Many of our clients with rural and recreational properties seek solutions to improve their water quality. For this reason, we offer in-house testing for common water issues to find a custom solution ranging from reverse osmosis to specific filters and beyond.
Specifically, we can test for the following:
- hardness
- total dissolved solids
- acidity or alkalinity
- iron
- manganese
- chlorine
Hard water is an excess of calcium and magnesium causing spotting on your dishes, scale on your water equipment and soap build-up. A water softener uses an ion exchange to remove the hardness thereby improving cleaning and the longevity of all water consuming equipment and plumbing fixtures.
Total dissolved solids (TDS) is measured using the conductivity of a sample to determine dissolved content in a sample besides H2O.
Acidity/alkalinity is expressed as a pH level. Distilled water is considered neutral with a pH level of 7.0. Both acidic and alkaline water can cause staining, fixture corrosion, pitting and pin holes in copper lines.
Iron and manganese both cause unsightly red or black staining as they oxidize and require filtration. H2S also causes staining and though we are not equipped to test for that, we have contacts that can.
More extensive testing is available through Alberta Health Services. Thorsby (and surrounding area) residents can get a sample bottle from the local public heath unit and drop it off at the Leduc Public Health Centre (ph. 780-980-4644), 4219 – 50 Street, M-F 8:30am-11:30am. Brazeau County drop of location is at the Drayton Valley Community Health (ph. 780-542-4415), 4110 50 Ave., Tuesdays before 3pm and Wetaskiwin residents can drop of at Wetaskiwin Community Heath Centre (ph. 780-361-4333), 5610 40 Ave. Tuesdays before 2:30pm or the Winfield Community Health Centre (780-682-4755), #10 2nd Ave. West on Tuesdays before 2pm. Please call ahead to confirm all information.