Natural Water Problems:
- Water collects tastes and odours as it passes through decaying vegetation, gases, minerals and organic material beneath the earth's surface e.g. the taste and odour problems caused by absorbed hydrogen and sulphide
- Water carrying calcium, magnesium and other dissolved minerals: “Hard Water” that causes scale build-up in pipes, faucets and appliances, diminishing the cleansing action of soaps, detergents and shampoos
- Water carrying iron, creating rust stains and other iron-related problems
- Water considered “acidic” can dissolve or “eat away” at pipes and chrome plumbing fixtures
Man-made Water Problems:
Thousands of chemicals and compounds have been created in recent years. Petrochemical materials, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are washed by rainwater into streams, rivers, lakes and wells.
Drinking-water contaminants are either naturally occurring or man-made and cannot be detected except by professional testing. Depending on the type and amount of contaminant, there are various methods of treating water, including sediment filters, taste and odour filters, chemical contaminant filters, lead reduction filters, reverse osmosis drinking water systems, and distillers.
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