How good is the water in your new home? This seems like an afterthought when we search for our dream home, but it is something that will affect you every single day. Therefore, make sure you’re testing tap water quality before you put down an offer!
Whether you are hooked up to city water or using a 100 foot, or 400 foot deep well, the quality of your water can change from home to home. A variety of things can affect the water quality – your well pump, the piping used to get the water from the city lines, and even your faucets.
When you are in the market for a new home, make sure you are testing tap water quality. Go ahead, fill up a water bottle from the tap and take a sip. The realtor won’t mind, nobody is going to judge you. This is pretty vital – think about it, this same water is going to make your morning coffee every day, and fill your sippy cups, and mix your hot chocolate when you settle in for a Christmas Movie Marathon. You want to make sure that the water you shower in, bathe your babies in, and give to your furry friends is safe.
What does this water taste like? If there is a strong chlorine smell or taste, you may want to look into a water purification system. Activated carbon filters can take out the smell and odor of chlorine, leaving you with fresh, clean water.
Adding a Water Filter For Taste and Contaminants
Have you already moved in and noticed that the water isn’t up to par? Don’t panic, there are systems that can fix the tap water taste. There are water filtration systems that plug right on to your kitchen faucet. These systems filter your water on demand. There are more advanced models that can be installed below your countertop; they have changeable filters that can last anywhere from a few months to half a year, or filter about 200 gallons of water. The water from these filters will come out clean and taste fresh.
Not sure if there are benefits to adding a water filter, other than taste? There are tons of benefits! Learn more about why you should invest in a water filter for your home.
Adding a Water Softener For Hard Water
Good tasting water may still be HARD. Hard water can leave you itchy after a shower, or leave splotchy marks all over your car after hosing it down. Unsure if the house has hard water? Open a cabinet and look at the glasses inside. Do they have cloudy spots on them, or are they sparkling? If the glasses have spots, it’s indicative of the tap water quality. These spots show that the water is hard. It can be undetectable without a test but there are warning signs that this home has hard water.
So what is hard water exactly? Hard water is water that has high levels of dissolved calcium and magnesium. This is a naturally occurring problem for water sources that utilize ground water. When the water rushes through soil and rocks, it also slowly breaks them down, leaving the residue in your tap water.
When it comes to hard water, it’s important to know that the water will not affect your health, but will affect things in your home. Your water heater and pipes will degrade quicker due to the sludge buildup from calcium and magnesium.
After testing tap water quality, you may have noticed that the water is hard. Luckily, there are great systems that will help soften the water, keeping your skin and hair moisturized, your glasses sparkling, and your clothes colors staying bold. Water softeners are professionally installed and filter the hard water through salt pellets. Therefore, the water coming out of your tap will be soft. Just replace the salt every two months in order for it to work.
Still want to learn more about testing tap water quality? Check out this guide that breaks down what to look for, and what to expect on your water reports.
Put Down the Heavy Boxes, Let Us Help You!
Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about what is in your water. While ONIT Home can relocate your home services and your utilities, we can also help with your water purification!
Our water filtration services provide complete water purification, water softening and water filtration systems, that are professionally installed so you know things are connected right the first time. At ONIT, we also offer finance options for low monthly payments, and no money down. We can also offer free water testing that will help you identify what’s lurking in your water. We want to take the stress off of you, so you can move in and feel at home immediately. Let us do the heavy lifting, click to request a free quote today!