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. 

Water 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.