Help keep your pipes from freezing

Connecticut has some very cold weather tonight and tomorrow night. To keep your pipes from freezing, leave a slow drip from the faucets into the sinks and tubs in your home. Even a slow drip is enough water to keep the pipes warm enough to prevent freezing.

 See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Magnetic Electronic Water Treatment

Dear Clean Water Man:

I have been looking for a solution to several water problems I have and have stumbled upon an internet company selling an electronic wave product. They claim that it easy to install and will solve ALL water problems. It seems like a great price compared to the filter systems that my local dealers have quoted me. What do you think of these electronic systems?

Sincerely,

Ready To Try It

Dear Ready To Try It:

The tip that this is a scam is the claim that it will solve all water problems. To be blunt - there is no such thing. Here in my office I have several wholesale catalogs consisting of over 500 pages of products. I need access to these products so that I can get the equipment and materials to provide my customers with solutions to their water problems. Even then, I occasionally must shop around for other components to help me create complete systems. Every water treatment system I install is customized for each customer so that it will perform the needed task.

With my 15 years experience I have seen hundreds of these wire or magnet systems and the reason I see them is that I am being called by a customer who wasted money and found that the system did not work. They sit wrapped or bolted on the outside of a pipe with blinking lights, accomplishing nothing.

I suggest that if the system has a guarantee that it will work or your money back no questions asked, then you could try it

See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com.

Another Water Pressure Problem

Dear Clean Water Man:

We also had a power outage and now have a water pressure issue. The strange thing is that for a time, we had air coming out of our faucets. Now when we shower, the water has a strange slow / fast pulsation. Was this caused by the power outage or is it just a coincidence?

Hi and Lowis, Stamford, CT

Dear High and Lowis:

Just like the previous writer, your pressure problem was caused by the power outage, although for a different reason. You do not have a bladder tank. Your pressure tank is the old fashioned bladder-less type and there is a technical reason why you need a non-bladder tank. (I will discuss this in a future blog). The air you experienced was the pressurized air that is supposed to be in the tank to act as a buffer. The fix is simple. Have compressed air added back to the tank and avoid using water when the power goes out. The sooner you get air put back in the tank the better because it will prevent the well pump from short cycling and burning out.

Water issues in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.

See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Low Pressure After Power Outage

Dear Clean Water Man:

The other day, our power went out for several hours and ever since we have had very low water pressure. What is going on?

Sincerely,

Trickles, Greenwich, ConnecticutDear Trickles:

After I met with you and inspected your water system, I repaired the problem. I wanted to post here so that my readers could know what happened. Your water system consisted of a submersible pump, a Well-X-Trol bladder tank, a backwashing aggregate filter, and a water softener. Here is what happened:

The power went out but your family continued to use water. The Well-X-Trol tank has several gallons of water stored within the air pressurized bladder and is generally enough for a few toilet flushes or turning on other fixtures. As the water emptied out of the bladder tank, a great amount of iron sludge came off of the inside of the bladder and entered the aggregate filter. While this filter is designed to remove this precipitated iron, the huge amount of sludgy iron clogged the filter and all it needed was a few extra backwashes, which I took care of while I was at your home. The pressure improved after the manual backwashes.

The best approach is to stop using water when the power goes off so to prevent this fouling of the filtration system.



Check out my website at www.cleanwaterman.com

Water problems in Connecticut? Call Ted Mullen, The Clean Water Man, at 203-417-9601.

Well water worries. Should I back out of home purchase?

I am moving from the city with municipal water and buying a country home with a well. I am worried about all of the things that could be wrong with well water and have an opportunity to back out of the deal. Am I being unreasonable with my worry about well water?

Most likely you have unreasonable worries. While you are not specific about what concerns you, I can tell you that a local water treatment professional can help you solve all but one water issue, and that one unsolvable issue is no water at all (and even that can be solved by improving or replacing the well). We can add UV sterilization systems to kill bacteria, carbon systems to remove man made chemicals, aeration systems to remove radon, and drinking water purification systems to remove just about anything. So as long as you have an ample supply of water, a system can be designed to help you sleep (and sip) easy.

See my website at www.cleanwaterman.com or if you live in Connecticut, call me at 203-417-9601 to set up a free water consultation.