Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list commonly asked questions. If you should have any other questions about your water treatment system or water quality, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Maintenance Questions:
How do I disinfect my well?
How do I disinfect my house plumbing?
How do I flush the chlorine from my well or house plumbing after a disinfection?
What do I do if I am experiencing a sudden drop in water pressure?
How do I change my cartridge filter?
How do I clean the screen in my Vu-Flow sediment filter?
How do I restart my Clearadon Radon System?
How do I restart my Bubble Up System?
What do I do if my softener runs out of salt?
How do I manually regenerate my Kinetico Softener or Filter?
How do I shut off my system or bypass the equipment?
Where can I purchase replacement cartridge filters and how do I know which one I should be using?
Water Quality Questions:
What should I be testing for?
Is my water safe to drink?
If I have a water treatment system, do I need to test my water?
How do I go about getting my well water tested?
Should I test my water if I have town water?
What are the current EPA standards for water quality in NH?
WHAT DO I DO IF I EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN DROP IN WATER PRESSURE?
The most common cause of a sudden drop in water pressure is a plugged cartridge filter. Change your cartridge and see if pressure returns. If your cartridge is plugging more frequently than normal, conditions may have changed and you may benefit from a different configuration. A Secondwind Water Specialist can evaluate this for you.
If the low pressure continues after changing the cartridge, you need to determine if the cause is within your water treatment system, or if it is related to the pump or the well. Put the entire treatment system on bypass and see if pressure returns. If you have normal water pressure with the system bypassed, call and we can schedule to have a Technician service the system.
If water pressure is still low, you may have a pump problem or a low recovery rate well and you should call your pump company. Let us know if you need a referral to a reputable pump and well company.
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WHAT SHOULD I BE TESTING FOR?
There are literally hundreds of parameters that can be tested in water. However, you can quickly and affordably get a good sense of your water quality by testing a much smaller set of items. We recommend using an independent, state certified lab whenever health issues are to be tested. The aesthetic or functional items can be tested by a qualified water professional in the home using field test kits, but you may desire a lab analysis for these items as well. Your Secondwind Water Specialist is happy to make testing recommendations, draw your samples correctly and deliver them to a local, independent lab if you wish a confirming analysis, and for any health issues to be tested.
If your home or facility is served by municipal water, you can obtain their annual Consumer Confidence Report which will cover the tests the system is required by law to perform. You may wish to test for bacteria, lead or copper within your home because your home plumbing or treatment system can impact the ultimate quality of the water you consume.
Aesthetic and functional factors: Testing for iron, manganese, hardness, pH, alkalinity, sodium and chloride can give you a good sense of how well the water will work in your home, and whether or not it will leave stains or residue. In addition, these results will help us predict whether the water will impact your plumbing and appliances. It is possible to test for hydrogen sulfide odor, but it is actually more reliable to base a need for odor treatment on the symptoms in the home because the tests for this odor are subjective.
Health Issues: A basic health scan should include tests for bacteria, lead, copper, nitrates/nitrites, arsenic, fluoride, radon and uranium. High level results in radon or uranium would indicate that other radiological tests should be performed. For greater peace of mind a test for MtBE, the gasoline additive, can be included, and for a more complete picture you should request tests for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Synthetic Organic Compounds (SOCs). These last two are often only chosen if the home or business is located in an area where contamination is likely, but unfortunately this is impossible to predict as the activities of an individual homeowner can affect water quality in the surrounding area.
If you have received test results from a lab or inspection and have any questions in interpreting the results, call Secondwind. Our Water Specialists are trained to be able to answer your questions.
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IS MY WATER SAFE TO DRINK?
Consumers often want to oversimplify the answer to this question. Passing tests for common aesthetic or functional items such as hardness, iron, manganese, and pH do not imply a safe water supply but simply a supply where the water is not likely to leave stains or mineral deposits.
In this region, if you want to know if your water is safe to drink you should test for bacteria, lead, copper, nitrates/nitrites, arsenic, fluoride, radon and uranium. For greater peace of mind a test for MtBE (the gasoline additive) can be included, and for a more complete picture you should test for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Synthetic Organic Compounds (SOCs). These last two are often only chosen if the home or business is located in an area where contamination is likely, but unfortunately this is impossible to predict as the activities of an individual homeowner can affect water quality in the surrounding area.
It is not possible to know if your water is safe to drink from an in-home test.
If you are unsure about what your system was installed for or whether or not health issue testing has been done at your home, please contact Secondwind. We would be happy to review your records with you.
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IF I HAVE A WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM, DO I REALLY NEED TO TEST MY WATER?
If your water treatment system was installed to treat aesthetic factors such as staining, hardness or odor, you know if the system is working based on the symptoms in the home. You may occasionally want to retest the untreated water to be sure your system is set up for the current conditions.
If your water system was installed to treat functional factors such as hardness or pH, testing both the raw and treated water periodically makes sense so that proper operation and set up of your system can be verified.
If your water system was installed to treat health issues, the water should be tested annually to verify that the system is working properly. Most health related contaminants have no symptoms and although the health impacts occur over a long period of time, you would want to know as soon as possible if the system is not functioning correctly.
If you are unsure about what your system was installed for or whether or not health issue testing has been done at your home, please contact Secondwind. We would be happy to review your records with you.
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HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING MY WELL WATER TESTED?
A trained Secondwind Water Specialist can test aesthetic and functional factors in the home or business as part of a comprehensive site evaluation. These specialists are trained to recognize water quality problems and to design water treatment systems to solve for these problems. That same specialist would be happy to deliver correctly taken samples to an independent lab should you desire health issues testing, or confirming tests on any of the in home tests taken.
If you prefer to handle the testing yourself, we recommend utilizing a State Certified Lab. You can find a listing on your state’s Department of Environmental Services web site. In addition, we would be happy to provide a referral for you in your area. You will need to get the correct bottles for the tests you are interested in, and will need to follow the sampling procedures exactly. Some items are time sensitive, so be sure to follow the instructions with the test bottles or kit and get the samples to the lab within the appropriate window of time.
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SHOULD I TEST MY WATER IF I HAVE TOWN WATER?
If your home or facility is served by municipal water, you can obtain their annual Consumer Confidence Report which will cover the tests the system is required by law to perform. You may wish to test for bacteria or lead within your home or facility because your home plumbing or treatment system can impact the ultimate quality of the water you consume. If you are concerned about aesthetic issues or chlorine tastes or odors, your Secondwind Water Specialist can address these items after a site visit.
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HOW DO I WINTERIZE MY SYSTEM?
If you have a water treatment system in a seasonal home, you may desire to turn off the heat and water during the winter months. Water treatment equipment can freeze, so special care must be taken in handling your system.
If the system includes a water softener or backwashing filter, this piece of equipment should be physically removed from the site. It is virtually impossible to remove all the water from a bed of media and the freezing of the remaining water can cause the media to be damaged and the tanks to split.
If you have a cartridge filter, remove the cartridge element and leave the sump off while the water is turned off.
Any other piece of water treatment equipment must have all water removed. Water should be blown out of booster pumps and tubing. Reverse Osmosis systems should be removed from the site and stored off site. The cartridges should be disposed of. Fresh cartridges can be installed in the beginning of the next season.
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WHERE CAN I PURCHASE REPLACEMENT CARTRIDGE FILTERS AND HOW DO I KNOW WHICH ONE I SHOULD BE USING?
It is very important to use the correct cartridge filter with your water treatment system to ensure proper operation. If you feel the need to try a different cartridge filter other than the one specified for your system, please discuss with your Secondwind water specialist to be sure the new cartridge will not affect the performance of your system and will address your concerns. If you do not know who your water specialist is, please contact us and our staff will be more than happy to connect you with the appropriate specialist.
All cartridge filters installed by us are available for purchase through Secondwind Water Systems. Our staff can retrieve your equipment records and quote the exact filter that was installed with your system. Most filters are available for shipment or pick-up on the same day. Payment is expected at the day of order or day of pick-up. Many cartridges are eligible for discounts when two or more of the same cartridge are purchased on the same day. We accept Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express.
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