FAQs

You change the oil in your car every 5,000 miles so it keeps doing its job. Regular maintenance from an honest mechanic also identifies true issues before they get super expensive. All of us have had to bear the untimely cost of major repairs because we did not maintain a vehicle.

Customers want the same for their homes, furnaces, dishwasher, water heaters….water softeners are no different a little lubrication here, some adjustment there, cleaning an screen or injector and testing the functionality and quality of the product water all is relevant.

Some folks install and service their water softeners, acid neutralizers and filters themselves, for those who are handy and familiar with the equipment maintaining the equipment is a possibility. If a homeowner doesn’t know where to start, you should call in a specialist because things can get out of control fast if you make a mistake.

Kevin at Liberty Pure in Phoenix, MD spoke about the importance of the service plans, and when is it the right move for you. 

“When doing annual maintenance on a water softener, first you have to relieve the pressure (turn water off, let valve completely vent). if you turn the water off without allowing the pressure to relieve, look out you’re going to need rain gear and a lot of towels. Proper servicing from a professional technician takes about 15 minutes. “We evaluate the condition of the system, injectors, screens timer’s gears, flow controls and bypass. Also sanitizing the softener is important especially on well water as bacteria can begin colonizing over time and adding the yuk factor to the water.”

Poor or no maintenance can bring back the hard water issues you bought if for in the first place. During your service call the water is also tested before and after the unit to make sure all adjustments needed are made for efficient and thorough conditioning of the water. Also testing the hot and cold is important to make sure water is not getting by untreated.

Like your automobile, a malfunction is sometimes so gradual you don’t notice, but a professional will pick up issues before they cause a breakdown. Sediment can clog injectors, cause timer motors to fail, bypass valves get accidently activated along with a host of other issues you want to avoid.

A timer valve failure for existence can ruin the softener as it is no longer cleaning itself and will fail pre-maturely. Other items like UV lights must have the bulbs changed annually, however if you do not check and clean the quartz sleeve inside the become ineffective over time. Reverse Osmosis systems are very expensive and if not maintained will fail to remove the dissolved solids.

Liberty Pure an independent local manufacturing and sales facility in Jacksonville, MD just outside of Hunt Valley offers service contracts to its customers.

• Deliver and install filters throughout the water process annually
• Delivers and installs a 12-month supply of solar salt if needed
• Services and refills acid neutralizers
• Dumps and repacks carbon tanks as needed
• Replaced UV lights and cleans annually
• Add upgrades and introduces new technology as it becomes available
• Special pricing on upgrades, plumbing services
• Special pricing on water heaters, well pumps and tanks, etc.
• Special pricing on plumbing services

Liberty Pure allows you to customize some of the plans to meet your specific needs. LPSI has direct access to Maryland State Certified labs, as well as our own testing equipment to detect contaminants from bacteria to PFOS. LPSI encourages their you (included in maintenance plans) to regularly assess water quality to indicate changes.

Check with your dealer to find out what they offer, it will save time and money in the future. Preventative maintenance always pays off in the long run.

Doug Workman

Master Water Specialist

Douglas R. Workman

Master Water Specialist

Liberty Pure

I hesitate to use that title because fear is not the right reason to do anything. The fact is a lot of us haven’t even tested our water, nor asked any important questions about it. Through helping my neighbors deal with water quality issues for the past 30 years, I have learned how to deal with a wide variety of contaminants. Arsenic, nitrates, radium, radon, pesticides, herbicides and metals such as copper and lead, can cause negative health effects on the human body, young and old, born and unborn.

There are also numerous nuisance contaminants such as low pH which can corrode metal pipes causing blue green stains on sinks and eventually leaks due to pin holes in the pipes. Total dissolved solids and hardness can cause scale build up in pipes and water heaters, spotting on dishes, shower doors, sinks, and fixtures, or ruin appliances years before you should have to replace them. Or iron could ruin your favorite outfit the next time you do laundry.

Chlorides from road salt and other sources have contaminated hundreds of wells in the area, ruining appliances, clothes, and pipes due to their aggressive nature. Baltimore County had a program to help its citizens but now has stopped. Harford County Council has a task force but to my knowledge has yet to take any action on the dozens, probably hundreds of homes with chlorides in their wells. Unfortunately, this is often in lower income areas as well. A simple tax break, low interest loan or other solutions would be helpful.

It is impossible for any government agency, local or national, to solve this issue for the entire nation. As Americans we think we have the right to clean water. We have the right to pursue happiness. I believe our government, State, local and national is the best in the world and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. That being said, I lock my doors, and I have an alarm on my office to deadbolt and lock out the people that would seek to harm me, my employees and my family because it is my responsibility. I pay my taxes, and drive on the roads paid for by the taxes. My taxes go towards the services of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Homeland Security, etc, however I still worry about my family, and my neighbors and take action to protect them.

Most of the water issues I mentioned above can be handled for less cost than addressing the damage they cause. The local health department can help guide you as to what is a water-related challenge in your area. Local state-certified drinking water testing labs can also often advise you on what has been found in your general area, and therefore what to test your water for.

My company as well as a lot of my competition offer free water testing and estimates (advice). When selecting a company, check their rating, water treatment certifications (wqa.org), find out about previous complaints through the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and most importantly, talk to the neighbors about water treatment providers. Get more than one estimate. It takes time but we are talking about one of the most important decisions you can make. Do business with a company that can support what they sell and has a track record. And if you think you are being swindled by misleading sales tactics, contact the Water Quality Association (wqa.org or 630-505-0160) or the BBB (bbb.org) to get an independent opinion.

I’ve heard a lot from customers for over 30 years. Those on city water tell me they have been drinking this water all their lives, and can’t afford water treatment. Municipal water is great; they do an excellent job, however, we know that chlorine byproducts cause cancer, we know that we get boil water alerts, warnings about high lead and nitrate levels in schools. Look into PFAS and PFOS; they’re contaminants that are all over the news but not yet regulated by the EPA. That means the municipality does not have to treat the water for them. These emerging contaminants, along with cryptosporidium and other issues are causing illness on a regular basis. Our municipalities, NSF, WQA, WHO, and FDA are all working to give us the best product possible, but at the end of the day, you must choose if you want to risk your family and your health on what may or may not be in the water. Remember, we still put locks on our doors and alarms, even though we have the best police around. Its time to seriously consider a deadbolt and lock to keep your water at the quality you choose.

I also want to state clearly that Harford county-provided water meets or exceeds standards set by the EPA and does a fantastic job helping where they find issues. What I am trying to stress is that you need to take care of yourself. The Government must do what is best for all citizens, however, your well is unique and should be heavily guarded and “treated” by you.

• Water Quality Association
• National Science Foundation
• Harford County Quality Water Report

The annual water report states: “Last year, as in past years, your drinking water met all EPS and State health standards”. However, while Atrazine, Ethylene dibromide, Radium, PFAS, Chlorine, and Sodium are all below the EPA standard (municipal water) they are all present in the drinking water at a level that EPA says is safe.

• Elimination of microbiological organisms (pesticides)
• Removal of organic and inorganic matter
• Elimination of other organic, and inorganic substances
• Reduction of decontamination derivatives
• Increased efficiency disinfection
• Removal of odor and taste

Myth #1 – Nobody needs disinfection

The truth is everyone can benefit from disinfection. Here are some of the most common objections we hear, and why those beliefs are wrong:

If the water looks and tastes good, it doesn’t need to be disinfected – you can’t see, smell or taste microbes in water. Just because the water’s crystal clear and tastes great, doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated.

A little bacteria never hurt anyone – some bacteria that can be found in water may not make an average, healthy adult sick. But when ingested by children, the elderly, or someone with a compromised immune system, those same bacteria can cause extreme, even life-threatening illness.

The well is deep and constructed properly, so it won’t get contaminated – According to the USGS, one in three private wells tested show coliform contamination. A well may be drilled and maintained perfectly, and something completely unrelated to the well’s integrity or structure can cause the water to become contaminated. Whether it’s agricultural run-off, a nearby leaking septic system, or a flood that causes water to rise over the well cap, contaminents can get into the aquifer and water well through countless ways. There’s also the problem that well integrity lessens over time, so older water wells become vulnerable long after that great construction job. 

Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic compounds widely used in industrial applications that are characterized by a highly fluorinated hydrophobic linear carbon chain attached to a hydrophilic functional group. PFAS’ are of interest due to their longevity in the environment, toxicity, adaptability, and negative human health effects.

The chemical structure of PFAS gives them unique properties, such as heat survivability, oil and water repellency, making them useful in industrial and consumer products (firefighting foams, lubricants, fabric stain protection, waterproofing, non-stick cookware, food packaging, etc).

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are two of the best known and most studied PFAS.

During the manufacturing process of some PFAS, and the use of PFAS products PFOA and PFOS have become airborn, water and soil become contaminated throughout the world. PFOA and PFOS have been detected in many isolated parts of the world indicating that long-range transport of these chemicals is happening.

Other PFAS’ of environmental concern include perfluorooctane sulfonamides, sulfonamido ethanols, fluorotelomer sulfonates, and other forms of perfluoro carboxylates and sulfonates.

The EPA has found that there is strong evidence that PFOS and PFOA may cause cancer (EPA 2016d, 2016e). The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has found that PFOA is possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) (IARC 2016). In May 2016, EPA established drinking water health advisories of 70 parts per trillion (0.07 micrograms per liter (μg/L)) for the combined concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. Above these levels, EPA recommends that drinking water systems take steps to assess contamination, inform consumers and limit exposure. The health advisory levels are based on the RfDs (EPA 2016b, 2016c).

Doug Workman

Master Water Specialist

President

You just moved into a new place and you notice something is not quite right. There’s something going on, and you have a sneaking suspicion it might have to do with the tap water.

Hard water problems can be a real hassle, especially for new homeowners who may be unfamiliar with the issues it causes. Solving those problems can vastly improve your family’s quality of life and get things back to normal again.

So What is Hard Water?

We all learned in school that water is H2O – two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom make up a water molecule, right? What many of us don’t realize is that extra stuff can get into the water we drink. Some of it is perfectly safe to consume, while other water contaminants could negatively impact your family’s health. But tap water is certainly not 100% pure H20.

Hard water is basically water containing a high mineral count. Groundwater often percolates through limestone where it picks up calcium and magnesium deposits.

Drinking water can also contain trace minerals like iron, which gets picked up from the soil, lakes and rivers – even older, corroded plumbing. In some regions, hard water may also contain manganese or aluminum.

Of course, things like calcium, magnesium and iron aren’t necessarily bad for you. In fact, they’re actually beneficial nutrients. However, hard water sediments can also carry potentially harmful bacteria along with them. A 2014 study found hard water scaling is directly responsible for bacterial growth in residential drinking water.

If your home gets water from a well, you most likely have hard water. But it’s not just a rural issue. The U.S. Geological Survey says 85% of homes in the nation have hard water.

Here are eight potential problems hard water causes. Do any of them sound familiar?

1. Your Water Tastes or Smells Funny

A strange odor or taste to drinking water is often one of the first clues you have a water conditioning problem. It’s a sure-sign there is hard water or some sort of bacterial contaminant.

For instance, if your water has an unpleasant metallic taste. That’s probably too much iron.

If your water smells like rotten eggs, that could be naturally occurring hydrogen sulfide gas or certain bacteria reacting with magnesium to form sulfates.

Some people say their water tastes like dirt.

That could be sediment (actual dirt), old pipes or algae. Algal blooms can also give tap water a moldy aftertaste.

No one likes to drink water with a funky smell or flavor. But that’s just the beginning of your problems.

2. You’re Getting Strange Stains

Ugly brown or reddish stains on the porcelain are a big embarrassment.

You can blame hard water for that too – specifically iron.

It’s no coincidence those stains look a lot like rust spots. The iron in your water could be coming from rusty pipes.

You’ll have to use a lot of elbow grease to get rid of those stains.

Some people suggest using vinegar to help clean and remove them. Unfortunately, the stains will keep reappearing until you fix your hard water problem.

3. You’re Constantly Cleaning Up Soap Scum

Another unsightly issue is the appearance of those white, hard water spots.

That’s what you get when water evaporates and leaves calcium deposits behind.

When you have hard water, you’ll notice nasty soap scum seems to accumulate all over the place. That’s because soap and the minerals in hard water just don’t play nicely together.

If your dishes are always spotty, it may not be your dishwasher, it’s probably your water. What’s worse – soap scum left on shower curtains can lead to the development of a microbial biofilm that might contain disease-spreading bacteria.

With hard water, you may find yourself cleaning the bathroom and kitchen more often and using more cleaning product to get the job done. Who wants to do that?

4. Your Showering Experience Suffers

Showering is your time to escape the world for ten minutes to wash the dirt and worries away. But when you have hard water, shower time can be ruined.

As we’ve mentioned, minerals cause hard water to react ineffectively with soap.

This makes it harder to get a good lather when you bathe. It also makes it more difficult to wash all the soap off your body, leaving a film of soapy residue on your skin.

Deposits from hard water can clog up your shower head too. That means weaker water pressure.

With hard water, you may not be getting as clean and you may notice your hair is hard to manage. Yes, hard water could even be responsible for your bad hair days.

5. Your Pipes Keep Getting Clogged

Showerheads aren’t the only things that can get clogged up thanks to hard water.

It can cause major plumbing issues as well.

Scale deposits build up inside your pipes, like plaque inside an artery, constricting the flow of water, eventually leading to backups and the need to call a plumber for help.

If you have PVC or copper pipes, this probably is not an issue. It’s most-common with older, steel pipes.

6. Your Clothes Aren’t Getting Clean

Hard water can have a negative impact on laundry – and once again – it’s all due to the rocky relationship minerals like calcium and magnesium have with soap and detergent.

Soap is used to wash away dirt and grime, but when soap doesn’t get rinsed off, it can actually increase soil build up on your clothes.

Clothes washed in hard water often appear dingy and wear out faster. It can even make your towels scratchy and rough.

When you have hard water, you may have to buy detergent formulated to soften the water for you. However, you’ll likely have to use more laundry detergent (and hotter water) to get your clothes clean. It’s even advised that people with hard water use four times as much detergent.

Plus, just as iron stains your bathroom fixtures, it can stain your clothes. Premature yellowing of your whites could be caused by iron content in the water. When combined with bleach, iron oxidizes, and iron oxide is just another name for rust.

7. Your Family Has Skin Irritation Issues

Because washing in hard water will leave soap behind, it causes people’s skin to get dried out and itchy.

Mineral deposits left on the body can also suck moisture right out of your skin.

The skin condition eczema is fairly common, especially among younger children.

There is research indicating that bathing in hard water could cause eczema symptoms to worsen.

Another study concluded exposure to hard water could increase the risk of developing eczema in elementary-school-age children.

8. Your Appliances Are Wearing Out Quickly

This might be the most expensive hard water problem of all. Those scale deposits can wreak havoc on many appliances in your home, from the dishwasher to the hot water heater.

A build up of sediment in your water heater can make it far less efficient. The same goes for other appliances. Poor efficiency means bigger utility bills.

The icemaker in your fridge can stop working as scale deposits clog up valves. The American Water Works Association says hard water can cause a washing machine to wear out 30% faster than normal.

It’s not difficult to see how hard water can cost you money in the long run. In fact, it’s estimated hard water expenses could cost you $800 or more every year.

How Water Conditioning Could Help

There are different solutions to different problems, but there’s only one perfect answer to all your hard water issues. That would be installing a water softener in your home.

Water softeners remove things like calcium, magnesium and iron from your water as it comes in from the source. It’s an investment that could save you headaches as well as money.

There are also other types of water conditioning products, like a reverse osmosis system, which can help eliminate potentially harmful contaminants.

If you’re ready to look into the possibility of a water softener in your home, or if you simply have questions about the options available, see our all of our quality product lines on this site or call 1-800-253-2692 (800-CleanWater)

(Credit WQA.Org/water-rite(tm))

Reposted from http://www.water-rightgroup.com/blog/8-hard-water-problems/

Water heaters? Tankless water heaters? Oil, gas or electric solar water heaters?

How can we help clear the confusion for you? We offer traditional heaters, high efficiency heaters, Tankless and duplexing heaters. The stainless steel lifetime water heaters are the best in the industry, we also handle the most economical options.

Water heaters are not hot water heaters, as the water is not hot yet, sorry.

Water heaters can be very inconvenient when they go up when should I consider replacing? (10-15yrs in Maryland) Servicing water heaters is simple and can only take 30-45 minutes.

Things happen.  Any water source can become contaminated with microbes, and it always comes down to – you guessed it – fecal contamination.

Common sources include:

• Human: water sewage treatment plants, combined sewage overflow (CSO), poorly sited/functioning septic systems;
• Domestic animals: manure spreading, pit stock overflow; or
• Wildlife  

True, the ground does act as a natural filter of sorts, but make no mistake, microbes travel through soil layers right along with the infiltrating water. Viruses, because of their small size and large numbers (among other things), have the greatest potential to reach groundwater.

Having reached a saturated layer, microbial contaminants will spread – in every direction – through the whole groundwater body(1). Yes, the deeper the well, the better – assuming it’s actually drilled into a confined aquifer. Those wells are generally less susceptible to contamination(1).

Private well testing results

An analysis of 54 groundwater studies, most of which were focused on private wells, showed that 15% of tested wells were positive for enteric pathogens: bacteria, viruses and/or protozoa(4). It seemed that bacteria and protozoa were local issues, while viral contamination was related to contamination at the aquifer level.

So, a well owner can simply test the water to know if harmful microbes are in it, right? Not so fast! The study(4) found NO correlation between the % of wells positive for indicator organisms (total coliforms, E.coli) and the % of wells positive for pathogens. And other studies have reached similar conclusions.

Water basics – what is it?

Water is a molecule called H2O that contains two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. It’s a transparent, odorless liquid that you can find in lakes, rivers and oceans. It falls from the sky as rain or snow.

Fresh water is the result of the Earth’s water or hydrologic cycle. Basically, the sun’s heat causes surface water to evaporate. It rises in the atmosphere, then cools and condenses to form clouds. When enough water vapor condenses, it falls back to the surface again as rain, sleet, or snow. The process repeats itself in a never-ending cycle.

The water we consume and use every day comes from two main sources: groundwater and surface water.

Groundwater

When rainwater or melting snow seeps into the ground, it collects in underground pockets called aquifers, which store the groundwater and form the water table, another name for the highest level of water that an aquifer can hold. Water levels can reach the water table or fall well below it depending on such factors as rainfall, drought, or the rate at which the water is being used. Groundwater usually comes from aquifers through a drilled well or natural spring.

Surface Water

Surface water flows through or collects in streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and oceans — not underground like groundwater. Surface water can be beautiful, even pristine-looking, but most of it isn’t directly fit for drinking. Fully 97% is found in the oceans and can’t be used for drinking because of its salt content. The other 3% of water is fresh, and most of that is locked up in ice or glaciers.

How much do you use?

A typical American uses 80-100 gallons of water every day. If that sounds like a lot, consider that the total includes not just drinking water, but also the water used for washing, watering lawns, and waste disposal. In fact, people actually drink less than 1% of the water coming into their homes. The rest goes for other purposes.

Unless you have your own well, you likely have to pay something for the water you use. A typical U.S. household pays about $1.50 per 1,000 gallons, or $0.0015 per gallon. For a family of four using 100 gallons per person each day, that adds up to about $18 per month.

Bottled water has a higher price tag, although it may be preferred for businesses or homes that want a low-maintenance source of quality drinking water. According to the Beverage Marketing Corp., the wholesale cost of domestic, non-sparkling bottled drinking water was $1.21 per gallon in 2011. Drinking water sold in 20-ounce bottles may cost more than $6 per gallon.

Also, many homeowners have to pay for sewage (water that leaves the home). In the U.S., the average monthly cost for sewage is $84 a month.

How does it get to your home or business?

Typically, pipes bring the water supply from a facility that treats the water to your home or business. A well built and maintained distribution system of pipes helps ensure its quality. Another format to provide water specific for drinking to a home or business would be the installation of a water cooler or the delivery of bottled water.

Municipal water

Raw and untreated water is obtained from an underground aquifer (usually through wells) or from a surface water source, such as a lake or river. It is pumped, or flows, to a treatment facility. Once there, the water is pre-treated to remove debris such as leaves and silt. Then, a sequence of treatment processes — including filtration and disinfection with chemicals or physical processes — eliminates disease causing microorganisms.When the treatment is complete, water flows out into the community through a network of pipes and pumps that are commonly referred to as the distribution system. Approximately 85% of the U.S. population receives its water from community water systems. Community water systems are required to meet the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Well water

A well is a strategically placed access point drilled into an aquifer, combined with a pump to withdraw the water and a basic filtering or screening system. Approximately 15% of the US population relies on individually owned sources of drinking water, such as wells, cisterns, and springs. The majority of household wells are found in rural areas. Water quality from household wells is the responsibility of the homeowner.

Bottled water

Bottled water is popular. Studies suggest that half of all Americans drink bottled water from time to time, and about a third consume it regularly. As with tap water, the source of bottled water is usually a municipal water system or a natural spring, and from there it may go through additional purification. As a packaged product, bottled water is regulated under the guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).