Got a problem w/ iron in your water? If so, you have joined the millions of other folks who have the same problem.

Iron occurs naturally in the environment and as water passes across it in rock formations small amounts of iron dissolve into the water. Over time the amount of iron dissolved into the water can grow to a large amount and in too great a quantity iron in water can result in stains on fixtures, metallic taste, the formation of precipitates which can clog plumbing and filters, etc.

You can find additional information on iron in drinking water on an earlier blog posting… here

For those reasons, and more, most people prefer to filter iron out of their water before using it in their homes, schools and places of business. The Pentek RFFE20-BB Iron Reduction Filter helps people accomplish that goal.

Configured as a 20″x5″ radial flow ‘Big Blue” cartridge, the Pentek RFFE20-BB reduces iron in drinking water and has a genuine Pentek part number of 155263-03. This product effectively removes up to 3 ppm of dissolved iron from water and in doing so reduces the metallic taste caused by iron and reduces orange/brown staining found on sinks, tubs, toilets and other plumbing fixtures.

Size of Filter: 20″ x 5″, w/ actual measurements of 19 3/4″ x 4 7/8″

Optimal pre-filter water conditions:

• pH: greater than 7.0 (test for pH)
• Silica: less than 100 ppm
• Manganese: less than 1 ppm (test for manganese)
• Iron: less than 3 ppm (test for total iron)
• Iron Bacteria: None
• Hydrogen Sulfide: None (test for hydrogen sulfide)

Using the Pentek RFFE20-BB Iron Reduction Filter to treat water outside of specified limits may result in shortened filter life.

Water Quality Test Kit for 15 Parameters
Regularly $40, Now Just $32.00

Everyone loves a bargain, right? Well if you have waited to purchase a test kit for drinking water because you could never find one on sale, well, you no longer have a reason to wait.

FilterWater.Com recently dropped the price of Sensafe’s most popular test kit for drinking water quality, an easy-to-use test kit that tests for 15 critical water quality contaminants and does not require users to mix powders, crush tablets, or have a degree in chemistry to figure out the directions.

Considered by some the most complete do-it-yourself Water Quality Test Kit on the market, this water test kit tests up to 2 water sources for 15 critical water quality parameters and allows you to quickly and easily test your drinking water and/or check to see if your water filter does a good job.

In this particular drinking water test kit you will find the only available USEPA Approved Free Chlorine Test Strip as well as color-coded, visual, on the spot tests for 13 other parameters. The bacteria test kit, however, requires 48 hours, just as it does in kits manufactured by all other companies.

In total, the Water Quality Test Kit contains the following:

• Free Chlorine – 2 tests
• Total Chlorine – 2 tests
• Chloride – 2 tests
• pH – 2 tests
• Total Alkalinity – 2 tests
• Total Hardness – 2 tests
• Nitrate – 2 tests
• Nitrite – 2 tests
• Iron – 2 tests
• Sulfate – 2 tests
• Hydrogen Sulfide – 2 tests
• Copper – 2 tests
• Lead – 1 test
• Pesticide – 1 test
• Bacteria – 1 test

Included with the kit you will receive a chart so that you can compare your results to USEPA recommended levels is included.

And remember…

Despite the great price on this home drinking water test kit, no at-home testing can ever take the place of having a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs analyze your drinking water if you have serious reason to suspect contamination.

As the beginning of Summer 2010 approaches and more people flock to local swimming pools in an effort to cool off, the risk of waterborne illness from parasites increases. Recreational Water Illnesses (RWI’s) typically occur when people do not practice simple hygiene before and during their pool visits.

In the event of a recreational water illness most people immediately blame pool operators for allowing sanitizer levels to fall. Many of those same people, however, forget that germs and bacteria enter the pool on people and that if people stopped introducing harmful germs and bacteria to pool water, sanitizer levels would probably not drop to dangerously low levels and allow germs to wreak havoc.

Another thing to remember about chlorine, bromine and other sanitizers: They will not work as effectively if other critical water parameters such as pH and total alkalinity levels have drifted out of acceptable ranges. So even if sanitizer levels test correctly and in the right ranges, high/low values for other water parameters may render those sanitizers partially or totally ineffective at killing germs and bacteria.

What sort of ‘nasties’ can a person expect to find in swimming pools as a result of poor swimmer hygiene habits?

The most common are caused by the germs Cryptosporidium (crypto), Giardia, E. coli and Shigella. Once these parasites gain entry to the pool they can cause swimmers to experience a variety of infections ranging from skin, ear and eye to gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses that can quickly put a damper on summer fun.

How widespread are these pesky pool parasites? Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found nearly one in ten public swimming pools in a major metropolitan city tested positive for Crypto and Giardia, the parasites responsible for causing most of the outbreaks of diarrhea among swimmers in the United States. Diarrhea is one of the most common illnesses related to swimming and is spread when disease carrying germs from human or animal feces get into the water and are accidentally swallowed by unsuspecting swimmers. ( source )

So as you can clearly see, harmful bacteria and germs in pool water should concern EVERY swimmer and EVERY swimmer should do their part to reduce the number of germs and bacteria they could potentially bring to a pool party.

For a list of things you, your family, and hopefully all other pool patrons can do to reduce the risk RWI’s in your favorite pools, check out a recent article on The Water Testing Blog entitled Myth: Chlorine Kills All Germs and Bacteria in Water.

What about testing? Can the average person test for the presence of harmful bacteria before entering the pool? Yes, WaterSafe manufactures a bacteria test kit specifically designed for use in pool & spa water to detect harmful bacteria species such as Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and many other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria.

While the kit will not distinguish between bacteria types or give quantitative results, it will let you know if water tested contains more than 1,000 cfu/mL. People should avoid swimming in pool water containing levels greater than 1,000 cfu/mL.

OK, so you COULD go and eat a value meal at some fast or semi-fast food restaurant for five dollars (plus tax)… or you could take advantage of a great price on Pool Check 3 Way Test Strips that you know you will need this pool season.

What do they test for? So glad you asked! Pool Check 3 in 1 Test Strips test for Free Chlorine (0-20ppm), Bromine (0-40ppm), Total Alkalinity (0-360ppm), and pH (6.0-9.0).

Right now on the National Safety Products web site you can get a bottle of 50 strips for just five bucks… which works out to just 10 cents a test.

You KNOW you will need these things at some point this pool season so why not pick up a few bottles right now and not have to worry about running out later this Summer and having to pay MORE for the same product; simply because retailers know you’ll have to pay whatever they ask at that point.

Order some Pool Check 3 in 1 Test Strips today… or for those of you who don’t like using test strips and prefer to use a more traditional test kit, you will find those on Taylor-Test-Kits.Com.

On another note…

Happy Friday, everyone! Weekend’s almost here!

Jun. 7 — Surface water and water wells near pending natural gas drilling operations should be tested before any drilling starts, Scott Fickbohm, manager of Otsego County’s Soil & Water District, said.

“We need baseline tests if we’re going to be able to show that any changes have occurred,” Fickbohm said Friday.

In his agency, he and one other staff member could work part-time at monitoring surface water in the county, he said. The Soil & Water District does not have the means to test thousands of water wells, “but I’m working on a database to try to let people know where they can get their water tested, and how much it will cost,” he said.

Costs will depend on how comprehensive the tests are. “I’ve heard everything from hundreds to thousands of dollars,” he said.

…

The state may mandate that drilling firms pay for baseline testing of water wells within a certain distance of a drilling operation, he noted.

Although the state’s rules have yet to be issued, Soil & Water is preparing for its upcoming duties because it cannot wait, Fickbohm said.

“We’re taking our lead from the SRBC,” he said.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is monitoring the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for conductivity and Ph values because when these values change they may indicate the river is being polluted, he said.

“Conductivity is the presence of ions in the water, and that’s likely to pick up any change in salinity,” he said.

In their quest for shale gas, companies are drilling thousands of feet down into a zone where there are pockets of saline water, Fickbohm said. A change in the river’s saline levels might mean that brackish water from the depths has reached the river, the largest source of fresh water in the Chesapeake Bay. ( source )

Testing for Conductivity

Conductivity testing typically gets done with the use of a conductivity meter. You will find examples of several popular conductivity meters below.

Product Name	Model
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999 µS Water Quality Meter (WA300) with Remote Sensor Probe & 36″ Lead	WA300
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999µS (PWA-301) with Integral Sensor Tip & Protective Cap	PWA-301
Conductivity Meter: Digital Pen Style 10 to 9990 µS/cm (CO502) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	CO502
Conductivity TDS Meter: Digital (CDM22CT) with Built-In Thermometer	DCM22CT
Electrical Conductivity EC Meter: Digital 0 to 20.0 EC (EC506) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	EC506
pH/ORP/Temperature Conductivity Combination Digital Water Testing Meter (DPHO1380K) with Software & Carrying Case	DPHO1380K

While this article mentioned conductivity as a means of testing for changes in surface water’s salinity, other testing methods such as TDS meters, salt (chloride) meters and/or chloride test strips may work as well, but their effectiveness, we believe, may get limited by their detection ranges.

Voted one of the “Most Valuable Products for 2008!” by Aquatics International Magazine, the Lamotte Color Q Pro 7 tests for seven critical pool and spa water parameters: Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Bromine, pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Cyanuric Acid.

It comes with either TesTabs or liquid reagents and has a 6-month manufacturer’s warranty.

Below you will find a table which lists each water quality parameter the meter can test along with the meter’s associated detection limits.

The Lamotte Color Q Pro 7 offers convenient pool or spa-side water testing without the need for color matching or look up charts and conversion tables. It provides direct readings for Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Bromine, pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Cyanuric Acid and by doing so eliminates all guesswork.

Please don’t let yourself fall in that desperate, sad category! Test your water if ya’ know what to test for… free chlorine, total chlorine, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, iron, copper, tds and cyanuric acid.

The above parameters assume, of course, that you have a chlorine pool.

Below you will find links to some useful web pages with VERY useful pool water balancing chemicals, pool water test kits, etc.

2-Way Test Kits 4-Way Test Kits Cyanuric Acid Test Kits Taylor Deluxe Test Kits Taylor FAS DPD Complete Taylor Service Test Kits Water Check Bacteria Tests

Alkalinity Increaser Calcium Hardness Chlorine Neutralizers Chlorine Stabilizer Clarifiers pH Decreaser pH Increaser Water Balance Systems

Algaecide & Clarifier Black Algae Treatment Copper Based In the Swim Brand Mineral Based No More Problems Brand Non-Copper Algaecide Polymer Based Algaecide Value Packs Yellow Mustard

Bromine Feeders Chlorine Feeders Chlorine Generator Ozone Generator

Aquachek TruTest Meter Conductivity Meters pH & ORP Meters TDS Meters

1-Inch Tablets Calcium Hypochlorite Skimmer Tablets Slow Dissolving Sticks of Chlorine

DPD Tablets pH Tablets

Spa Frog Mineral System

America’s Strongest

Calcium Hypochlorite Stabilized w/ Cyanuric Acid

Winterizing Algaecide Winterizing Anti-Freeze Winterizing Kits

Aquachek Test Strips

Jack’s Magic Stain Care Stain Prevention Stain Removers

Bromine Shock Treatment Chlorine Shock Treatment HTH Chlorine Shock Lithium Chlorine Shock Multi Shock Treatment Non-Chlorine Shock

]]> http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/you-will-need-chemicals-when-you-open-your-pool/feed/ 0 http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/cdc-warns-of-unhealthy-public-pools-urges-more-testing/ http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/cdc-warns-of-unhealthy-public-pools-urges-more-testing/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 16:21:12 +0000 Test For Admin http://pool-water-testing.com/pool-testing-blog/?p=318

Last year we published a blog entry called Peeing in the Swimming Pool… Americans Admit Doing It and many of you thought we made the whole thing up… but we didn’t. Take a look at the following article, published 5/20/2010, and you will understand why we urged, and continue to urge, people to take the matter of public pool testing into their own hands.

For those who opted not to check the link we just posted about how 1 in 5 Americans admit urinating in swimming pools, we ask you to think about the number of times you have waded through a pool and discovered a ‘warm spot’.

Granted that warmth may have come from the sun, sure, it could happen, but realistically, you may have just wandered through a patch of human urine before its warmth had a chance to dissipate into the rest of the pool. Gross.

Makes you think, right? It ought to… and it ought to make you think about testing the pool to make sure it has an acceptable pH and free chlorine level before you get in the water!

ARLINGTON, Va., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Unhealthy pools are more common than you may think. Newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underscores the importance of protecting yourself and your family at the pool this summer. The CDC reports a disturbing statistic: About 1 out of 8 public pool inspections conducted in 13 states in 2008 resulted in pools being closed immediately due to serious code violations. The venues that had the most disinfection violations were kiddie/wading pools and water play areas.

Improperly chlorinated water puts swimmers at risk for recreational water illnesses like diarrhea and ear and skin infections. This summer the CDC is encouraging all swimmers to be activists – check your pool water and immediately report any problems to pool staff. Test strips are a quick and easy way to measure if there is adequate chlorine to kill germs and if pH is in the proper range. Swimmers can take action to protect themselves with free pool test kits offered by the Water Quality & Health Council on its website.

“You can’t always trust your fellow swimmer to practice healthy swimming habits,” said Chris Wiant, Chair of the Water Quality and Health Council. “But, what you can do is test the chlorine level and pH of the water to make sure your pool is properly treated – and immediately approach pool staff if it is not.”

Test strips are an easy way to check the water and maintain a healthy pool. When testing pool water, swimmers should be sure that the free chlorine level is between 1.0 and 4.0 parts per million (ppm) and the pH registers between 7.2 and 7.8.

Last year’s survey by the Water Quality and Health Council found that one in five Americans pee in the pool. Urine, as well as sweat and even sunscreen, contains nitrogen that eats up some of a pool’s free chlorine, making it less effective in fighting off waterborne germs. To ensure on-the-spot protection, it is important to regularly adjust a pool’s chlorine levels. ( source )

Scary, right? Can’t even take the kiddies, or your own hot self, to the local water spot to take a dip w/o worrying that someone has tainted the water — on purpose ‘cuz they’re lazy and don’t feel like walking alllllll the way to the bathroom OR because someone failed to heed the warning of ‘do not go swimming if you have, or have recently gotten over, diarrhea or some other gastrointestinal disorder’.

In the (un?)likely event that one or both of the types of people swim where you swim, don’t you want to know if the water has enough chlorine to kill the bacteria, germs, and other nasties? Don’t you want to know that the pool water has a pH level that will allow the chlorine to work properly?

Simple Pool Testing Options?

The Water Quality & Health Council has an offer of free test strips out there, so naturally we suggest jumping on THAT opportunity.

Free test strips always sounds better than having to shell out a few bucks. But let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that you DID have to pay for free chlorine and pH test strips… what would they cost?

Not a whole lot, actually. Right now a company called National Safety Products has Pool Check 3-Way Test Strips on sale for roughly $5 for a pack of 50 test strips that test for free chlorine, pH and Alkalinity.

For those who don’t trust test strips and would prefer to re-live old chemistry class moments and prefer to use ‘wet kits’ that use drops of reagents, don’t worry, they still make basic 4-Way Liquid Reagent Test Kits that test for free chlorine, total chlorine, pH, and alkalinity.

Regardless of how you look at it, in the end the safety of you and your children at the pool will ultimately come down to the quality of the water and in out opinion, if nationally recognized agencies suggest testing, well, we will heed their suggestions dutifully.

– - – - –

Testing for bacteria in pool water? Yep. You can do that, too: WaterSafe Pool/Spa Bacteria Test Kit ought to do the trick.

PMS-714	Digital Soil Moisture Meter 0.0 to 50% (PMS-714) with 7.9″ Probe		$249.95 $199.00
PH-212	Digital Soil pH Meter 0-13 pH (PH212) with Spear Tip Soil Probe		$179.00
GLMM100	Gardening Soil Moisture and Light Meter: Analog (GLMM100) with Remote Moisture Probe		$19.79
GLMM200	Gardening Soil Moisture Meter: Analog (GLMM200) with 6.75″ Probe		$9.95
GLMM400	Gardening Soil pH Test Meter & Moisture Meter Combo: Analog (GLMM400) No Batteries Required		$22.95 $18.95
GLMM300	Gardening Soil pH Test Meter: Analog 3 to 10 (GLMM300) with 6.75″ Probe		$9.95
830915	Leatherman GENUS Gardening Pruner & Multi-Tool (830915) 9 in 1, Nylon Sheath		$89.95
830555	Leatherman HYBRID Gardening Pruner & Multi-Tool (830555) 11 in 1, Nylon Sheath		$53.95

]]> http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/meters-for-gardening-ph-light-moisture/feed/ 0 http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/%e2%80%9cproper%e2%80%9d-pool-water-parameter-levels/ http://test-for.com/blog/2010/05/%e2%80%9cproper%e2%80%9d-pool-water-parameter-levels/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 13:03:24 +0000 Test For Admin http://pool-water-testing.com/pool-testing-blog/?p=281

Everyone always wants to know what levels of chlorine (tablets & powders), pH (pH increaser & pH decreaser), alkalinity, calcium hardness, TDS, and stabilizer they ought to have in their pool.

Too bad a vinyl liner pool in Upstate Michigan usually requires a different set of water chemistry parameters than a gunite pool in Southern Arizona… and a fiberglass pool in Central Kansas requires a slightly different set of parameters.

Don’t get discouraged, though. Just stick w/in the following guidelines to start, though, and then correct as you go along… with the goal of finding the perfect chemical balance for your pool — hopefully with the help of a pool water testing expert from your local pool store!

• pH: 7.2 – 7.8
• Free Chlorine: 1.0 – 2.0 ppm
• Total Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
• Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm, though some say 200 – 400.
• Cyanuric Acid: 25 – 50 ppm
• Total Dissolved Solids: 500 – 5000 ppm

For those between pool store visit testing times, meaning you need to test your pool at LEAST two or three times a week, you may want to consider using a liquid test kit such as one of the following:

2 Way Test Kit

4 Way Test Kit

Taylor Deluxe Test Kit

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