Is My Tap Water Safe To Drink?

Depending on your local water supply, the drinking water in your home could be already treated by a local municipality. If your home is on well water, it is likely that some form of treatment is needed...

Step 1: Get Educated on Your Water Conditions

Look at what information is available from your local water authority in terms of general conditions and water treatment procedures. How often does your community post boil water advisories or other warnings? If possible, get your water tested by a local treatment company, or possibly consider using a test kit yourself.

This process is slightly more complicated if you have well water since the variability of your conditions is higher and there are potentially a lot of influential factors. Older wells, ones that have been in operation for a long time, may require more specific treatment options. Water from wells in disrepair may need even more extensive purification to be fit for human consumption. Getting some kind of test results is still the solution here, so you know what you’re dealing with.

Step 2: Evaluate the Pro’s and Con’s of Available Solutions

Once you understand your conditions and circumstances better you can start to evaluate treatment and solutions for your water conditions. It may be the case, for example, that you live in a municipality with extensive water treatment, which means that the conditions are probably pretty good. Maybe the water is a little hard and you might want a water softener? That is certainly a good option, but in the current state your water is perfectly safe to consume.

If you live in an area with consistent boil advisories or odd smells coming from the pipes in your home, you may want to consider at least getting something like an under the sink style R.O. system. These systems are less expensive than many others and can be hooked up directly to spouts used just for drinking water. A system like this offers a good amount of purification at a low cost and provides a lot of peace of mind to homeowners, who might otherwise have to spend a lot of time and money bringing in bottled water on a regular basis.

As is always the case with wells, it’s a bit more complicated because water quality depends a lot on local conditions. For example, if you live in an industrial or agricultural run-off area, there will likely be a higher concern around chemicals, microplastics, and other potential contaminants. These kinds of chemicals can leak into local water tables and do not generally leave a taste or smell in the way some natural deposits do.

Step 3: Take Action and Be Proactive

Many chemicals, bacteria and other contaminants do not always have dramatic initial effects, but can be detrimental over time. If you have your water tested and it is determined that you have any serious problems, ignoring them or avoiding them is not a good idea. Some homeowners will choose to purchase bottled water for drinking while at home, which is a viable temporary solution.

The best solution is often a whole-home system, generally installed right into your home's water lines, with specific pieces of equipment designed to address your existing water conditions. For example, if you’re having issues with pesticides and BPAs, you’ll almost certainly want a Carbon Filter for everything coming into the home. Of course, these sorts of systems can be quite expensive, which may be out of reach for some homeowners.

Another alternative is to purchase a smaller unit for just drinking water. Reverse Osmosis and U.V. Light systems are some of the smallest and cheapest forms of water treatment, as well as the most broadly effective. These systems do not treat some of the more specialized issues that some homeowners will encounter, but they effectively neutralize most bacteria, TDS and some other common contaminants.

Hurricane Home Solutions is a Water Treatment Specialist that services New York and Pennsylvania. Water Treatment Companies like ours will generally offer homeowners free water tests to help determine their water quality and recommend the best treatment solutions for your unique conditions. Contact us today to learn more.