questions about this article?
We’re always here to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
