FAQ & TroubleshootingSoftener Troubleshooting
Reverse Osmosis Questions What makes soft water feel slick or slimy on your skin? The minerals that make water hard usually contain calcium and magnesium. Calcium and magnesium in water interfere with the cleaning action of soap and detergent. They do this by combining with soap or detergent and forming a scum that does not dissolve in water. Because these minerals react with soap and detergent, they remove the soap and detergent, thereby reducing the effectiveness of these cleaning agents. To offer a proper and accurate recommendation for any system(s) needed to correct your water problems, we need current and accurate water test results. Public water suppliers have the information available to you by simply calling them and requesting to know the level of Hardness, Iron and pH of your water. If you have a private well, simply obtain a water test kit from a local hardware store, of you can purchase one of our test kits. Softening resins will normally outlast the softener unit itself! The primary requirement to keep your resin in good condition is that the softener is correctly sized for your water hardness and that it is regenerated often enough to help keep it clean. top of page You can let the salt get down to the point inside the Brine tank where you can see water above the salt. When you see water above the salt, it is time to add more! Generally, we recommend adding salt to your Brine tank every 8 weeks. top of page What kind of salt do you recommend using and do your softeners also use Potassium Chloride in place of salt? We recommend using Solar salt (Available in a Blue bag) which is available at most larger hardware stores. The primary concern when buying salt for your water softener is to make sure it is very clean; around the 99.5% salt content and up.
If you have public water, simply contact the office where you pay your water bill. They should have current water testing records on file. We size our filter systems based on the type and amount of dissolved mineral present in your water.....and your home's flow rate which is based on the number of people present in the home. Basically, the resin or mineral inside the mineral tank, is specially designed to remove "hard" particles of lime and calcium, by a simple ion exchange process. Example: There are basically four types of iron found in water, they are:
How does RO water compare to bottled water? Just as good or even better. We use the same technology, reverse osmosis (RO), as other major bottling plants use to filter water. Our drinking water has a refreshing taste with a touch of minerals —not like the flat taste of distilled or bottled water. The five-stage system is the most stable and complete RO process. The best part is that our system allows you to proactively monitor and maintain the unit's performance and measure the purity of the water to ensure your family's health yourself. That is something that you cannot do with bottled water. Is reverse osmosis water acidic? Reverse osmosis does naturally slightly lower the pH of water. The pH of pure water is 7. In general, water with a pH lower than 7 is considered acidic, and with a pH greater than 7, basic. The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5 and for groundwater systems 6 to 8.5. When pH level is of concern a calcite or alkaline filter may be used to re-introduce minerals into the product water raising the pH. RO is the most convenient and effective method of water filtration. It filters water by squeezing water through a semi-permeable membrane, which is rated at 0.0001 micron (equals to 0.00000004 inch!). This is the technology used to make bottled water, it is also the only technology capable of desalinating sea water, making it into drinking water. Non-RO water filters typically use a single activated carbon cartridge to treat water. They are much less effective, and the pore size on these filter media are much bigger, generally 0.5 - 10 micron. They can filter out coarse particles, sediments and elements only up to their micron rating. Anything finer and most dissolved substances cannot be filtered out. As a result, water is far less clean and safe compared to reverse osmosis filtration. How do I choose the right reverse osmosis system? The actual flow rate GPD(Gallons Per Day) of any reverse osmosis system depends on your home water pressure and temperature. While the industry standard is set at 60 psi, we know that not everyone's cold water is at 60 psi and 77 degrees F. Your system may produce less water per day if you have low pressure and/or temperature water. Standard residential RO systems require a minimum of 40 PSI to operate, if you have less than this you may require a booster pump. When do you need to add a UV light to a system? The primary use for a UV light is to disinfect filtered water at a certain flow rate. Bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms are destroyed by the UV interfering with the DNA and RNA in the organisms' reproductive cycles. Can I install my RO system in the basement? Typically our systems are installed in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Our systems are quite slim so they can usually fit inside any cabinet, even if you have a garbage disposal. The storage tank can be laid on its side to save space. You can also install our systems in the basement, garage, or anywhere there is water supply. If you have good water pressure in your home, then you can even run long lines(20-30 ft) from the water supply to the system or from the tank to the faucet. When going up a full story a booster pump is almost always recommended to better ensure adequate delivery pressure. What contaminants does reverse osmosis remove? Giardia cysts 100% Criptosporidium cysts 100% E.coli bacteria >99.9% Fecal bacteria >99.9% Vibrio choleriae >99.9% Shigella disinteriae >99.9% Sodium Fluoride 99% Calcium Cloride 99% Magnesium Cloride 99% Nickel Sulfate NiSO4 >99% Glucose 98% Sodium Nitrate NaNO3 97-99% Sodium 95-99% Nickel 95-99% Potassium 92-99% Zinc 95-99% Calcium 95-99% Strontium 95-99% Magnesium 95-99% Cadmium 95-99% Iron 95-99% Silver 95-99% Aluminum 95-99% Mercury 95-99% Ammonium 95-99% Barium 95-99%
DDT >99.9% PCB >99.9% Lindane >99.9% Salmonella typhi >99.9% Serratia marcescenes >99.9% Toluane >99.9% Sodium Chloride NaCl 99% Sucrose 99% Copper Sulfate CuSO4 >99% Lactic Acid pH5 99% Chlorinated Pesticides 99.9% Silica SiO2 98% Chloride 99.9% Radioactivity 95-99% Bicarbonate 99% Sulfate 95-99% Nitrate 3 90-99% Ferro cyanide 96-99% Fluoride 90-95% Arsenic +3 95-99% Silicate 95-99% Arsenic +5 95-99% Phosphate 95-99% Lead 95-99% Chromate 95-99% Copper 95-99%
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