The water of Austin, TX is prized for its excellent quality, but even Austin’s water has contaminants. All contaminants aren’t pollutants, and most are not dangerous to health. Anything that’s not two hydrogen atoms attached to one oxygen atom can be considered a contaminant, including health-giving minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Pollutants are another thing. In large enough quantities, pollutants make the water unsafe to drink. If we test your water and find pollutants, it may be time to let our plumbers at Parobek Water Solutions treat your water. Here are some pollutants that can be found in drinking water.

Arsenic

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element, but it’s also a nasty poison that’s used in herbicides and insecticides. There are places where arsenic is naturally found in high concentrations in groundwater and even some surface waters.

Nitrates and Nitrites

Nitrates and nitrites are found in fertilizers and are often washed into bodies of water when lawns or farmlands are watered or rained on. Nitrates and nitrites may be implicated in health problems in humans and livestock, and they can sicken or kill off fish stocks and cause deadly algae blooms in surprisingly low concentrations.

Chlorine

Chlorine is an especially nasty element. It is one of the halogens, which are “unhappy” atoms that grab atoms from other molecules to fill up empty places in their shells. Because of this, chlorine is used by water treatment plants because it basically tears pathogens and other pollutants to pieces. The result is water that may be clean but has that residual bad taste and a faint chlorine smell that is off-putting.

Types of Water Treatments

Our plumbers at Parobek not only test your water but gladly install different water treatment systems. Some of the water treatment systems that we offer are discussed below.

Water Softeners

Water softeners are used to treat hard water or water that has a lot of calcium and magnesium in it. These minerals can wreak havoc on plumbing pipes by laying down limescale, leaving glassware dull and spotted, and laundered clothes dingy. With a water softener, fresh water is flushed through a tank with resin beads in brine. There, the calcium and magnesium are swapped for sodium, and this water is passed on to your home’s regular water tank.

Reverse Osmosis

The reverse osmosis system has layers of semi-permeable membrane that block out contaminants such as arsenic, salt, pathogens, and nitrates. At the same time, it allows the smaller water molecule to go through.

Water Filtration

There are several types of water filtration, including activated carbon or charcoal. In this type of treatment, the charcoal absorbs contaminants, including lead, pesticides, and industrial solvents.

Need Water Treatment? Call Parobek Plumbing & AC

Austin is a great place to live, and you deserve to have water that is clean, good to drink, and good for washing hair, skin, dishes, clothes, or anything else in and around your home. Let us help you choose the treatment that is best for your home. Give our plumbers at Parobek Water Solutions a call today.