RESIDENTIAL WATER TREATMENT

Better Water Starts With Understanding What's In It.

Hard water, staining, sediment, odour, bacteria and other water-quality concerns can have very different causes. Air & Water helps you understand what's happening with your water and determine an appropriate approach based on your water source, your home and how the water is being used.

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Check Your Area's Water (Coming soon)
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COMMON WATER CONCERNS

Start With the Problem — Not the Equipment.

What you see, smell or taste can provide useful clues, but it doesn't always tell the whole story. Understanding the water helps determine what should happen next.

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Hard Water & Scale

White scale, spotting and mineral buildup on fixtures and appliances.

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Iron & Manganese

Orange, reddish-brown or black staining and discolouration. Elevated manganese can also be a health concern.

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Taste, Odour & Colour

Unusual taste, smell or colour can have a variety of causes, including natural organic matter and tannins.

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Sediment & Turbidity

Sand, grit, suspended material or cloudy water.

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Bacteria

Microbiological concerns that may require testing, investigation and appropriate treatment.

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Arsenic & Other Contaminants

Some contaminants, including arsenic and nitrate, may have no obvious taste, odour or colour and can present health concerns at elevated concentrations.

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Lake & Surface Water

Water sources that can change with weather, runoff, seasons and biological activity.

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Drinking Water

Treatment options specifically for water used for drinking and cooking.

Hard Water & Scale

Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium. While hardness is generally considered an aesthetic concern, it can create scale on fixtures, inside appliances and throughout plumbing systems.

Water softening is a common approach to hardness, but the system should be sized for both the hardness of the water and the household's actual water use.

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    White scale on fixtures

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    Spots on dishes and glassware

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    Scale in kettles and appliances

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    Reduced soap lather

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    Buildup in water heaters and plumbing

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Iron & Manganese

Iron and manganese can cause staining, discolouration and other water-quality problems. The appropriate treatment depends on their concentration and form, along with the overall water chemistry and how the water is being used.

Testing can help determine what is present before a treatment approach is selected.

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IRON KING

For suitable applications, the Iron King provides iron-removal treatment without a chemical regenerant. Unlike traditional iron-removal systems that regenerate using chemical oxidants such as potassium permanganate, the Iron King does not require a chemical regenerant.

Learn About Iron King
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When the Water Just Doesn't Seem Right

Colour, taste and odour can have many causes. Natural organic matter and tannins are common concerns in some local water sources, but similar symptoms can come from other water-quality conditions.

Testing can help determine what is actually causing the problem before treatment is selected.

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Bacteria in Water

Bacteriological testing can help identify indicators of microbial contamination in a water sample. If a result is unsatisfactory, the next step may include looking at the well, plumbing, storage or recent work that could have contributed to the result.

Depending on the circumstances, sanitization and follow-up testing may be appropriate. In other situations, ongoing disinfection treatment may be considered.

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SOME WATER PROBLEMS CAN'T BE SEEN

Arsenic & Other Contaminants

Some water-quality concerns cannot be identified by looking at, smelling or tasting the water. Arsenic, nitrate and other naturally occurring or source-specific contaminants may require laboratory testing to identify.

If a concern is identified, the appropriate response depends on the contaminant, its concentration, the overall water chemistry, water use and the treatment objective.

Lake & Surface Water

Surface-water sources behave differently from groundwater. Water quality can change with rainfall, runoff, seasons, sediment, organic material and biological activity.

For that reason, surface-water treatment often requires multiple treatment barriers rather than a single piece of equipment. Depending on the application, these may include filtration, fine filtration, ultrafiltration, disinfection or other treatment processes.

A treatment approach should consider the water source and how it changes over time — not just the results from a single sample.

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Understanding Potability

Bacteriological and chemical testing answer different questions. Learn more about choosing appropriate water testing for your water source.

Learn About Water Testing

Better Drinking Water Without Treating Every Gallon

For some water-quality concerns, treating water used for drinking and cooking may make more sense than treating all of the water in the home. Point-of-use treatment, including reverse osmosis where appropriate, can be considered based on the water chemistry and treatment objective.

Reverse osmosis is a common point-of-use treatment technology that can reduce a broad range of dissolved substances. The appropriate treatment depends on the source water and what the homeowner wants to accomplish.

Explore Reverse Osmosis & Treatment Systems
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AREA WATER QUALITY

What's Been Found in Your Area?

Air & Water has accumulated water-quality results from wells throughout the region. Our Area Water Quality tool can show you what has been found in your area.

Nearby wells can have very different water chemistry, so area results are a useful starting point—not a substitute for testing your individual water source.

Check Your Area's Water (Coming soon)
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OUR APPROACH

Don't Choose the Equipment Before You Understand the Water.

These factors help determine whether treatment is needed and, if it is, what approach makes practical sense.

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1. Understand the Problem

We start with what you're experiencing and how the water is being used.

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2. Test or Assess the Water

Where appropriate, water testing helps identify the cause and provides information needed to select treatment.

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3. Select the Treatment

Equipment is selected for the water chemistry, flow requirements and application—not simply from one test result.

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4. Install & Set Up

The treatment system is installed and set up for the application.

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5. Service & Verify

Treatment systems require ongoing maintenance, and testing can be used where appropriate to help evaluate performance.

SERVICE & REPAIR

We Service Existing Equipment Too.

Air & Water services a wide range of residential water-treatment equipment, including systems we didn't originally install.

If your system isn't producing the water it used to, that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be replaced.

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    Water softeners

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    Iron & manganese filters

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    Reverse osmosis systems

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    UV systems

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    Filter replacement

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    System sanitization

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    Troubleshooting

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    Existing system assessments

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Not Sure What's Causing the Problem?

Tell us what you're experiencing. We can help determine whether testing, service or treatment is the appropriate next step.

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