FREQUENTLY ASKED  QUESTIONS

Water is generally classified into two groups:  surface water and ground water.  

Surface Water
Surface water is just what the name implies; it is water found in a river, lake or other surface impoundment. This water is usually not very high in mineral content, and many times is called "soft water" even though it usually is not. Surface water is exposed to many different contaminants, such as animal wastes, pesticides, insecticides, industrial wastes, algae and many other organic materials. Even surface water found in a pristine mountain stream possibly contains giardia or coliform bacteria from the feces of wild animals, and should be boiled or disinfected by some means prior to drinking. 

Ground Water
Ground water is water trapped beneath the ground. Rain that soaks into the ground, rivers that disappear beneath the earth, and melting snow are but a few of the sources that recharge the supply of underground water. Because of the many sources of recharge, ground water may contain any or all of the contaminants found in surface water as well as the dissolved minerals it picks up during it's long stay underground. 

Due to the different characteristics of ground and surface water, it is important that you know the source of your water. Of the 326 million cubic miles of water on earth, only about 3% of it is fresh water, and 3/4 of that is frozen. Only 1/2 of 1% of all water is underground; about 1/50th of 1% of all water is found in lakes and streams. The average human body is about 70% water. You can only survive five days or less without water. 

Hard Water 
What is hard water?
Waters that contains dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium above certain levels are considered "hard water" Because water is considered a "solvent", i.e., over time it can break down the ionic bonds that hold most substances together, it tends to dissolve and 'gather up' small amounts of whatever it comes in contact with. For instance, in areas of the world where rock such as limestone, gypsum, fluorspar, magnetite, pyrite and magnesite are common, well water is usually very high in calcium content, and therefore considered "hard".  Hard water is the most common problem found in the average home. Hard water is water that contains dissolved hardness minerals above 1 grain of hardness per gallon (GPG) or about 17 parts per million of hardness
. 
What are hardness minerals?
Calcium, manganese and magnesium are the most common. 

How do you measure hardness?
Parts per million or grains per gallon are the most common unit to measure hardness. One part per million (PPM) is just what it says: out of one million units, one unit. Grains, or grains per gallon (GPG) is a weight measurement taken from the Egyptians; one dry grain of wheat, or about 1/7000 of a pound. It takes 17.1 PPM to equal 1 GPG. 

Why should hard water concern me?
For many uses, it would not matter. For instance, to put out fires, wash the mud off the streets or float your boat, water would have to be pretty hard to cause a problem. But for bathing, washing dishes and clothes, shaving, washing your car, and for most commercial and industrial uses, as well as others, hard water is not as efficient or convenient as "soft water." For instance: 

• You generally use only 50% as much soap cleaning with soft water or with water where the effects of hardness have been neutralized, as you do with hard water.

• Hard water and soap combine to form "soap scum" that can't be rinsed off, forming a 'bathtub ring' on all surfaces and  leaving unsightly spots on your dishes, fixtures, etc..

• The soap scum remains on your skin even after rinsing, clogging the pores of your skin and coating every hair on your body. This can serve as a home for bacteria, causing diaper rash, minor skin irritation and skin that continually itches.

• When hard water is heated, the hardness minerals are re-crystallized to form hardness scale. This scale can clog your pipes and hot water heater, causing premature failure, and necessitating costly replacement. 

• For many industrial uses, the hardness minerals interfere with the industrial or commercial process, causing inferior product.

Who will test my water for hardness?
If you are connected to a municipal supply, call the Water Superintendent, or your municipality.  They can either provide the answer, or direct you to the proper individual.  Remember the conversion factor: it takes 17.1 PPM to equal 1 GPG. In other words, if your water has 171 PPM calcium in it, divide 171 by 17.1 to get the answer in grains. This example would be 10 grains, or GPG. If you are on a private supply, you could contact your county extension agent; collect a sample in an approved container and send to the city or state health department for testing; find a testing lab (try the yellow pages); or call a water conditioning company. 

By the way, if you are on a private well, YOU, AND YOU ALONE are responsible for the safety of the water you and your family drink. You should test your supply for bacteria at least once per year and other contaminants at least every three years -- more often under certain conditions. 

My water is hard - Now what?
If your water tests over 1 GPG hardness, you should condition it with a Triangular Wave Deposit Control System. 

The Triangular Wave System for neutralizing hardness and preventing the formation of lime deposits uses an electronic deposit controller; no salt or other chemicals are added to the water.

The Triangular Wave System will:

1. Give the benefits of soft water without adding salt or removing health giving minerals.
2. Prevent any further hard scale buildup in and on water equipment and fixtures.
3. Remove existing scale that is inside the water system.
4. Soften the existing hard scale around taps, basins, and toilets.
5. Reduce soap scum and improve the lather of soap.
6. Make the water feel silkier.
7. Reduce the harsh effects of hard water on skin and clothes.
8. Reduces water spotting on fixtures and surfaces in contact with the water.
9. Provides a much more environmentally friendly solution to hard water; no salts or chemicals.
10. The water will taste better as pipes will be cleared of both mineral and biological deposits.
11. Plants that receive the treated water will grow better.

Water with Odors ...

My water stinks! What can I do?
First, you must learn a little about your nose: Once you smell some thing, your sense of smell can be dulled for a short while, and you can't make accurate judgments of smell. For instance, if I blindfold you, let you smell gasoline, hand you a piece of onion to eat and tell you it is an apple, you can't tell it's not because your nose isn't working properly!! (Your sense of taste isn't working either -- smell and taste are closely related and affect each other!) So, to correctly analyze your problem, you need to become a detective. 

The best time to locate the smell is after you have been away from home for a few hours -- this allows your nose to become sensitive to "that smell" again. With your 'sensitized' nose, go to an outside spigot -- one that the raw, untreated water flows from. Turn it on, let it run a few minutes, then smell it. If it smells -- we found it. If not, we must look further. (Many, many smells are not in the raw water at all, they are introduced into the water inside the house.) 

Go to a cold, treated water spigot inside the house, turn it on and let it run a minute; then smell. If this water smells, and the outside, untreated water didn't -- you must have a device (cartridge filter, water softener, etc.) in the water line that needs to be cleaned and sanitized. If it is a cartridge, or 'string' filter, replace the element and sanitize the housing. If you have a water conditioner call the Company where you bought the unit for advise on how to sanitize the unit. 

If the cold, treated water inside didn't smell, turn on the hot water and let it run a few minutes -- does it smell? If it does, chances are you have a sacrificial anode inside your hot water heater that is "coming apart at the seams" and throwing off a "rotten egg" odor. This obnoxious smell will drive you right out of your shower! 

The only solution is to remove the anode from the heater, voiding your warranty, or replace it with a new one made with aluminum alloy. This anode is placed in a (glass lined) hot water heater to seal up any cracks in the glass lining and prevent corrosion of the heater tank. 

You will find the anode on the top of the heater; remove the tin cover and insulation -- look for what looks like a pipe plug -- about 3/4 inch in size with a 1 1/16"fitting. Turn off the heat source and the water; have someone hold the tank to prevent it from turning, and unscrew the "plug". You will find that the 'plug' has a 30 - 40 " long pipe (or what's left of one) attached to it. Hopefully, most of the rod is still attached -- just corroded. If so, replace the plug with a real pipe plug and throw the anode away. If part of the rod has corroded off, and fallen into the heater, you may have to try to fish it out. Either way, before you plug the hole, pour about 2 pints of chlorine bleach into the heater first. This will kill the smell left in the heater. If, after a week or so, the smell returns, you must fish out the rod that is in the bottom of the tank. Good Luck! 

OK, it's my raw water that smells - Now what?
First you must determine what is causing the smell, and how strong it is.
 
Minor, Musty Smell
If it is a minor, or low-level smell, you MIGHT be able to solve it with a small, point-of-use Triangular Wave Counter Top or Under-Counter KDF / Carbon filter. You can place these filters on the water line going to the cold water where you draw you drinking water. Or, you might solve it with a Triangular Wave Whole-House KDF / Carbon ilter on your incoming water line to filter all of the water inside your home.

Because carbon removes smells by ADsorbtion, i.e., the smell "sticks" or "adheres" to the carbon particles, you must be careful not to exceed the manufactures recommended flow - some filters even have a flow restriction built in them. If you run water through them too fast, you will not remove the smells. 

The KDF process filter media help protect the carbon from bacterial contamination.   Carbon filters remove organics from water, and the bacteria found in water like to eat organics -- the carbon filter is a nice, dark place, just full of food for them to grow and reproduce in. Patented KDF process media are 100 percent recyclable and contain no chemical additives. Hospitals, restaurants, municipal water treatment facilities, and homes rely on KDF process media to safely reduce or remove chlorine, iron, hydrogen sulfide, heavy metals, and bacteria from their water.  

KDF process media control microorganisms in two ways. The first is a by-product of redox; the exchange of electrons sets up an electrolytic field in which most microorganisms can't survive. Second, the process of forming hydroxyl radicals and peroxides from some of the water molecules interferes with the microorganisms' ability to function.

Strong, Rotten-Egg Smell
Strong, rotten-egg odors in the raw water is usually the result of the decomposition of decaying underground organic deposits. As water is drawn to the surface, hydrogen sulfide gas can be released to the atmosphere. In strong concentrations, this gas is flammable and poisonous. It rapidly tarnishes silver, turning it black. It is toxic to aquarium fish in sufficient quantities. As little as 0.5 ppm hydrogen sulfide can be tasted in your drinking water.
 
Strong, Musty Smell
If you are unlucky enough to have this problem, you should consider the Triangular Wave Whole-House KDF / Carbon Filter System or look for a company that has local experience in dealing with this problem. There are ways to solve this problem for homeowners. 

Filters
Installation of a Triangular Wave Whole-House filter with KDF and granular activated carbon media is successful many times for hydrogen sulfide removal.  The copper in the KDF media reacts with the hydrogen sulfide to form copper sulfide and water.  The copper sulfide is insoluble in water and can be backwashed out of the Whole-House Filter.  

Other filter systems are available.   These types of filters must be recharged with chlorine or potassium permanganate. The removal capacities of these types of filters are usually fairly low, and must be sized to contain enough media to prevent premature exhaustion, and subsequent passage of the smell to service. It is also typical that the amount of hydrogen sulfide can fluctuate rapidly, causing great difficulty in sizing the unit. In addition, potassium permanganate is extremely "messy", and will leave stains that are very difficult to remove. 

Aeration
Aeration consists of breaking the incoming water into small droplets (spray) into the air, drawing fresh air through that spray, collecting the water into a storage tank, repressurize the water, passing it through a particulate filter to catch any particles that might be carried out of the storage tank. The air drawn though the spray must be vented outside the house -- remember, it is toxic and explosive. Although this system necessitates another pump to repressurize your supply, you are not adding any chemicals to your water, which makes it attractive. This system is low maintenance and no chemicals to purchase. Initial cost may be higher, however, and space requirements may be greater. 

Water that Stains 

I have red stains in my sinks and other fixtures - Help!
Red stains are normally caused by iron in the water. You must test to determine the amount and the type of iron you have. Some types are: oxidized, soluble, colloidal, bacteria or organic-bound. All are a problem! It only takes 0.3 ppm to stain clothes, fixtures, etc. 

Oxidized
This type of iron is usually found in a surface water supply. This is water that contains red particles when first drawn from the tap. The easiest way to remove this type of iron is by a Triangular Wave Deposit Control System in combination with a fine mechanical filter. A cartridge type filter is usually not a good solution, due to the rapid plugging of the element. The Triangular Wave Deposit Control System will help the filter function better.  Another method or removal is by feeding a chemical into the water to cause the little particles of iron to clump together, and then fall to the bottom of a holding tank, where they can be flushed away.
 
Soluble
Soluble iron is called "clear water" iron. After being drawn form the well and contacting the air, the iron oxidizes, or "rusts", forming reddish brown particles in the water. Depending on the amount of iron in the water, you may solve this problem with a Triangular Wave Deposit Control System and a KDF / Carbon Filter.  The Triangular Wave system conditions the iron particles and keeps them suspended in the water.  The KDF media alloys function as catalysts to change soluble ferrous cations (positively-charged ions) into insoluble ferric hydroxide, which can be removed with regular backwashing. With enough oxygen dissolved in the water, iron removal rates of 98 percent or better are common.  You also may use an iron filter that recharges with chlorine or potassium permanganate, or feed chemicals to oxidize the iron and then filter it with a mechanical filter. You can sometimes hide the effects of soluble iron by adding chemicals that, in effect, coat the iron in the water and prevent it from reaching oxygen and oxidizing. 

Colloidal
Colloidal iron is very small particles of oxidized iron suspended in the water. They are usually bound together with other substances. They resist agglomeration, ie, the combining together of like substances forming larger, heavier, more filterable ones, due to the static electrical charge they carry. This iron looks more like a color than particles when held up in a clear glass, as they are so small. 

Treatment is usually one of two: Feed chlorine to oxidize the organic away from the iron, thus allowing agglomeration to occur, or, feeding polymers that attract the static charge on the particles, forming larger clumps of matter that is filterable.
 
Bacterial
Iron bacteria are living organisms that feed on the iron found in the water, pipes, fittings, etc. They build slime all along the water flow path. Occasionally, the slimy growths break free, causing extremely discolored water. If a large slug breaks loose, it can pass through to the point of use, plugging fixtures. These types of bacteria are becoming more common throughout the United States. If you suspect bacteria iron, look for a reddish or green slime buildup in your toilet flush tank. To confirm your suspicions, gather a sample of this slime and take it to your local health department, or water department for observation under the microscope. 

This type of iron problem can be treated with a combination of a Triangular Wave Deposit Control System and a Triangular Wave Ultraviolet Disinfection System. You must kill the bacteria, using the UV disinfection system where the water enters the building. The Triangular Wave Deposit Control System will condition the water and the conditioned water will dissolve, over time, the slime coating on the pipe walls.  The combined deposit control / UV system will work  continuously to prevent regrowth. A filter alone will not solve this problem. 

Organic Bound
When iron combines with tannins and other organics, complexes are formed that cannot be removed by ion exchange or oxidizing filters. This iron may be mistaken for colloidal iron. Test for tannins; if they are present, it is most likely combined with the iron. Low level amounts of this pest can be removed by use of a combination Triangular Wave Deposit Control System and KDF / Carbon filter, which absorbs the complex. You must replace the carbon bed when it becomes saturated. Higher amounts require feeding ozone or chlorine to oxidize the organics to break apart from the iron and cause both to precipitate into a filterable particle.
 
I have blue or green stains on my fixtures - Help!
You either have copper in your water supply, or you have copper pipes and corrosive water. Test for copper in your water. Test the pH, total dissolved solids content and the oxygen content of your water.
 
Copper
Copper can be removed by a Triangular Wave KDF / Carbon filter. The removal rate is about the same as it is for iron. 

Copper Pipes and Corrosive Water
If your pH is from 5 to 7, you may raise it by passing the water through a sacrificial media such as calcite (calcium carbonate).  By sacrificing calcium carbonate into the water, the pH of the water will be increased and the corrosively will be reduced. Be sure to install a Triangular Wave Deposit Control system downstream of the calcite to prevent calcium carbonate scale form forming on the pipes and water appliances.   If the pH is below 5, you will need to feed chemicals into the water. If the corrosively is caused by excess oxygen, the hot water will be much more corrosive than the cold. Treatment is by feeding polyphosphate or silicates to coat and protect the plumbing, or to aerate the water to release the excess oxygen.
 
Improving your Drinking Water 

Filters --  What can they do?
There are many types of filters available in the market place today. We will try to group them by the method they use to filter water. 

Almost everyone has seen the ads for the filter that fits on the end of your kitchen sink or bathroom spigot. These filters usually use two basic types of filtration: a filter 'pad' catches the large (usually over 25 micron in size) particles or 'chunks' , and a small amount of carbon to adsorb organics and/or chlorine.

The Triangular Wave Shower head  Filter and Low-flow Shower Head are specifically designed to incorporate the proper flow rate for removal of chlorine, sediments, and other pollutants. 

 The main problem here is the flow rates at which they are expected to work at. The consumer expects to turn the tap on as normal and draw "filtered" water. To remove free chlorine, for instance, standard engineering practices set the maximum flow rate at 10 gallons per minute per square foot (144 square inches) of surface area of the carbon, *if* you are using a standard 30" bed depth. To remove chloramines or organics, the maximum flow rate is set at 5 gallons per minute per square foot of surface area. If your spigot will provide a flow of 1.5 gallons per minute, what size filter do you need hanging on the end of that spigot to insure that the chlorine and organics will not be swept past through the filter, into your glass? If you purchase this type of filter, make sure it has a way of limiting the rate at which water passes through it. 

Next comes the cartridge type filter. The Triangular Wave Counter top and Under-the-Counter Filters are in this category.  Most common are the 10 1/2 or 20 inch long filters. This type filter will usually have a removable housing, into which different types of "elements" can be placed. A sediment filter cartridge element can be manufactured to remove certain size particles and larger. Most elements for home use will indicate 30 or 50 micron and larger removal. More expensive elements, usually for industrial use, may indicate a particle size (in microns) and add the words "Absolute" after it. No, it isn't Vodka, it simply means that if it says 5 micron absolute, it means it! Very few particles larger than 5 microns will pass through the filter. The regular filter may say 25 microns, meaning that *most* of the particles 25 microns and larger will be caught by the filter. 

Remember, there filters actually get better, or more effective, as they are used. The 'junk' in the water collects on the surface of the filter and becomes a part of the filter as well. As it builds up, progressively smaller and smaller particles are trapped, and the flow rate through the filter slowly diminishes. This slowing of the flow rate can be a source of problems to water using appliances in your home. If you use such a filter, regular changing of the filter element is very important. 

Elements for these filters can also be KDF filter media and carbon (block or granular, or powdered); can be manufactured for use in hot water; can be ceramic, pleated as well as many other configurations.  Some manufacturers are mixing a small amount of KDF or silver into the carbon to help prevent any bacteria growth in them. Make sure that such a filter doesn't give off more silver than is allowed, if not rinsed thoroughly prior to use, especially after a prolonged period of non-use. 

Remember, all filters, carbon especially, trap organics that bacteria feed on, and as the water sits without moving, they can multiply rapidly. Always change the elements on a regular, frequent basis. 

Selective Resins
A relative newcomer to the market, some small filters now contain resins that only remove specific things from the water, such as Nitrates, Fluoride or Lead. Technology is rapidly changing in this area. If you have a need for such a device, you should ask for supporting test results from an independent testing lab to verify that the unit will perform as advertised. Many states now have legislation that requires such data be provided to you prior to purchase. 

Deionization 
Used mainly in labs, manufacturing processes, or for serious aquarium owners, DI filters are actually more complex than a filter. True filters, unlike the selective resin and DI units, work on a mechanical basis --  they just 'catch' the particles that are too large to fit through the spaces between the filter media. (Well, we fibbed a little; but who wants to know about the Van Der Waals or Coulomb forces?) 

DI works by ion exchange, just like a water softener. Just as a water softener exchanges sodium for hardness minerals, a DI unit will have two types of resin in it: Cation and Anion. Basically, the Cation resin (like in a water softener) removes the ions with a positive charge, while the Anion resin removes those ions with a negative charge. Instead of using salt as a regenerant, acid and caustic are used. Some small DI cartridges are sold as "throw-aways", others can be returned for regeneration and reuse. These small units can treat only small amounts of raw, city water. Usually, it is much more economical to pretreat the water feeding a DI system with reverse osmosis system.
 
Distillation
One of the oldest methods for cleaning water is distillation. Simply put, you boil water, catch the steam, and condense it back into water. Theory is, the minerals stay behind in the boiling chamber, and only *pure* water ends up in your container. In the real world, most of those things do happen; but if you do not perform preventative maintenance on your still, you can get very poor results. Distillation will kill bacteria, viruses, cysts as well as remove heavy metals, organics, radio nuclides, inorganics and particulates if properly maintained. 

One thing you must watch out for is VOC's (volatile organic chemicals). These chemicals have a lower boiling point than water (like benzene), and can vaporize and mix with the steam, carrying over into the product water. Some stills today have a volitle gas vent -- a small hole at the top of the condensing coil that allows the venting of such substances.

Many distillers have a carbon filter to "polish" the product water before use and to remove any VOC's that may carry over. The energy used to treat a gallon of water is usually about 3,000 watts, or about 25 cents per gallon (average) in the US. This treatment method requires that you 'plan ahead' and make and store water for use, which makes it somewhat less appealing. The more elaborate units will make and store water automatically, but raise the initial investment and maintenance of the equipment.
 
Reverse Osmosis
This is a process that is often described as filtration, but it is far more complex than that. We sometimes explain it as a filter, because it is much easier to visualize using those terms. We should remember that osmosis is how we feed each cell in our bodies --  As our blood is carried into the smallest of capillaries in our bodies, nutrients actually pass through the cell wall to sustain it's life. Reverse osmosis is just the opposite: We take water with "nutrients" (in this case, junk) in it, and apply pressure to it against a certain type of membrane, and, presto -- out comes "clean" water. 

Lets review the basics.  If you take a jar of water and place a semi-permeable membrane (like a cell wall or a piece of skin) in it, dividing the jar into two sections, then place water in both sides to an equal level, nothing happens. But, if you place salt (or other such substance) into one side of the jar, you will notice that, after awhile, the water level in the salty side begins to rise higher as the unsalted side lowers. This is osmotic pressure at work.  The two solutions will continue to try to reach the same level of salt in each side by the unsalted water passing through the membrane to dilute the salty water. This will continue until the "head" pressure of the salt water overcomes the osmotic pressure created by the differences in the two solutions. 

On the other hand, researchers have discovered that if we take that membrane and feed water with sufficient pressure to overcome the osmotic pressure of the two waters, we can 'manufacture' clean water on the side of the membrane that has no pressure. We sometimes say we "filter" the water through the membrane. Depending on the membrane design, and the material it made from, the amount of TDS (total dissolved solids) reduction will range from 80 to over 95 per cent.

Different minerals have different rejection rates, for instance, the removal rate for a sample membrane is 99.5% for Barium and Radium 226/228; but only 85.9% for Fluoride and 94.0% for Mercury. Removal rates are very dependant on feedwater pressures, and some membranes are not tolerant to high or low pH. 

For home use, it is important to make sure you get a Triangular Wave Deposit Control System, a sediment prefilter, a carbon prefilter, membrane, storage tank and post carbon filter, and consider an RO system, as well. Some of these filters may be combined into one, e.g., the prefilter may be a particulate and carbon both. The deposit control system will increase the efficiency of the filters and RO unit and protect the RO membrane from scale deposits.  The results are longer membrane life and more efficient filter action.

A lot of comments have been made concerning the 'wasting' of water by an RO. True, the old style units with the early type membranes were more prone to becoming plugged, or fouled by the "junk" they removed from the water. To help keep this from happening, a small amount of water was allowed to run across the membrane to help carry away those impurities to drain. Early designs only recovered 1 gallon of good water for every 4-8 gallons used to keep the membrane clean. Even worse, when your storage tank was full, water still ran to the drain because the early membranes were made of a material that the little bugs in your water supply (no, not pathogens, or dangerous to you in small numbers) loved to eat! So to prevent that, we just let the water run so they couldn't have time to stop and eat.) 

Now, Triangular Wave Deposit Control Systems condition the water and keep the 'bugs' suspended in the water and away from the membranes.  In addition, membranes are made to not only recover a much higher percentage of the feedwater, but the bugs don't eat them! Newer systems not only recover more, they can have a shut off device that stops all water flow when the storage tank is full. Actual recovery rate is dependant on several factors, including the TDS, and just what the TDS is composed of, in your feedwater. Temperature, pressure also have a big effect on the amount of product water you can make in a given period. Remember, all RO units are normally rated using a feedwater temperature of 77 degrees F -- is your feed water temperature that high? 

Water Testing Information

When should I test?
Several factors will influence when and how often you test your water.

• Where do get your water from?

• Has that source changed?

• Have you done any plumbing changes lately?

• Is there reason to believe that your water is contaminated?

• Is there a sickness or illness in your family affecting more than one person and over a longer than normal time period?

Lead
Lead is now known to leach from older sweat joints in copper pipe. As the water sits in the pipes, small amounts of lead 'dissolve' into the water, contaminating it. Lead is particularly harmful to small children as they more rapidly absorb the toxic substance into their systems. The EPA has estimated that more than 40 million U.S. residents use water that contains more than the recommended levels.  A Triangular Wave Counter Top or Under-the-Counter point-of-use water filter with KDF and activated carbon will remove lead and other heavy metals from the water.

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