Many people rely on private wells for their water and are confused about whether they need a water softener or a whole house water filter to treat their water.  Much of this confusion is driven by companies that irresponsibly claim to treat well water problems without knowing what issues they are trying to solve.  At LifeSource Water Systems, we believe that it is negligent to sell a customer a water treatment system without first knowing exactly what is in the customer’s water.  If a customer is on municipally treated water, a simple internet search will produce the local water.  Municipalities are required by the EPA to publish their test results and most test their water at a minimum of once at day.  As a result, the water that is being delivered to a residential customer is basically safe, but very often tastes bad, smells bad and has high levels of chlorine.  In this case, a whole house water filter is the perfect solution.

The situation with private wells is very different.  Although the EPA polices ground water in general, there is public way of determining what is in an individual’s well water.  Common complaints include “sulfur smell”, “iron stain” in toilets and sinks and water spots.  Many people still believe that a water softener “filters” the water and that it will solve their well water issues, but this is a misconception.

The good news is that there are systems to solve almost all of the problems associated with wells.  As discussed earlier, the first step in solving these issues is to determine exactly what is in the water.   The only way to do this is to have the water tested by an independent laboratory.  We use National Testing Laboratories, which does an 83 item check for Bacteria (presence/absence for coliform and E.coli); 19 heavy metals and minerals; 6 other inorganic chemicals; 5 physical characteristics; 4 trihalomethanes; and 47 volatile organic chemicals.  NTL is one of the largest independent laboratories in the United States specializing in the analysis of drinking water for chemical and microbiological contamination. The laboratory performs analysis according to US EPA and industry standard methods to meet state compliance requirements as well as performing informational tests for quality control purposes. This test involves taking a sample of the water directly from the well and shipping the sample to NTL’s laboratory in Michigan.  Once the test is completed, a copy of the report is sent to the customer  and to our well system specialists.  At this point, we can determine the optimal solution for the customer.  In all cases, the LifeSource Whole House System is used as the last step to make the water taste, smell and feel great.

I am constantly amazed that many people do not want to pay for an inexpensive well test to understand what kind of water they are putting in their body.  Many people are fooled by irresponsible water treatment companies that tell consumers that they need a water softener, when they have no idea what is in the water.  So if you are on a well, do yourself a favor and have you water tested and least every few years.  Once you know exactly what problems you have, a solution is relatively easy to design.  If you'd like more info on LifeSource Water System's policy for testing well water, please visit our website.