Well Water Quality Tips for Homeowners
Today, we all need to be conscious of our impact on the environment. This is especially true if you receive your water from a private well. In order to maintain the health and supply of water to your home, it's important to test your well water quality annually and enact some simple conservation efforts that can provide your family with plenty of pure, clean water for many years into the future.
Let's look at some simple household and water quality tips that can help you to conserve water and maintain your well water quality now and far into the future.
Household Tips For Maintaining Well water Quality and Conserving Water
Water quality isn't just about the health of your water. As a homeowner, your entire water system including plumbing, storage, and delivery can affect the quality and quantity of your water supply. As we all become aware of our impact on the environment, it's important to implement conservation measures to ensure a steady supply. Water is life and protecting your water supply, and your home is an important task.
Here are some tips to ensure that you maintain an abundant source of pure, clean drinking water.
Whole House Tips
• Choose low flow fixtures including shower heads, sink faucet aerators, and high-efficiency appliances to use the least amount of water for washing, bathing, and cleaning.
• Take a shower rather than a bath. It uses less water, and if you do choose to take a bath, make sure the drain stopper is working properly to avoid having to refill.
• Don't ignore damp spots on ceilings or walls. They can indicate leaks which can waste hundreds of gallons of water and case structural damage to your home if not repaired quickly.
• Be aware of dripping faucets. They can waste hundreds of gallons of water every month.
Kitchen and Bath Tips
• If you washes dishes manually, use a stopper fill the sink and let them soak. If you have a dishwasher make sure it is an energy efficient model to lower water use.
• Don't let the sink run until the water is cold for drinking, purchase a filter pitcher, or use a regular container and keep it in the fridge.
• When brushing teeth and shaving, don't leave the water running. Shorten your daily shower by five minutes. These two simple changes can save hundreds of gallons of water annually.
• Make sure your toilet tank isn't leaking. Add a few drops of food coloring to the tank and wait one hour before flushing. If the water in the bowl is tinted, you have a slow leak that can waste water.
Basement and Yard Tips
• Avoid running your washing machine with less than a full load, unless you have a water usage setting.
• Replace your existing water softener with an ultra efficient demand initiated one that regenerates only when needed.
• Avoid watering your lawn during the midday heat or when it's raining.
• Install a drip irrigation system. They use 30-50% less water than sprinklers lose from evaporation and run off!
• Where allowed, collect water in a rain barrel. Use this for watering your lawn and garden.
• Check outdoor faucets, pools, and spas regularly for leaks.
General Water Quality Tips
To keep your water clean and safe, annual testing is an important factor. Often you will also have water treatment systems between your well and home to ensure your water quality remains safe. Here are three tips to keep your system working properly at the maximum efficiency.
Keep Your Water Filters Clean
If you have a treatment system, make sure you maintain it according to the manufacturer's specifications. This can include cleaning and replacing filter cartridges regularly. Also, plan on having an occasional service call from a professional to double check your system. Filters overdue for replacement may no longer work properly to remove contaminants and may leave bad tastes or odors.
Wash Your Water Storage Containers Regularly
Even if your water is perfectly clean, storing it in a dirty container can make it unsafe to drink. It's important to properly clean any water storage containers, like water bottles and filtered pitchers regularly. Use a solution of a few drops of unscented chlorine bleach and water. Swish it around the container and let it sit for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with tap water.
Maintain Your Water Softener
A basic softener system uses resin beads to capture hardness minerals and salt to clean the beads. To keep your system running perfectly check salt levels monthly. It's easy to do, just lift the lid and if the salt tank is less than half full, fill it up. This will keep your water mineral free and keep your home and water using utilities working at their maximum efficiency.
Remember, your water quality is your responsibility and annual testing ensures your well water is safe. By implementing these simple changes, you can help to keep your well water quality at its maximum level and ensure that your family will have plenty of clean, pure water to meet all of your needs. Conservation and water quality is all of our responsibility. Make sure you do your part, especially if you have a private well!
