Educational Blogs - Water and Air Quality

Why Clear Well Water Can Still Hide a Problem Many homeowners trust their well water because it looks clean. It may pour clear from the faucet, taste normal, and have no noticeable odor. But some contaminants do not announce themselves. Nitrate is one of them. Nitrate can be present in groundwater without changing the way your water looks, smells, or tastes. That is why testing matters. The Minnesota Department of Health notes that nitrate cannot be tasted, smelled, or seen in water, and the CDC recommends annual private well testing for nitrates along with bacteria, total dissolved solids, and pH. ...

Why Does Indoor Air Feel Stuffy? A stuffy home is not always caused by one obvious problem. Sometimes it is a mix of dust, pet odors, cooking smells, humidity, cleaning products, smoke, pollen, and air that simply is not moving enough. EPA notes that indoor air pollutants can come from both outdoor and indoor sources, including cooking, cleaning, secondhand smoke, building materials, consumer products, and home furnishings. These pollutants may include particles, gases, VOCs, formaldehyde, mold, and pollen.  That means a home can look clean but still feel stale. You may notice this more in bedrooms, pet areas, kitchens, basements,...

Key Takeaways Many cities are replacing old lead service lines, but the process can take years.  Lead can enter drinking water through old service lines, plumbing, fixtures, or solder.  You cannot see, smell, or taste lead in water, so testing is the best way to know if there is a problem.  Homes built before 1986 may have a higher chance of lead-related plumbing concerns.  Boiling water does not remove lead.  A properly selected drinking water filter, including certain reverse osmosis systems, can help reduce lead at the tap.  Filter replacement and maintenance are important for keeping a system working properly. ...

Key Takeaways PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they can persist in the environment and are difficult to break down.  Drinking water can be one source of PFAS exposure, especially in areas near industrial sites, airports, military bases, landfills, or firefighting foam use.  Not every water filter is designed to help with PFAS. Basic sediment filters alone are not enough for PFAS because PFAS are not visible particles.  The filter types most commonly used for PFAS reduction are reverse osmosis, activated carbon, and ion exchange.  For many homeowners, an under-sink reverse osmosis system is one of the most practical...

Choosing a water filtration system should not feel like a guessing game. Many homeowners start shopping for a filter because something feels “off” about their water. Maybe the water tastes like chlorine. Maybe the shower leaves skin feeling dry. Maybe there is white scale on faucets, rust-colored staining in the sink, cloudy water in a glass, or sediment collecting in fixtures. These are all useful warning signs, but they do not always tell the full story. The problem is that different water issues can look very similar. Cloudy water may be caused by air bubbles, sediment, minerals, or plumbing disturbance....