Sometimes, we take the quality of our water for granted. Even if you get your water from the city, and especially if you get it from a well, it is worthwhile to test your water and make sure that it is a quality you’re comfortable with. Your family’s health and safety, along with the health of your water-based appliances like dishwashers, is on the line. Here is how and why to check your water quality.
Why Check Your Water Quality?
Your water may have issues that are undermining either your health or just the longevity and performance of your appliances and HVAC equipment. Here are some issues you may want to check for in your water:
- Bacteria: Water can get bacterial infections, most commonly from a water heater that is set too low. Tests can discover a range of bacteria, from legionnaires to E. coli and salmonella.
- Lead: Lead can get into your water from old and worn-out lead-lined pipes. If you have lead pipes it is certainly worthwhile to test for lead contamination.
- Hardness: Water hardness can damage your plumbing and some HVAC equipment, while also giving your water a bad taste.
- Other metals: Arsenic, iron, uranium, manganese and other metals and minerals are common in Canadian well water.
- Other organics: VOCs, hydrocarbons and other organic materials can also get into your water and undermine the safety of your water.
- Alkalinity: Water that is too high or low in pH may wear on your plumbing or be bad to drink.
- Environmental safety: You can also test your outgoing water to see if it is safe for your local environment or if it might harm the local environment.
Once you know that your water has one or more of these safety concerns, then you can address the issue.
Looking to speak with an HVAC expert? Contact our team today.
How to Check Tap Water Quality
You can test your tap water quality yourself at home. You need to buy a test kit online or from a local store. Be sure that you understand what your test kit measures, and that it will give you the answers that you’re looking for. Many water testing services can look for a huge range of metals, organics, bacteria, and much more.
You can also have a professional water testing service test your water. You may need to ship them a small sample of your water, and then they can get back to you with more detailed reports about your water’s quality. This is essential testing for those with wells, but even those hooked up to municipal water will find that there are benefits to checking your tap water quality.
Water Testing Solutions
Guelph Climate Care can help you address some of the issues you might discover through water testing, including water hardness. Reach out today.
