Whether you are turning on your kitchen sink to get a drink of water, washing your family’s clothes, or taking a hot shower before heading off to work, it is important that the water used by you and your family be of the highest quality. While treatment plants of course take care of most of this, there are still things you should do regularly at your home to make your water quality even better. If you’re ready to get started, here are four simple things you can do right away.
Flush the Taps
One of the easiest things you can do to improve your water quality is to flush the taps for about a minute prior to getting a drink or using any water for cooking. Unbeknownst to you, when you haven’t turned on your faucet for a few hours, the water that has been inside the pipes can lessen in quality.
Limit the Use of Hot Water
Yes, limiting the amount of hot water you use, especially for cooking, can actually improve your home’s water quality. When you select hot water from your tap, the hot water itself may actually dissolve certain contaminants, allowing sediment, metals, and even bacteria to build up in the water. Thus, it’s best to only use cold water when cooking and allow your appliances to heat it up.
Replace Old Plumbing
Another smart thing you can do to improve your home’s water quality is to call professionals like Countryside to have old pipes and other plumbing components replaced. In many cases, older galvanized pipes may still contain traces of lead, which can be a severe health hazard. To make sure your home’s water quality is at its best, replace older pipes with copper pipes and have lead-free fixtures installed as well.
Clean Your Faucet Aerators
Last but not least, you should spend a few minutes each month taking a closer look at your faucet aerators. If you’ve noticed the water from certain taps is not flowing as freely as it should, it may be due to the aerators being blocked with sediment, which can contain metals. By unscrewing these from your tap, cleaning them out, and replacing them as needed with new ones, your water quality should be excellent.
If you’ve thought improving your home’s water quality would be difficult, you now know it is actually the opposite. By doing the simple things like cleaning the aerators and flushing the taps, along with making sure your home has up-to-date pipes and fixtures, water quality will be one worry you can cross off your list.