Smelly Water. New treatment system doesn't help!

Dear Clean Water Man:

For several months we have had a horrible odor in our water which is very noticeable in the morning in our bathrooms.  "---" Water Treatment (name hidden) Company came and put in a five thousand dollar water treatment system and the smell is still there.

Becca, Stamford.

Becca:


I didn't want to be the bearer of bad tidings, but since I visited and I told you what the problem was, I will share it here.  The odor is not in your water.  One thing that should make it plain for others dealing with suspected water odors is whether the smell is consistent throughout the entire home.  It may be in ALL the cold water or ALL the hot water or ALL the water.  What I found in your home was the foul odor was coming from three bathroom sinks upstairs, one in the master bath and the two others in your children's bathroom.  There was no odor anywhere else.

This is where the story gets a little gross, but this problem is only happening where you and others in your family are brushing teeth.  Under every legally installed sink is a U shaped bit of plumbing called a trap.  The trap holds water that acts as a barrier to keep sewer or septic gasses out of your home.  This is great because sewer and septic odors smell horrible and can be potentially lethal, either through fumes or by actually catching on fire.  I inspected the traps and they are in good working order.  So, I determined that the problem was actually in the traps themselves.  When you brush your teeth, spit and food particles gather in the trap.  After a while, this stuff begins to decompose and give off a horrible smell.  Overnight, while no one is using the sink, the length of pipe that goes from the sink to the trap fills with the odor.  When the water is turned on and you lean over to brush your teeth in the morning, the accumulated odor is disturbed by the water you turned on and it wafts up, out of the drain hole and into your nose.  This is the source of odor in YOUR house.

To fix it you need to occasionally pour some laundry bleach into the sink drains.  A quarter cup is more than enough.  Be careful to not allow bleach to sit on the chrome or nickel or other finish drain piece as it will ruin the finish.  Let it set in the trap for ten minutes and then rinse away.  The smell should go away for several weeks.

DO NOT POUR BLEACH IN AFTER YOU HAVE POURED OTHER CHEMICALS DOWN THE DRAIN since it could cause a hazardous reaction.  Do not use on unsound plumbing.

For others attempting to determine the source of an odor, try this.  If the smell comes right back by the next day, the problem is in your water and a professional water treatment company can help you with this issue.

www.cleanwaterman.com

Eczema And Hard Water? Symptoms have moved!

Dear Clean Water Man:

We had a water softener installed because our children's dermatologist recommended it to help with our teenage son and daughter's eczema.  Initially we were very pleased with the results since the facial eczema and scaly scalp symptoms went away within five days.  Then, the eczema appeared on our childrens' bodies, especially their backs and stomach areas.  Our water treatment company has been kind and returned several times to test the water, but it always tests perfectly soft.  Is there any way the water is sometimes hard and just always soft whenever a test gets done?

Itchy in Fairfield, CT

Itchy:

Thank you for your letter.  I came and tested your treated water and it is perfectly soft and your current water treatment company is doing a fine job for you.  I asked you a bunch of questions and there was one issue that you needed to change, and after my follow up call to you, I discovered that my diagnosis was correct.

Many times, detergent mixed with hard water leaves a residue on clothing.  When the clothing is worn during the day, perspiration reactivates the detergent and the detergent irritates the skin and can cause eczema type symptoms or outright eczema.  This is what happens when hard water causes eczema in the clothing areas.

Unfortunately, without proper knowledge, soft water can cause the same problem, although through a different mechanism.  When hardness is removed from the wash water, there is nothing to keep the detergent from developing massive amounts of suds.  Think of the Brady Bunch episode when someone put too much detergent in the wash.  Tons and tons of suds.  The suds build up, and, especially with top loaders, they can even sit up just below the lid and not get rinsed away.  To some extent, even the no or low suds hE detergents can suds up quite well in soft water.  The remedy is simple: the amount of detergent used in the washing machine needs to be reduced.

For top load washers, use about a quarter of the recommended scoop.  For hE front loaders, cut it down to half the recommended amount.  Giant amounts of suds are just evidence of using too much detergent.  Lessen the amount of detergent and the skin irritations will decrease significantly.

www.cleanwaterman.com

Dull Hair. Is it really my water?

Dear Clean Water Man:

I spend a fortune on coloring my hair and within a few days after each trip to the salon, my hair color is already faded.  I have tried six different salons in the last two years and nobody seems to color my hair with a product that stays bright and fresh for more than a week.  My most recent stylist says I must have hard water.  How can that cause my hair to be dull and lifeless?  Is it really my water?

Jennifer in Easton, CT

Jennifer:

Thank you for letting me visit your home and test your water.  Yes, you do have hard water and it also has an elevated pH, which makes any hardness in the water even more sticky and able to coat surfaces.  Each of your hairs is a surface, a somewhat permeable surface, that grabs on to hard water minerals (calcium and magnesium).  The hardness builds up to become a coating that prevents the coloring from being seen in all of its glory.  I pointed out the glasses you have been washing in your dishwasher are coated with a white film which is made out of the same crud that is on each and every hair on your head.

After I install the water softener in your home, the hardness will be removed and there will no longer be a coating on your hair.  The color you choose will shine out for all the world to see instead of being covered and hidden by a layer of crud.

www.cleanwaterman.com

Orange Hair. Help!

Clean Water Man:

I just moved into a new to me house and after three weeks, I noticed my hair is turning orange.  I color my hair blonde and I am really upset about this and my stylist says there is iron in my water at home.  What can I do?

I don't want to look like Ronald McDonald!

J. in Greenwich



J:

Luckily you live in Connecticut where I have my business and was able to come and test your water and yes, you have a significant amount of iron in your water (over five parts per million) and your water is also hard and acidic.  I installed a water treatment system which included a backwashing sediment filter to remove the heavy precipitated iron, a neutralizer to raise the pH, and a softener to polish off the remaining iron which is in the dissolved form.

Iron is an incredibly good stainer and it can stain your hair and the fixtures in your home at levels even below the EPA standard of 0.5 parts per million.  When the stylist has made your hair light colored it has been treated to accept color (blonde) and the unfortunate thing about the treatment is that it also makes any discoloration in your water stick much easier.  There are special shampoos and treatments to remove the iron and other discolorations, but the best solution is to just get the staining culprits out of the water.  Within two weeks of adding your new water filtering system almost all the iron should be gone, even the iron that built up on the inside of the plumbing and in the water heater and you should notice that your hair remains whatever color you choose.

MY WEBSITE

Acid Neutralizer For Well Water - What Is It?

Pictured is a backwashing acid neutralizer.  It uses calcite and (in extreme cases) magnesium oxide to increase the pH of acidic water.  Acid water is technically any water that registers lower than 7.0 on the pH scale, although, due to many factors, how far below 7.0 YOUR well water will need to be before it causes problems will vary.  One way to know that your well water is acidic is blue/green stains in your toilets and sinks.

This image courtesy of Imerys, the best manufacturer of calcite products.

The filter is filled to about 18 inches from the top with calcite (shown above), a granulated product made from crushed marble.  It is a natural method for neutralizing acidic water. When the water is acidic, it will dissolve a small amount of calcite, actually in a reaction similar to but nowhere near as violent as mixing vinegar and baking soda.  When enough calcite is dissolved to bring the pH to 7.0, the reaction naturally stops.  This is a safe and effective treatment for acid water.

See Clean Water Man, Inc's website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Frizzy Hair Caused By My Water?

Dear Clean Water Man:

My hair is terrible.  It is stiff and frizzy and I have no way to control it.  My hair stylist said that my water must be "hard".  What does this mean and why is it a problem with my hair?

Sincerely,

Straw Head, New Milford, CT


Dear Straw Head:

Hard water is water that has an excess of the two minerals, calcium and magnesium.  The reason these minerals make hair unmanageable is because each of your hairs gets coated with hardness.  What amounts to dissolved stone dries onto your hair and makes your hair hard and frizzy.

This is a simple problem to fix.  Just have a water softener installed in your home to have the hard minerals removed from your water.  Your hair will be soft and manageable.

See Clean Water Man, Inc's website at comwww.cleanwaterman.com

Unmanageable Hair - What Is The Matter With My Water?

Dear Clean Water Man:

My hair is terrible.  It is stiff and frizzy and I have no way to control it.  My hair stylist said that my water must be "hard".  What does this mean and why is it a problem with my hair?

Sincerely,

Straw Head, New Milford, CT


Dear Straw Head:

Hard water is water that has an excess of the two minerals, calcium and magnesium.  The reason these minerals make hair unmanageable is because each of your hairs gets coated with hardness.  What amounts to dissolved stone dries onto your hair and makes your hair hard.

This is a simple problem to fix.  Just have a water softener installed in your home to have the hard minerals removed from your water.  Your hair will be soft and manageable.

See Clean Water Man, Inc's website at comwww.cleanwaterman.com

Plumber says I need a non-bladder well tank? Why? I want a bladder tank.

Dear Clean Water Man:

My old galvanized well tank has finally worn out and has leaks.  I want a new bladder type tank, but my plumber says that it needs to be replaced with a non bladder tank with something called an Air Volume Control.  I have researched and everyone says the bladder type tanks are better.  Could you stop by and give me a price on a new bladder tank?

Lee, Redding, CT


Dear Lee:

You have an exceptional plumber.  I came out and inspected the old well tank and did some checking, and your plumber is correct, you do need a NON-bladder type well tank.

When your home was built, it was built on ledge or bedrock.  When the well line (the horizontal pipe that connects your well to your house) was installed, the surrounding bedrock made it difficult to bury it below the frost line.  In lovely New England, this could cause the well line to freeze in winter, so a bleed back system was installed.  The bleed back system consists of a specially designed check valve that has a threaded hole on the well side and a threaded hole on the tank side.  The check is in between the holes.  The check allows the water to flow from the well but not back to the well.  Here are the Flowmatic check valves I use, now made of lead free brass.

On the well side (the back end of the arrow) we install a snifter valve. 

 These pictures are not to scale.  On the tank side, we install a plug.  Back at the well, there is a small flapper valve on the pump pipe (the vertical pipe that goes from the pump to the pitless adapter) near the top of your well.  After the pump has cycled and filled the well tank and the pressure switch on your system turns the pump off, the snifter and the small flapper valve work with each other to allow air into the well line and allow the water out.  This helps prevent a freezing well line.

So now we get to the point of why you need the non-bladder tank.  When the pump cycles again, the little flapper valve near the top of the well closes and the air that has entered the line is forced into the home and into the well tank, the current well tank, and the new one your plumber will be installing and this air is why an air volume control is needed.

 

This is the USG Air Volume Control I use.  Notice the white plastic float.  When the float falls due excess air built up in the tank, it opens yet another tiny valve that allows that air to escape.  When the water level rises and lifts the float, this little valve closes, keeping water from spilling on the floor.   If this set up is attempted with a bladder tank, there is no way to vent the air out and it builds up to a point where it comes out in spurts and makes the plumbing act in violent strange ways, like air exploding into the toilet tanks or out of faucet spouts.

Not every old fashioned non-bladder tank was installed for this reason.  There are many old galvanized tanks, some older than fifty years, still functioning.  There was a time when things were built to last.  Woe to the plumber that has to change out a tank that has lasted fifty or more years because it was made with heavy gauge steel and has a half century of crud built up in the bottom and has an enormous mass.  Someone will be going home with a sore back that day.





See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Post Sandy, Post Storm Well Safety

Due to the catastrophic hurricane, there is some advice for people who live in homes with wells.

If flood water levels were above the top of your well casing at any time, do not drink your well water until your well has been sanitized and tested.  This includes if your well was covered by ocean water, fresh water, street runoff, or even sewage.

In general, the well casing is a 6" to 8" steel pipe that sticks above the ground and is covered with a metal cap.  Modern caps are a better seal than ones from years ago, BUT THEY HAVE SCREENED VENTS that allow air in and out of the well as it is emptied or filling.  The screened vents can allow water in, and if it is surface flood water, it is very likely contaminated.

Your well casing may be buried and under a concrete lid, and if your yard had flooding, have it dug up, chlorinated, and then have it tested.  Also consider having a buried casing raised by extending it with a welded or bolted on extension.

If at all possible, have an EPA chlorination done where the well is chlorinated, rinsed with chlorinated water, and then the chlorinated water is run to every water using fixture in the home.  Sometimes this is very difficult with buried wells.

After the chlorine in your well has dissipated, have the water tested by a state certified lab.  If there is still bacteria in the water, either re-chlorinate or consider adding an ultraviolet water sanitizer to your water system.  An ultraviolet water sanitizer kills bacteria in your water.

Check out my website at www.cleanwaterman.com