Beauchamp Water Treatment Blogspot

Friday, June 12, 2015

Hard, Rusty, Smelly Water Problems Inside and Outside the Home?

Recently we had a couple from Milford, MI call that had an old ozone filtration system that failed. They had sediment filters before and after everything to try and catch all the iron in the water inside and outside the home. This system also fed their outside irrigation system. They had been through several water softeners and many service calls on the ozone system in the 14 years since the system had been installed. The ozone generator had died, the filters tanks were iron-bound and had been removed, the water softener stopped working, the water pressure in the house was very low and the irrigation system would not work at all.

Ozone systems were great for treating iron and odor problems along with many other water problems, especially bacteria in the water when they first came out but there are much more efficient ways to treat rusty, smell, hard water issues now. Although ozone can still be a preferred method to treat difficult bacteria issues such as iron bacteria and coliform bacteria. Beauchamp Water Treatment and Supply removed the entire system, including the old galvanized well/contact tank (replaced it with a captive air bladder tank) and re-plumbed everything from before the well tank, through the new system, irrigation system and to the household plumbing. As a matter of fact, we took out over sixty feet of plumbing that was totally fouled with oxidized iron. See pictures below,

Duplex AIO filtration systems were installed to accommodate the flow rates required for the irrigation system and household water use and a new high efficient water softener was installed. This system is now much more efficient with very little maintenance, other than adding salt periodically. They went from using over 140# of water softener salt per month to 40# of salt use per month. That is a savings of over $1000.00 in 5 years!

As you can see by these pictures the entire system, including the plumbing lines, was fouled with iron and needed to be replaced. The pipe shown here, coming out of the well tank, is a 1" PVC line that is so fouled with iron I could not fit the tip of my pen in it! They were getting maybe five gallons per minute flow rate to the water treatment system, in the house, and to the irrigation system.

This is the picture of the ozone system, well tank, water softener, and filters before it was removed. Now that is a plumbing nightmare!

The new water treatment system feeds the household water with iron-free softened water and supplies iron-free water for the irrigation system so there are no rust stains on the home's exterior, landscaping, driveways/sidewalks, property and that mailbox that is always brown from rust.

In summation; It is all about the proper solutions for water treatment problems. That is why Beauchamp Water Treatment and Supply does not tell you what you need. We work with you to provide practical, sensible, cost effective water treatment solutions to help your family solve those hard, rusty, smelly, water problems and provide the quality water you expect for your home and family.

Here are some useful links relevant to the information in this article;

wwwbeauchampwater.com

Ozonation in Water Treatment

Ozone Fact Sheet

EPA: Household Wells

EPA: Michigan Drinking Water

Water Quality Association

Beauchamp Water Facebook

Good Water, Good Life!

Beauchamp Water Treatment Solutions

872 N Old US 23

Brighton, MI 48114

810-632-2000

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Reverse Osmosis: What is it and why you should have one.

Reverse Osmosis is a filtration method where water is forced through a semi permeable membrane to reduce total dissolved solids and contaminants to supply fresh drinking water. A typical residential reverse osmosis system will have 3 to 5 stages of filtration consisting of a 5 micron pre-filter or Carbon block filter, Reverse Osmosis Membrane, Activated carbon post filter, In-line post carbon filter and holding tank. The pre-filter is simply designed to remove sediment and some particulates before the membrane or protect the membrane from chlorinated water supplies with a Carbon block pre-filter. The RO membrane is the primary stage of filtration and removes up to 99% of contaminants in the water. Many of these contaminants are VOC’s (Volatile Organic Chemicals) which the carbon filtration stage is designed to reduce/remove and polish the water as a final phase before delivery to the faucet or refrigerator.

The Reverse Osmosis Process:

The RO membrane consists of many layers of spiral wound filaments which restrict the passage of contaminants and force them to the drain. The product water is drawn from the inside of the membrane and sent to a storage tank before it goes through final carbon filtration as it goes to the RO faucet or refrigerator. A typical residential Reverse Osmosis system can make anywhere from 10-75 gallons per day of high quality water depending on the TDS (Total dissolved solids) of the incoming water supply, feed pressure and temperature of the water. Generally the higher the TDS less product water and lower quality water will be created. For high TDS water a “Booster Pump” is used to boost the incoming water pressure to the membrane to improve quality and quantity of water produced.

Cutaway of a Reverse Osmosis Membrane and RO Membrane in filter housing:

Particulate size removal chart for a Reverse Osmosis system:

Diagram of a Reverse Osmosis System installation under a sink:

When feasible it is recommended to have the reverse osmosis system installed in the basement for easy maintenance, filter changes and to not tie up valuable space under the sink. Larger storage tanks can be used when installed in the basement and product tanks can even be hung in the floor joists to help with water pressure to the RO faucet and refrigerator. Delivery pumps can also be used to boost the pressure from the storage tank to run water across the basement, operate refrigerators efficiently and supply higher pressure to multiple locations and RO faucets. RO filters are changed every 6-12 months and the RO membrane is changed every 3-7 years depending on water usage and incoming water quality to the RO. Filters changes will run anywhere from $60 up to $120 depending on the RO system. RO membranes generally cost $80 to $120. Anyone can change these filters but there are certain procedures that need to be followed when changing RO filters to protect against bacterial cross contamination from our hands that can potentially contaminate the RO. Periodic sanitizing of the complete RO system is recommended to prevent possible contamination.

There are three styles of residential reverse osmosis systems:

1. Basic RO system with 3-5 stages of filtration

2. 3-4 stage RO system with one piece manifold

3. 3-5 stage RO system with quick change filters

Reverse Osmosis storage tanks come in many sizes to accommodate necessary water storage:

Rather than getting into the histrionics about all the dangerous things that can potentially be in our water and how they can be hazardous to our health, let’s just address ONE fact. We all need to drink more water! Our Doctors tell us that, our bodies tell us that every time we get thirsty and we all need to get away from drinking so many sugary drinks, energy drinks, coffee, drinks with artificial sweeteners, etc. Dehydration is actually the number one contributor to health related issues. Our bodies are over 80% water so keeping hydrated is of the utmost importance and drinking water is the only way to rehydrate.

Having to constantly buy water, be it five gallon bottles or cases of bottled water for drinking, is time consuming, expensive and a pain to constantly be chasing water or scheduling delivery not to mention finding the space to store it all. All of us need to drink more water and many of us are, evidenced by the bottled water that is flying off store shelves and being delivered weekly to households. The bottled water industry has been growing by nearly 10% annually. Hey, we are paying $1.00 or more for a twelve ounce bottle of water! At that rate gasoline would be over $10 per gallon! That is just ridiculous and on top of that bottled water is very loosely regulated for quality and potability. A Reverse Osmosis drinking water system is the answer to this problem. It's the most practical way of giving us all the quality water we need (AT PENNIES PER GALLON) and will give your family high quality drinking water 24/7, 365 days a year. So do yourself a favor! Go buy a Reverse Osmosis system for your family and DRINK UP there is plenty of water for everyone!

Here are some helpful links pertaining to reverse osmosis, drinking water contaminants, drinking water regulations and concerns about what may be in our water.

Wikipedia - What is Reverse Osmosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis

EPA - Drinking water contaminants

http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm

EPA - Ground water and Drinking water

http://water.epa.gov/drink/

Wikipedia - Contaminant levels

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_Contaminant_Level

How Stuff Works - Reverse Osmosis

http://science.howstuffworks.com/reverse-osmosis.htm

Beauchamp Water Treatment and Supply

http://www.beauchampwater.com/