Problem Water Archives - Ising's Culligan

What Are Shower Filters and Do They Really Work?

Showering is a daily routine for most people, but have you ever considered the quality of the water you use to shower? Chlorine, heavy metals, and other impurities in shower water can have adverse effects on your skin, hair, and overall health. Shower filters are a popular solution to this problem. In this article, we will explore what shower filters are and how they work, along with their potential benefits for your health.

What are Shower Filters?

Shower filters are devices that are attached to the showerhead to filter out impurities in the water. They are designed to remove contaminants such as chlorine, heavy metals, and other harmful substances. The filters come in different types, with activated carbon being the most common type used.

How Do Shower Filters Work?

Shower filters work by removing impurities from the water as it passes through the filter. The activated carbon in the filter attracts and absorbs the impurities, trapping them in the filter. Some shower filters also include additional layers of filtration to remove other impurities, such as sediment or bacteria.

Do Shower Filters Really Work?

Shower filters have been shown to be effective in removing contaminants from shower water. Studies have shown that shower filters can remove chlorine and other impurities, which can lead to improved skin and hair health. Some people may also experience a reduction in respiratory problems, such as asthma, after using a shower filter.

Benefits of Shower Filters

Improved Skin and Hair Health: Chlorine and other impurities in shower water can cause dryness, irritation, and damage to the skin and hair. Using a shower filter can help improve the overall health of your skin and hair.

Reduced Respiratory Problems: Chlorine and other chemicals in shower water can cause respiratory problems, such as asthma and bronchitis. Shower filters can help reduce the amount of chlorine and other impurities in the water, which can help improve respiratory health.

Reduced Risk of Cancer: Chlorine has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. By removing chlorine from shower water, shower filters can help reduce this risk.

Shower filters are an effective solution for improving the quality of the water you use to shower. By removing impurities such as chlorine, heavy metals, and bacteria, shower filters can help improve skin and hair health, reduce respiratory problems, and even lower the risk of cancer. If you’re interested in learning more about shower filters, contact Ising’s Culligan Water today. Our team of experts can help you determine the best solution for your household and provide professional installation and maintenance services. Fill out our online contact form or call us at (925) 447-3717 to schedule your free water analysis and consultation.

What are the benefits of installing a whole house water filter?

Water is essential to our daily lives, and having access to clean, safe, and healthy water is crucial for our health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many households rely on municipal water supplies that are often contaminated with impurities, such as chlorine, lead, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. To ensure that your family has access to clean and healthy water, installing a whole house water filter can be an excellent investment.

What is a Whole House Water Filter?

A whole house water filter is a filtration system that is installed at the point of entry of your home’s water supply. It filters all of the water that comes into your home, providing clean and healthy water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Whole house water filters typically use a combination of physical and chemical filtration methods to remove impurities from the water.

What are the Benefits of Installing a Whole House Water Filter?

Improved Water Quality

The primary benefit of installing a whole house water filter is improved water quality. A whole house water filter can remove a wide range of impurities, including chlorine, lead, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. This ensures that the water you and your family consume and use for daily activities is clean and safe.

Better-Tasting Water

Another benefit of a whole house water filter is that it can improve the taste and odor of your water. Many impurities in the water can cause it to have an unpleasant taste or smell, which can be off-putting for many people. With a whole house water filter, you can enjoy water that tastes and smells better.

Healthier Skin and Hair

Chlorine is often used to disinfect municipal water supplies, but it can also strip your skin and hair of its natural oils, leading to dryness and irritation. With a whole house water filter, you can remove chlorine and other chemicals that can harm your skin and hair, resulting in healthier and more radiant skin and hair.

Cost Savings

By installing a whole house water filter, you can save money on bottled water and reduce the need to replace appliances and plumbing fixtures that are damaged by hard water. This is because hard water can cause buildup and damage over time, which can be costly to repair or replace.

Eco-Friendly

By using a whole house water filter, you can reduce your environmental impact by reducing your reliance on bottled water. This can help to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and oceans.

How to Get Started?

If you’re interested in installing a whole house water filter, Ising’s Culligan Water can help. We offer a range of water filtration systems to meet your needs, from basic systems to advanced systems that use reverse osmosis. Our team of experts can help you choose the right system for your home and provide professional installation and ongoing maintenance services.

Don’t wait any longer to enjoy clean, safe, and healthy water. Contact Ising’s Culligan Water today by filling out our online contact form or calling (925) 447-3717 to schedule your free water analysis and consultation.

4 Water Quality Questions to Ask When Buying a New Home

The water quality in your future home can influence the quality of life quite a lot, including your budget and health. This is why, before buying a home, it’s important to find out if there are any issues you should know about, and how the previous owner dealt with them.

While you are inspecting the house and weight your decision, don’t forget to ask these 4 things about the water quality:

Are There Water-Related Issues to Know About?

If the owner already identified some water issues, it’s important to assess what needs to be done for it, and how it will affect the price of the house or even your final decision. Most often, homeowners deal with having hard water, which can affect your appliances and your health.

What Is the Source of the Water?

Knowing the source of the water can help you determine how much a water test is needed. We highly recommend doing one anyway, as you never know how water might get contaminated on its way to your house. If you already know that your water is sourced from a private well and not from a water plant, a test is necessary.

Are There Water Treatments Already Applied?

If the owner is already using water treatments and filtering appliances, you want to know how old they are, what kind of system they are using, and how easy it is to maintain or upgrade. Some systems can easily be replaced, while others cost more to maintain or change.

Where Can I Get the Water Tested?

A proper water test is always advisable before buying a house, as any needed interventions will add up to the costs. Testing the water is fast and easy, and it gives you a clear idea about the kind of issues you would have to deal with after the purchase.

If you want to test the quality of your water, employ a specialized company that understands all the technicalities and has the solutions for water problems. We at Ising’s Culligan Water are located in Livermore, CA, and perform free home water tests for your peace of mind.

In case you have hard water problems or contaminants are present, we provide sustainable, advanced filtering and softening solutions. Contact us online, or call us at 925-447-3717 and let us know if you need a remote assessment, a free home water test, or a filtering solution.

Are There Carcinogenic Contaminants in Your Tap Water?

While your tap water seems clean and clear, it could be dirty, unsafe and could be exposing you and your family to irreparable health problems. A recent study found high levels of contaminants in the nation’s drinking water that put people’s health at risk. What’s more, some of these contaminants have been linked to more than 100,000 cancer cases in the country.

In this article, we discuss common carcinogenic contaminants found in tap water to help you keep safe.

Remember, if you’re concerned with your drinking water, we’re here to help. Call us and schedule an appointment for water testing today.

1. Arsenic

Arsenic is a chemical element that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. However, it can get into your water supply from natural rocks or industrial and agriculture pollution.

Sadly, even the smallest amount of arsenic in your tap water is dangerous and can cause skin, bladder, liver, kidney, or lung cancer.

2. Radon

Did you know that inhaling Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the USA? Yes, Radon is a widespread carcinogen in the country, especially in California.

So, how does this chemical element get into your water supply? Radon gets into the water when uranium and thorium (usually present in natural rocks) break down and dissolve in water.

3. Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium- 6)

If you’ve watched Erin Brockovich’s film featuring Julia Roberts, then you might well be aware of the dangers of chromium-6. Chromium-6 is a highly toxic chromium variant that gets to your water supply when industrial waste containing steel, tan, textile, or wood preservatives is leached into the water sources.

Unfortunately, using water containing chromium- 6 exposes you to stomach cancer, respiratory disorders, infertility, and congenital disabilities issues.

Reducing Carcinogenic Exposure in Tap Water

While filtration pitchers can enable you to remove a significant amount of contaminants, it does not filter carcinogenic contaminants from your tap water. Neither does boiling; if anything, boiling might increase arsenic concentration in your water.

The surest way to keep you and your family safe is by reverse osmosis. This method can keep off seven of the tiniest contaminant particles from your water and eliminate bad taste and odors.

Schedule Your Free Water Test Today!

At Ising’s Culligan Water, we offer comprehensive solutions for all your water purification needs. We’ll visit your home, evaluate your water and detect the contaminants that may be in it. Call us today at 925-447-3717 to schedule a free in-home water test!

How is Water Hardness Measured?

Water hardness is the amount of dissolved magnesium or calcium in the water. Hard water contains a high percentage of dissolved minerals, whose effects can be seen or felt through soap scum on shower doors, build-up on plumbing fixtures, difficulty in producing lather, or the feeling of a film residue left on your hands after washing. Measuring the hardness of your home’s water can help you determine the kind of softener that will best suit your domestic needs.

Testing Water for Hardness

Depending on the primary source of water used in your home, you may be less or more likely to experience hard water problems. Well-water users are the most vulnerable to this water hardness issue. Fortunately, there are several ways to confirm water hardness, including:

Check with Your Supplier

If you get your household water from a city supplier and you suspect that it might be hard, it is best to contact them as the first step. You can get information about your area’s general water hardness levels from the annual reports on the supplier’s website.

However, it is essential to note that this information is often comprehensive and unlikely to tell you exactly how hard the water in your household is. To get this information, you have to conduct a water hardness test.

Test Your Home Water Supply

You can choose from the various home testing kits available in the market to determine the level of mineral concentration in your home’s water supply. You may also opt to work with a water treatment company like Ising’s Culligan Water, which offers you the benefit of getting accurate results, interpreting them, and advising you on the measures to take.

Upon determining the level of water hardness in your household, you can discuss the most appropriate solutions with your water treatment company.

Get Reputable Water Treatment Experts Today at Ising’s Culligan Water

At Ising’s Culligan Water, we will help you find a quick and effective solution to any issues you may be experiencing with your household water, including water hardness. Please fill out our online contact form now or give us a call at 925-447-3717 to get a free quote.

What Your Tap Water Could Be Doing to Your Hair, Skin, and Nails

Hard water is not only increasing your bills by reducing the water pressure in your pipes, damaging your appliances, and insulating pipes that are supposed to have great heat exchange, but it can also affect your health over time.

The most affected parts of your body are your hair, skin, and nails. Let’s see how you can spot this problem and what to do about it.

What Is Hard Water?

Hard water is defined by a large concentration of hard particles – minerals – in the water. The main minerals found in hard water are magnesium and calcium, which form limestone and other hard deposits, which can accumulate on the inside of the pipes and make cleaning less effective.

How Does Hard Water Affect Your Hair

Hard water can make your hair care routine ineffective, because it leads to product and dirt build-up, hard to lather shampoo, difficulty rinsing the shampoo and other products from your hair, and mineral build-up on your hair and scalp.

Such aggression caused by dirt, products, and minerals on your hair and scalp can be terrible for your hair’s health. Signs of hard water include limp and dull hair, dry and itchy scalp, fading color (if your hair is dyed).

How Does Hard Water Affect Your Skin

Skin can also be affected by hard water, leading to problems as serious as chronic eczema or dryness. Similar to what it does to your scalp, hard water will dry your skin and leave residues on it, which can lead to irritations and skin conditions.

If you notice your skin being dry even when using moisturizing products, and you correlate it with a visible film on your shower walls, windows, and fixtures, you most probably have hard water.

How Does Hard Water Affect Your Nails

Nails that are constantly exposed to hard water will become dry, brittle, and dull. Washing your dishes or simply washing your hands regularly with hard water in your water system will show on your nails, too.

How to Get Rid of Hard Water?

As you can see, hard water is bad for your house and yourself. If you notice any of these signs, consider getting your water tested and investing in a water softening or conditioning system if your worries are confirmed.

Ising’s Culligan Water is a company specializing in testing and purifying your water system. Contact us online, or give us a call at 925-206-3727 and you can schedule a free in-home water test or complete a water diagnose quiz yourself.

Are There Environmental Benefits To A Water Softener?

Hard water can cause a lot of nuances in a home. While it’s not a health risk, it can cause some damage to hair and skin health long-term. But, the biggest problems hard water causes have to do with the health of your house.

From damaging pipes to kitchen appliances, washing machines, and even your water heater, hard water is just something a lot of homeowners want to address, and a water softener seems to be a good solution. But is it environmentally-friendly?

How a Water Softener Impacts the Environment

Water softeners have a regeneration process during which they flush the system clean, and seemingly waste the water because of this step. And water waste has a huge negative effect on the environment.

However, if you look at it closer, this argument doesn’t seem to hold up.

Soft water is much more efficient than hard water, which means the household will consume a lot less water than previously. In the long-run, water is actually saved thanks to the water softener.

Additionally, using soft water can also help keep your appliances functional for longer, which eliminates the need to buy new ones. The manufacturing and purchasing of these appliances can also take a toll on the environment, so using the ones you already have for as long as possible is ideal.

What about the Salt?

Water softeners require salt to create a brine solution that removes the hardness from the water (usually calcium and magnesium). The concern is that this salt will eventually end up in the water system and affect the environment.

And that has been a problem with water softeners, historically, but manufacturers are seeking to address it with more efficient systems that require very low amounts of salt. A Culligan High Efficiency Water Softener, for instance, only requires homeowners to add salt once, maybe twice a year, depending on the level of hardness their water is at.

Signing off

Softening your home’s water is in itself a big step towards creating a more environmentally-friendly household, and the right system can help drive your efforts home. The Culligan High Efficiency Water Softener is designed to assist homeowners on this path, and it’s patented technology makes this system 46% more efficient than other systems on the market.

We at Ising’s Culligan Water can help you get this system in your home. Get in touch with us now for more information.

Is Chlorinated Water Safe To Drink?

Chlorine is an effective agent in killing waterborne disease and disinfecting drinking water that supplies millions of people. Chlorine’s presence in drinking water is diluted across a vast sea of water and kept under the EPAs safety standard, so it is considered safe to drink. Unfortunately, it has the side-effect of tasting like a rusty nail.

Chlorinated Water Is Safe To Drink – But That Taste Though…

The rusty nail taste is because chlorine is a disinfectant. The EPA created regulations to balance risks of ingesting small amounts of disinfectant versus ingesting water containing harmful bacteria and viruses, and ingesting chlorine comes out on top.

The World Health Organization indicated that ‘a suitable residual level of disinfectant needs to be maintained throughout the distribution system.’ There is no gray area in that statement of who the winner is; you choose your battles. If your water wasn’t chlorinated, a few things that you could ingest with unfiltered water are:

Cholera
Typhoid fever
Hepatitis

Which wiped out thousands of Americans and is the reason why water is chlorinated today in much the same way it was in the 1900s. Chlorine fluctuates in the water system, so how much you have in your water may be slightly different than the guy a few doors down.

Although chlorinated water is safe to drink, the aftertaste may leave much to be desired and lead you to an alternative source of water.

Alternatives To Rusty Nail Tasting Water

Clean drinking water is vital for human life, well, all life. If the taste is a primary concern, you may want to consider a few alternatives such as:

Carbon filter attachments to faucet and fridge
Carbon filter pitcher
Boil your water
High quality bottled water

If you decide on a filter ritual, you will need to replace them per the instructions that come with the filter; if you don’t, it should be noted that the filter itself will become colonized with microorganisms, which defeats the purpose.

If you don’t have the time or commitment levels required for boiling water or maintaining your filters, then bottled water or service is probably the answer for you.

Final Thoughts

Drinking chlorinated water is safe, but not the most fabulous tasting stuff in the world. Luckily, some alternatives remove the residual taste and bring relief to our taste buds. Overall, safety will always win over bad taste.

At Ising’s Culligan, we can help you get everything you need to deal with home water contamination in Livermore – from filters to purifiers, water softeners, and more. If you’re having issues with home water quality, contact us online or give us a call at 925-206-3727 to see how we can help.

How To Test Home Water Quality (And Why You Really Should)

Interested in testing your home’s water quality? If you’re not sure how to test your water quality – or if it’s even necessary – you’ve come to the right place. Let’s discuss the basics of home water quality testing now.

How To Test Home Water Quality

You will need to hire a lab to test your water for you. You can Google “home water quality testing” to find a national service provider, or contact a few labs near you to see if they offer water quality testing.

Then, you’ll be sent a testing kit, usually with several containers and instructions for gathering, preserving, and handling water samples. Follow the instructions provided to you to test your water. You may need to take samples from multiple taps, depending on the tests being done.

After this, simply send the samples to the designated address for analysis and testing. You’ll usually get your results in a few weeks.

The Importance Of Testing Home Water Quality

Why bother with home water quality testing? Here are a few reasons.

Look for common pollutants & contaminants – You can find pollutants like lead, chlorine, copper, arsenic, and other contaminants that are often found in well water and some municipal water supplies.
Find bacteria and other pathogens – Coliform bacteria are commonly found in wells that may be exposed to the feces of humans and animals, and can also be present in some municipal water supplies. Many other pathogens and microbes can also be detected by water quality tests.
Identify “hard water” minerals – A home water quality test can confirm if your water is “hard” because of the presence of calcium and magnesium, which can help you determine if you should install a water softener.

With a water quality test, you’ll learn more about the state of your home’s drinking water – and if there are any areas of concern, you can purchase the equipment you need to clean and sanitize it, and ensure you and your family enjoy a safe water supply for drinking, bathing, cleaning, and more.

Need Help With Your Water? Contact Ising’s Culligan Water Today!

At Ising’s Culligan Water, we can help you get everything you need to deal with home water contamination in Livermore – from filters to purifiers, water softeners, and more. If you’re having issues with home water quality, contact us online or give us a call at 925-206-3727 to see how we can help.

What Is Hard Water, And What Causes It In Your Home?

You may have heard of “hard water,” and be wondering if you have hard water at your home – but you may not even be sure what it is. In this blog from Ising’s Culligan Water, we’ll give you an overview of the basics of hard water, what causes it, and how to “soften” your water to reduce the negative effects of hard water. Let’s get started.

What Is Hard Water? Understanding The Basics

The term “hard” water is used to refer to water that has a higher-than-average concentration of minerals, typically calcium and magnesium. Water that’s “hard” is not harmful to your health, but it can have some annoying and potentially costly effects, such as:

Spots on dishes and clothes – Mineral deposits can end up on your clothing or on your dishes when you run them through your dishwasher, interfering with proper cleaning.
Filmy buildup when bathing – High mineral content interferes with the detergent effects of soap and shampoo, which can create a nasty film on your body or hair.
Scale buildup in appliances – Over time, mineral deposits of calcium and magnesium can build up in your appliances like coffee makers, dishwashers, refrigerators with water dispensers/ice machines, laundry machines, and more, so they may need to be cleaned more frequently.
Narrowing pipes – Mineral buildup can actually reduce the width of your pipes over a prolonged period of time, which may lead to a higher likelihood of clogs and plumbing problems.

What Causes Hard Water?

Hard water occurs naturally in some areas, particularly in the American Southwest and states like New Mexico, Nevada, California, and Utah. This is because water supplies are often stored in reservoirs with high levels of limestone, chalk, and gypsum.

Over time, minerals like calcium, magnesium carbonates, and sulfates can leach into the water, making it “hard.” While water treatment plants may remove some of this buildup, the water may still remain hard, even when it arrives at your home’s tap or faucet.

Ising’s Culligan Water Can Help You Soften Your Water – Contact Us Today!

The best way to treat hard water is with a water softener from Ising’s Culligan Water. Water softeners can remove the excess minerals from your home’s water supply – providing you with better overall water quality, and preventing the common problems associated with hard water. Contact us now online or give us a call at 209-690-0007 to learn more and get started right away.