Water Filtration & Purification Archives

Solving the Problem of Hard Water

If you have hard water, it can take a toll on your appliances, your dishes, your skin, and more. You don’t have to live with these problems! At Rosenthal Plumbing, we know how to evaluate your system for hard water and help you buy and install the best water conditioning systems to banish hard water forever.

Signs You Have Hard Water

Having hard water sounds awful, but it just means that certain minerals are more concentrated in your water than they are in other places. Install the proper water conditioner to remove these minerals, and your water will be soft again. You may have hard water if you are experiencing the following problems:

Dry skin. If you have dry skin year round — even when it’s not dry outside — you may have hard water. Some people are sensitive either to the minerals in the water itself or to the detergent that hard water struggles to completely wash off the body. Either way, the result can be skin that itches and flakes even when moisture levels in the surrounding air are high.
Soap scum. If you feel like you have to scrub your tub or your shower several times a week just to keep the soap scum at bay, it’s probably time to test for hard water. Minerals in your water can mix with chemicals in your soap, which causes scum in the first place. You can clean it as often as you want, but the scum won’t disappear until you solve the problem at its source.
Buildup around fixtures. If you notice a white or gray mineral buildup around the mouths of your faucets, you probably have hard water. The buildup happens when layers of water dry over time, leaving their mineral deposits behind. These can, ultimately, restrict the water flow in your faucet and shorten the life of your appliances.
New clothing that looks old. Hard water can be hard on your clothes. If you notice that your colors seem to fade too fast, your clothing is scratchy, or it just doesn’t look as new as it should, hard water may be the culprit. It can combine with your detergent in ways that make the detergent less effective.
Spots on your dishes. Do you feel like your dishes are never clean because, no matter what you do, they dry with white or gray spots on them? Hard water is probably your problem. The spots are similar to soap scum, caused by the combination of hard water and your detergent. These minerals will dry on your dishes every time you wash them until you get a water conditioner to solve your hard water problem.

Get Water Quality Help

If you have one or more of these problems, we will happily test your home for hard water. When we get the results, we’ll let you know and we’ll recommend the best water filtration or purification systems to solve your problem. We’ll oversee the installation of these units, too, so you can be sure that you are getting quality craftsmanship and the best savings around. Give us at Rosenthal Plumbing a call to schedule your water quality testing or water filtration installation in Santa Cruz.

Water Conditioning

If you’re having trouble with your water quality in Santa Cruz or the surrounding areas, we have the water conditioning solutions you need. Contact us at Rosenthal Plumbing today for water quality testing and get the clean water you need ASAP.

Water Quality Problems

Water can be of poor quality because of the water supply itself, or because of something that is going wrong within your Santa Cruz plumbing system. If you have any of the following problems, you may want someone to take a look at your plumbing system to see if there’s anything that can be done to improve the quality of your water.

Discolored Water

If your water is discolored, it usually means that something else is mixed into the water or suspended in it. Often, discolored water is cloudy, though it can also have a slight brown, green, blue, or orange tinge to it. This can happen when your water has high silt levels, or when metals are oxidizing and changing the water’s color. While this isn’t usually dangerous, it can definitely be an indication of a plumbing problem.

If your water leaves blue or green stains on your plumbing fixtures, it indicates the presence of corrosive materials in your water and/or that your water has a low PH level.

Finally, if your water leaves gray or white film or buildup on your plumbing fixtures, as well as on any glass items that you wash in the water, your water is probably hard. This means that it has a lot of minerals, like calcium and magnesium, that are left over when the water dries out.

Treating Discolored Water

If your water is discolored, you may need some sort of filter for your water. But if the discoloration is caused by oxidized metals in your plumbing system, you will need to replace some pipes or perform other repairs so that the metal in the system isn’t getting wet.

Treating Smelly Water

If your water smells bad, it probably has sulfides in it. This most commonly causes a rotten egg smell. For bad smelling water, we usually suggest a water filtration system. The most common ones remove sulfides as well as other materials or chemicals that can cause those terrible smells. The good news is that, once installed, you will be able to drink your water without cringing.

When water gets corrosive, we usually suggest adding acid neutralizing agents to your water. This can be done through a water treatment system, too.

Treating Hard Water

Hard water is one of the most common water problems, and we have found that water softeners and purification systems offer the best solution. Most are long-lasting and make a huge difference in the quality of your water.

These two solutions work by removing the chemicals like calcium and magnesium that can make water hard. Since the levels of these minerals can vary quite a bit even within the same town or county, it’s important to get your water hardness level evaluated before you decide how to treat it.

Every water softener is set based on the results of tests done on your particular water, in your particular house. Most softeners use salt in the regeneration cycle, and so will have that mineral present in the softener head. If you ever feel like your water softener is using too much salt, you may need to reevaluate the amount and presence of minerals in your water. The best softeners allow you to change the salt levels easily, though some may require you to call a plumber to get the right amount.

Get Advice About Your Water Quality Issues

If you are having trouble with your water quality or would like to test for the presence of hard water, call Rosenthal Plumbing to schedule an appointment today. Our expert plumbers are available to install water filtration or purification systems in Santa Cruz. We would be happy to come out, diagnose your water quality problems, and give you a free estimate for fixing them.

Do You Need Water Filtration or Purification?

Does your California tap water taste funny to you? Does it sometimes come out a funny color and you’re wondering if it’s safe to use or to drink? Have you had a water purification or filtration system in your house before and you’re not sure if you need one now that you’ve moved to Santa Cruz?

Give us a call at Rosenthal Plumbing and we’ll send one of our expert plumbers out to evaluate your water quality. We’ll let you know if we find anything dangerous or unusual and we’ll advise you as to the system that might work best for you.

Purification vs. Filtration

About 90% of the water supply, at least in the United States, is safe to drink from the tap. It may not taste the way you want it to, but it’s not going to harm you. This is true even if it comes out an unusual color. Color changes are usually the result of harmless algae growth in your Santa Cruz pipes.

However, if your water is somehow dangerous, that’s where water purification comes in. Purification is a process that involves removing dangerous chemicals or compounds from your water so it is safe to drink. Purification may change the taste or color of your water, too, though that’s a side effect of the chemical removal. People who need to consider water filtration include:

Those with high levels of chemicals like radon in their water. If your home tests high for radon and you get your water from a well pump dug into the same area, you should have your water tested, too.
Those with high levels of lead in their water. There are some simple tests that we can do to check your water for lead, though this tends to be a problem in the water supply for a large area, not just for one home.
Those with damaged immune systems, like people who are HIV positive or who are on certain medications. They may need chemicals removed from their water that others can tolerate.

Water filtration, while it may remove dangerous things from the water, can also serve to remove chemicals and compounds from your water that you simply find irritating or annoying. Some people don’t like the taste of water when it contains certain minerals, for instance, even though those are perfectly safe to consume. Similarly, compounds that cause water to be hard can cause problems for appliances like the dishwasher and the washing machine, and some people will choose to install a filter to avoid these problems.

What Do I Need?

If you’re concerned about your water quality, call us at Rosenthal Plumbing to examine your water and install a whole-home water purification or water filtration system in Santa Cruz. There are many ways to test your water for chemicals, both those that are dangerous and those that may just annoy you.

We’ll determine what is going on with your water supply and what we can do to mitigate that. Once you’ve chosen your solution, we’ll get it installed for you. We’ll show you how everything works, and we won’t leave until you’re satisfied with your water solution.

How Does Water Purification Work?

Do you need a solution for poor water quality at your property in the Santa Cruz area? If you don’t like the taste of your water or you’re concerned that there’s something in it that shouldn’t be, water filtration can put your mind at ease. Rosenthal Plumbing has experts who can test your water and then build you a water purification system that is designed to get things clean and clear – just the way you want it.

It Makes Your Water Taste Better

Some people want water filtration because they don’t like the way the regular tap water tastes. Since the water has to meet certain safety standards, you can rest assured that your water is safe if it comes from the city. However, it may taste a little funny due to the treatments they use to make it drinkable. A water purification system can take out any additives or chemicals so that you end up with more pure tasting water.

It Fixes Hard Water Problems

You may also want to install a water purification system if you are struggling with hard water problems. If your towels don’t last long, your dishes come out of the dishwasher with spots on them, or your faucets get clogged with mineral deposits, then you likely have hard water at your property. We can test for that, too, then set you up with a system that will remove all of those minerals from your water.

Call Us For Water Quality Help!

You don’t have to live with water that isn’t up to your high standards! Call us at Rosenthal Plumbing today and we’ll talk to you about your options for water filtration or purification. Our team of plumbers in Santa Cruz are dedicated to making sure your water is safe for drinking, so you can enjoy life again!

Call Now For Water Purification!

Do You Need A Whole House Water Filter?

Do you think that the tap water at your residence tastes or smells funny? Is it sometimes a murky color, or not clear? This may lead you to have concerns about your water quality and if it is safe. If this is the case, don’t worry. The answer is simple: install a whole home water filtration system that removes toxins and impurities. Our staff can walk you through how these work and whether or not one is a good idea for your property!

What Whole House Water Filter Does

Most tap water in the US is considered safe to drink, but around 10% of it is not. If the water supply in your area is tainted, it could be posing several risks to you and your family’s health.

A whole home water filtration system can remove the dangerous chemicals and compounds from the water before it comes out of the faucet. This means that the water is much safer to drink cook with, bathe in, wash dishes/clothes with, and more. It can also reduce things like minerals that do not affect your health but that can affect the color or taste of the water, or cause it to be “hard” water.

When to Consider a Whole Home Water Filter

If you’re not sure if you need a whole home water filter in your Santa Cruz home, you might want to consider one if:

You have high levels of chemicals like radon in your water. If your home tests high for radon and you get your water from a well that is dug into the same area, you should have your water tested, too.
You have high levels of lead in your water. There are some simple tests that we can do to check your water for lead.
You have a damaged or compromised immune systems, like people who are HIV positive or who are on certain medications. They may need chemicals removed from their water that most people can tolerate.

We’ll send someone out to evaluate your water and let you know if we find anything dangerous or unusual. From there, we can advise you as to if a whole house water purifier would work well for you.

Questions About Water Filtration in Santa Cruz?

If you’re concerned about your water quality, call the experts at Rosenthal Plumbing to come examine it for you. There are many ways to test your water for chemicals, and we can determine what is going on with your water supply and what we can do to mitigate that. Reach out now to learn more information!

Call Now for Water Filter Help!