Hello.
We just received water analysis results back from a plumber, and would greatly appreciate a second opinion (or multiple second opinions). If I have posted this question in the wrong part of the forum, please move to a more appropriate section.
Anyway, we purchased the home (which is on well water) a few months ago. The water test at the time showed no problems with pH or any safety issue (I don't have those results on hand, but it was the standard test required by the mortgage company). However, we noticed a rotten egg/cabbage smell almost immediately after moving in. We had the well chlorinated, but this only helped for the first few days. The smell is strong with water taken directly from the well, so I don't think it is an issue with the water heater.
We recently had a plumber out, and they sent the water (taken at the first valve in the house; ie - closest to the well) away to be tested. They also gave us their recommendation. I am skeptical, in part because their recommendation and comments about the test results seem to differ from my reading of those results. They recommended a whole house filtration system (~6500$), consisting of a number of filters in line (they forgot to leave the diagram, so I don't have it on hand). I do remember that they said that it needed an iron filter. However, the iron result was 0.0000 ppm (I didn't notice this when they were here, so I didn't ask them about that). They also said that the TDS was off the charts (it is 206.0000, which I now understand to be higher than desirable, but not terrible). The pH is 7.5000, and they said that was fine and didn't need anything. The one number that jumps out is the hardness, at 11 grains/gallon (I think per gallon). They also recommended UV filtration, but there wasn't any evidence of bacteria.
On the positive side, the water has no bad taste, is clear. The test results said it doesn't dry cloudy on glassware, is not red/brown, is not blue/green, is not metallic, musty, have a chlorine smell, or have sulphur in water "only after water heater". On the negative side, "sulphur in cold water" is marked "yes" (I don't know whether they tested for sulphur, or were testing the odor). Also, under "other" it says "very strong" (presumably this is a reference to the odor).
We are not planning on spending that kind of money without a separate test being done. But the results don't seem that bad to me, and I don't see anything that warrants that kind of expense. So my questions are this:
1) are the test results as bad as they said?
2) could water hardness account for smell (I think the answer is no, but want to make sure)?
3) if the water smells due to sulphur, do sulphur filters work?
4) should we just go with a water softener by itself (placed in line after the current sediment filter), and see if that solves the problem?
We cannot afford to spend huge amounts of money chasing ghosts, and we know that tracking these things down can be very expensive. The plumber is local, and has a good reputation. I am wondering if they might have misread the results. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
We just received water analysis results back from a plumber, and would greatly appreciate a second opinion (or multiple second opinions). If I have posted this question in the wrong part of the forum, please move to a more appropriate section.
Anyway, we purchased the home (which is on well water) a few months ago. The water test at the time showed no problems with pH or any safety issue (I don't have those results on hand, but it was the standard test required by the mortgage company). However, we noticed a rotten egg/cabbage smell almost immediately after moving in. We had the well chlorinated, but this only helped for the first few days. The smell is strong with water taken directly from the well, so I don't think it is an issue with the water heater.
We recently had a plumber out, and they sent the water (taken at the first valve in the house; ie - closest to the well) away to be tested. They also gave us their recommendation. I am skeptical, in part because their recommendation and comments about the test results seem to differ from my reading of those results. They recommended a whole house filtration system (~6500$), consisting of a number of filters in line (they forgot to leave the diagram, so I don't have it on hand). I do remember that they said that it needed an iron filter. However, the iron result was 0.0000 ppm (I didn't notice this when they were here, so I didn't ask them about that). They also said that the TDS was off the charts (it is 206.0000, which I now understand to be higher than desirable, but not terrible). The pH is 7.5000, and they said that was fine and didn't need anything. The one number that jumps out is the hardness, at 11 grains/gallon (I think per gallon). They also recommended UV filtration, but there wasn't any evidence of bacteria.
On the positive side, the water has no bad taste, is clear. The test results said it doesn't dry cloudy on glassware, is not red/brown, is not blue/green, is not metallic, musty, have a chlorine smell, or have sulphur in water "only after water heater". On the negative side, "sulphur in cold water" is marked "yes" (I don't know whether they tested for sulphur, or were testing the odor). Also, under "other" it says "very strong" (presumably this is a reference to the odor).
We are not planning on spending that kind of money without a separate test being done. But the results don't seem that bad to me, and I don't see anything that warrants that kind of expense. So my questions are this:
1) are the test results as bad as they said?
2) could water hardness account for smell (I think the answer is no, but want to make sure)?
3) if the water smells due to sulphur, do sulphur filters work?
4) should we just go with a water softener by itself (placed in line after the current sediment filter), and see if that solves the problem?
We cannot afford to spend huge amounts of money chasing ghosts, and we know that tracking these things down can be very expensive. The plumber is local, and has a good reputation. I am wondering if they might have misread the results. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.