Water Wisdom

An ever-increasing amount of salt is seeping into municipal water supplies through road salting, manufacturing and residential water softening. For homeowners in hard water areas living without a water softener is unimaginable, but unless salt and water consumption is put in check, a future ban on sodium based softeners seems inevitable. It happened in California, it happened in parts of Europe and it can happen in Canada. Waterloo Region in Ontario is taking serious steps to maintain the integrity of the water supply and individual homeowners can help. Reducing the amount of salt used by water softeners is a challenge...

Does Salt-Free work in Waterloo Region? You have probably heard about the Region's interest in salt-free water conditioning. Notice I didn't say salt-free "softener." Well, that's because these systems do not actually soften the water. Softened water occurs by way of an ion exchange process which is what happens when you use a sodium-based water softener.  Salt-free systems are better described as "scale inhibitors." And now the question you've wanted to hear the answer to -- do they work?    The answer is a loud and clear YES!   In light of the recent salt shortage in Kitchener, Waterloo and area,...

Confused about how often or when you should replace water filters? Let's break it down and hopefully shed some light on this important question. After all, you bought a water purifier because you wanted pure water, so proper maintenance and filter changes will help you achieve that end. Most reverse osmosis drinking water systems are the same (they just look different) Most reverse osmosis units have 3 lower filter sumps. These sumps usually contain 1 sediment filter and 2 carbon filters and a membrane across the top. Some have an extra polishing filter also across the top.        The...

Ten reasons you don't need to leave home to buy water treatment products After working in a water treatment showroom for over 25 years I can tell you that I miss those face to face information exchanges with customers. But things change and even for us older (shall I say more weathered) salespeople, it’s time to rethink the old way of doing things and embrace the new way. Shopping online for water treatment products offers many advantages for the consumer Clearly, the obvious is that you limit your exposure to people and places. But the pandemic will end and so...

You should never over-fill your salt tank   But how much is enough? Well, the answer will be different for different homes, but here's a general idea. Factoring in a few variables will make this easier to explain. The bigger the family, the more salt you will use. Also, the harder your water, the more salt you will use. So, if you are a family of six, with a water hardness of 30 grains per gallon, your salt consumption will be double that of a family of 3 or a family of six with 15 grains of hardness. That's not...