Water is rightly called the elixir of life. We need water for drinking, washing, and cleaning. Contaminants such as dirt, dust, and certain chemicals can affect your water quality. Contaminated water can cause a whole host of problems and do more harm than good by harboring disease-causing germs that can affect human and animal health.

If your water is cloudy, smells or tastes weird, it may be contaminated. Before things take a turn for the worse and you or someone in your home falls sick, have a water purification company check and purify your water.

Water purification is the process of removing chemical contaminants, toxic metals, biological contaminants (including viruses, bacteria, fungi), suspended solids, and gases in water to make it fit for human consumption. Some effective water purification methods include distillation, water chlorination, and reverse osmosis.

As a top-rated water purification company in Sonoma County, our experts have compiles some of the problems a water purification system can fix.

Weird Taste

Naturally-occurring bacteria, sulfates, and hydrogen sulfide produced when organic matter degrades can affect water taste.

Municipalities around the world use chlorine and other chemicals to purify water. If you depend on a public water system, chemicals used in the treatment process can impart a weird taste to your water. Depending on the type of contaminants in your water system, your water can taste metallic, bitter or salty.

Water purification aims to remove chemical and biological contaminants in drinking water. Certain water purification methods balance drinking water pH. Water purification companies use different methods to remove sediment and harmful chemicals from drinking water. Water devoid of any chemicals and other dissolved contaminants tastes good and is also safe for drinking.

Harmful Contaminants

Different types of contaminants can be found in drinking water. Contaminants such as certain metals and chloride ions do not adversely affect human health. However, some other contaminants such as pesticides, bacteria, viruses, and lead can cause serious health problems.

Lead and many other harmful contaminants are extremely difficult to get rid of. They remain in drinking water even after a water treatment plant adds water purification chemicals, such as chlorine, to it. Water purification methods are designed to remove different types of water contaminants including:

  • Microscopic particles such as silica, dust, sand, gravel, microplastics, and fibers. These contaminants are invisible to the naked eye and can get into your water without you ever noticing them
  • Chlorine is widely used for water purification. Chlorine does not just affect the taste of drinking water, but can also adversely affect human health. It is known to eliminate beneficial bacteria in the gut and can cause gastrointestinal problems
  • Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive metal. Radium silently enters our body and slowly replaces calcium. This leads to premature bone degeneration. Exposure to radium over a long period of time can increase one’s risk of anemia, cataract and cancer
  • Lead is a naturally occurring toxic metal. Several studies have linked water contaminated with lead to a number of health concerns such as kidney damage, high blood pressure and brain damage
  • Arsenic is a harmful heavy metal. It is highly toxic in its organic form. Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can lead to skin lesions, diabetes and cancer

Heavy Dependence On Plastic Use

Contaminants in drinking water can affect its color, texture, smell and/or taste, rendering it inconsumable. When this happens, many homeowners buy bottled water. Plastic bottles harm the environment. Plus, if you keep using bottled water till the problem is resolved, costs will quickly add up.

To reduce your dependence on bottled water and thereby reduce your carbon footprint, invest in water purification services.

Cloudy Water

Some contaminants in drinking water can make it appear cloudy or murky. Though these contaminants usually do not adversely affect human health, they can affect the appearance of your water, disgusting you.

A water purification service can help maintain the appearance of your water by removing contaminants, such as sediments, that can affect water quality.

To sum up, water purification can help:

  • Prevent water-borne diseases and reduce the risk of certain health conditions caused by long-term exposure to contaminated water
  • Reduce the risk of environmental pollution
  • Reduce the risk of congenital defects caused due to exposure to contaminated water
  • Maintain the taste, texture, color and smell of drinking water

Some Popular Water Purification Methods

Distillation

Distillation utilizes heat to purify water and collect it in the form of water vapor. In this method, water is heated till it attains its boiling point. It is then allowed to vaporize. Once water vaporizes, it is directed to a container where it cools down. Upon cooling, water is allowed to revert to its liquid state. This is purified water devoid of impurities.

Distillation removes different types of impurities such as salts, disease-causing germs, and heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead. This water purification method is usually used to purify small amounts of water.

Reverse Osmosis Filtration

In this water purification method, water is passed through a semipermeable membrane. Impurities smaller than water molecules are filtered out. The most significant drawback of this method is that it can filter out even beneficial minerals.

Ultraviolet Light

UV rays are used to kill microorganisms and disrupt their DNA so they can’t reproduce. It kills bacteria and viruses. The method, however, is ineffective against turbidity and does not filter out suspended particles.

Sometimes, suspended particles can shade harmful bacteria, which is why UV filters have a sediment pre-filter that removes any suspended particles, and post-filters that are designed to remove contaminants such as VOCs and chlorine. This method does not use any harmful chemicals.

Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. is a leading groundwater firm serving Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Lake and Mendocino counties for 100+ years. We use tried and tested water purification methods to remove almost all types of contaminants from water. To make an appointment, call (707)823-3184.