The on site maintenance of a Water Softener is pretty easy. Sometimes too easy. Other than adding Salt to a Brine Tank , and maybe setting a clock, there’s not much for an owner to do. That lack of on site maintenance can often be confused with not having to pay attention to what’s right in front of you. For more information on Water Softening and Softener Maintenance please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

The reason that I say “too easy” is because it is not unusual for some customers to just keep their brine tanks full and forget what they are really attempting to do. It’s not enough to just keep your Brine Tank full of Softener Salt. In fact if you have an efficient Kinetico Water Treatment System you might never want to completely fill your Brine Tank. It is just as important that you see the Salt dropping down in the Brine Tank as it is to add Salt.

If Salt sits still in a Brine tank for too long it will start to slowly dissolve due to Humidity. The weight of this partially dissolved Salt pushing down upon itself can cause a bridging effect. This will stop the salt from dropping down in the Brine Tank.  Although there are many reasons why a Brine Tank might bridge, the most common ones are too much salt, and not enough water consumption.

If the Salt stops being consumed by the Softener that is a sign that there is a problem in the system, not a sign that everything is all set. Eventually the system will fail, and if you have Adsorbers following your Softener you may not realize that there is Iron or Manganese fouling your expensive Adsorption Media.

One easy solution is to keep a log near your system and journal all of your interactions with your system.  Over time you will know how much Salt you use on average, and if you vary by more than 20% on average call your Water Treatment Company for service. It is best to call for service soon, before the equipment becomes seriously damaged.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767.  Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

I don’t think it was possible to live in New Hampshire this Summer for any length of time without realizing that we were having a drought. There were many wells across the State that never have run out of water before, that ended up going dry this year. Of course, that can cause serious trouble for any Water Treatment System. For more information on Water Treatment Equipment visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

Finally the rain is back and many wells have returned to their pre-drought levels. The thing that concerns me most about this quick recovery is what is that water bringing along with it. Changes in the level of the water table can bring on changes in the contaminant levels also. Lot’s of rain can cause Bacterial contamination, low pH, and surface water intrusion, especially if you are on an overburden well, such as a dug well, point well or pit well. Even on a deep Bedrock well, as the water table level changes so does the flow of water through the various cracks and capillaries that eventually lead to your faucet.

It would certainly make sense to investigate what changes may be occurring in your drinking water. Make this a year to have your Water Quality tested by a State and EPA Certified Lab. You will be able to rest easy once again and enjoy the fact that the drought is finally, and completely over.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767.  Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

In this world of “Do It Yourself” solutions for day to day projects it’s important to remember that buying a Water Treatment System direct from a Big Box store without a Certified Water Specialist’s assistance can be a Big mistake. Water Treatment Systems should be designed to fit your home, and your lifestyle. For information on Water Treatment Equipment please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

Recently, I was called out to a Residential site to take a look at a water system that has been experiencing some Iron bleed through. By the way, I don’t usually get the easy ones! Over the course of the first year following the installation of the system the Soluble (Ferrous) Iron had increase significantly, going up to 4 mg/l. When the customer called about the Iron staining we dispatched a service tech, who adjusted the Disk setting on the Kinetico Softener. The new Disk and Salt settings were both correct, and by the book.

So, then why was the customer seeing Iron stains in the shower stall? I know of several reasons why this could happen, and so I went out to investigate the situation for myself. After testing the water and inspecting the Water Softener for mechanical/chemistry/hydraulics issues it appeared that there was nothing wrong, except that there was that stain. Knowing that stains don’t lie I dug deeper into the matter and asked the customer about her lifestyle.

I found out that the customer lives alone and spends several days at work in a row, long days and short evenings. She showers at work sometimes and also picks up her dry cleaning at work. By the end of the conversation I realized that we had identified the reason for the staining. The Softener settings were by the book. Unfortunately, the book was not written for this customer. For an average Family of 4, that is home everyday the Softener would be regenerating every3-4 days, and that’s perfect. After doing the math I estimated that her Water Softener might only be regenerating once a month.  This means that all of that Iron sits in the Softener and oxidizes on the Resin. That’s a bad thing, by the way! Adjustments to the Softener Disk settings have made a big difference in the water quality now. The system will be cleaning itself much more frequently, and after the water has been completely Iron free for a reasonable period of time we will turn down the Salt dosage. As the customers family grows we can again adjust the settings of the Softener to match the customer changing lifestyle and reduce Waste water.

Even the best Equipment Manufacturers can only pre-design their Systems to perform under what is referred to as Normal Operating Conditions. No matter where you choose to purchase your water treatment system, working closely with a local WQA Certified Water Specialist to design a Robust water treatment design that matches your lifestyle is always your best approach to solving Water problems for good.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

It has always amazed me how much Business picks up in the Fall. Secondwind installs Water Treatment Equipment all year round. Yet, as soon as the cool Fall air hits the phone starts to ring and ring with new business. If you are interested in information on Water Treatment Systems and Technologies please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com .

I think it has to do with the fact that most folks are finished with their vacations, the kids are all back to School and folks are just spending more time indoors, looking out. There is also a sense of urgency this time of year to get those projects finished before the White Stuff flies (shhhhh!!!). 

Fall is also a good time to think ahead and stock up on supplies like Softener Salt and Cartridges, have your system serviced, and have your water quality tested. Some of our customers have only one way in and out of their Water Treatment areas, and that becomes harder and harder to access as the weather gets colder.  

Along with Fall comes the changing of the clocks and many of our customers have electric timers that need to be reset twice a year to keep their water quality consistent. I’ll be writing more on that next time.

Until then grab yourself a nice warm Fleece, a good leaf rake, and enjoy the most beautiful time of year to be in New Hampshire. 

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

Like most things mechanical, Radon Water Systems require regular Annual Maintenance. If you live on a well in New Hampshire there is a good chance that you have a Radon Water Treatment System. If you are treating for Radon water levels over 5000 pCi/l there is a very strong likelihood that you have an Air-stripper. For more information on Radon in Water, and Radon Air-strippers please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com

Radon Air-strippers blow filtered air through water. The water is usually at atmospheric pressure and must be re-pressurized before sending it off to the homes distribution system. Although many Air-stripper have high quality air intake filters and hepa filters it is still possible for air-borne Bacteria to enter the water stream. To control the growth of Bacteria, it would be optimal if everyone would follow their Air-stripper with a Chlorinator or an Ultra Violet light sterilization system. Unfortunately, the cost of Radon Air-strippers is considered so high that adding on a Sterilization step afterwards is usually cost prohibitive. So what to do?

Have your system professionally sterilized on an Annual basis! This will keep Air-Borne bacteria from getting out of control. The last thing that you want is to have Bio Slime forming in the Air-stripper. Not only is it disgusting, it will actually plug up the holes in the Air-stripper over time affecting it’s Radon reduction efficiency.

In addition to Sterilizing the Air-stripper and checking all of it’s Mechanical functions, it is also important to have the Solenoids checked for bleed-through. Usually the Solenoids do not suffer from catastrophic failure, all at once. They start out by leaking  just a little bit. The water in the Air-stripper will rise slightly overnight, then you get up and take a shower, which returns the water level back to normal. Then you go off to work and the water starts to rise again, and then someone comes home and runs water. This cycle can go on for quite a long time and you wouldn’t ever realize that there is a problem, until you go away for a couple days, or a week, just to return home and find your basement full of water.

I don’t want to sound threatening or overbearing about this. It is just the plain honest truth about what can happen with these systems, if they are left to deteriorate. They need Annual Preventative Maintenance just like your Furnace. Do that and you will have many many years of reliable service from your system.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

One of the first things that I hear from customers who are not accustomed to Softened water is that the water feels slippery in the shower. This is something that people who have spent their whole life on Softened Water desire and come to expect.  There are many things that cause this and I will try to cover the three most common ones today. If you would like to learn more about Water Softeners please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com .

Water Softening is a process also known as ion exchange. Negatively charged Resin beads attract positively charged contaminants in the Water, such as Iron Manganese and Calcium Hardness. As these positive ions stick to the resin Sodium/Potassium ions are released into the water.

Iron, Manganese and Calcium Hardness are rough on your skin. They also plug up the pores in your skin. When these undesirable contaminants are removed from the water the pores in your skin can open up and release natural skin oils, as they should. The increased release of natural skin oils is one of the ways that Softened Water can produce a silky feeling.

Water that is high in Calcium Bi-Carbonate can give off a silky feeling when Softened. When the Calcium is exchange for Sodium the result is Sodium Bi-Carbonate (Baking Soda) which also can result in a nice silky feel on your wet skin.

Lastly, by Softening the Calcium Hardness from the your Water you will increase the sudsing affect of Soaps. Quite often people are accustomed to using a certain amount of shaving cream, shampoo, or bath soap when ever they use it.  Removing the Calcium from the water will often result in a 1/3 to 2/3 Soap reduction. If you continue to use Soap in the same quantities as before the water was Softened the result will be an extremely slippery on.

So cut down on your Soaps and Detergents, let those skin oils flow, and enjoy your Silky Softened Water!

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

I hear about it every Summer. Usually it is from new customers that aren’t experienced with their Water Treatment Systems yet. When the warm humid summer air touches the cold Treatment Equipment the humidity condenses into water. The result is usually a puddle at the base of the Tanks. For more information regarding condensation please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com .

In order to slow down the condensation process you have to slow down the air circulation around the tanks, and/or reduce the humidity within the air. This means closing all basement windows and doors. If the Water treatment is in a closet keep the closet door closed.  Wrapping the tanks and plumbing with closed cell foam really works well. Installing a dehumidifier is also a good option.

Never blow a fan on your Water Treatment Equipment. It will only make the situation worse by increasing the humidity that comes in contact with the tank. I actually had a customer once who had us install their Water Softener in a closet. Once the equipment was in they had a contractor sheetrock the inside of the closet. The contractor told them to blow a fan into the closet so that the sheetrock would dry. With the closet door open and the fan blowing on the Softener Tanks in August it sure made for one big mess. Finally I convinced the Customer to close the closet door and to replace the fan with a dehumidifier. In less than 4 days everything was looking good.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

Once again this is my week for Secondwind On-Call. This means that if a Customer has an Emergency they can call our 24 hr answering service and have the on call Project Manager paged, ME. Although I am not intimately aware of all of the customer sites, I am usually able to help the Customer understand what is going on and make adjustments to their system over the phone, so that they can go back to their lives again. This week was no too bad! However there were a couple of calls regarding low water pressure, that are really standing out in my mind. If you would like to know more about the different services available here at Secondwind please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com

In each case the customers had me paged because they had low water pressure in the home. I don’t know for certain if they assumed that the problem was in their Treatment Equipment, or if they just new that we would call them back right away with phone assistance. Either way, I helped them out ASAP!  As their stories started to unfold I remembered some information going around the office a few weeks ago about a larger than normal amount of customer call ins as a result of a low water table. In both cases the low pressure was indeed a result of a low water supply in the well. Both of the customers had been running outdoor water in the afternoon on a HOT day! It is very easy to pump a full days water supply through a garden hose in just a half hour. This is definitely something to be aware of.  In a year when the water table is obviously low it is very important to conserve your well water.  

Water Treatment Equipment such as Water Softeners and Filters often require an certain water flow and pressure in order to clean themselves properly and also for their valves to open and close correctly. We usually set the pressure at 40/60 psi at installation time. So if you are experiencing low pressure at the faucets and fixtures check the pressure gauge reading on your pressure tank where the water comes in from the well, with the water running.  Your pressure may seem fine at first but in a short amount of time the pressure may start to drop off. This would usually indicate a well or pump issue, not your treatment system. Like all things water there is a lot more to this than I can cover in this small blog, but this gives you the basics. In most cases the simple solution to this problem is to just conserve water and let the well recover naturally.

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

In our previous blog we discussed Outdoor Water use and the need for two separate Water Treatment Systems whenever a customer asks us to treat their Irrigation and Household Water. Proper sizing is extremely important. Under sizing the Water Treatment Equipment will result in reduced flows and pressures that will greatly effect the operation of most pop up sprinkler Irrigation systems. For more information on Water Treatment Systems please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

When sizing Water Treatment Equipment for Irrigation Systems it is important to know exactly what the pressure and flow requirements will be, as well as the total daily water volume. Normally an appropriately sized Treatment system will realize about a 15 pound pressure drop at peak flow. If a 15 pound drop is too much for your pop up sprinklers to open properly and throw water adequately, you will need to know that before you have something installed. I highly recommend that you consider hiring a WQA Certified Water Specialist to be certain that you have the right sized equipment. Just because the pump is currently sized right to work perfectly with your Irrigation today doesn’t mean that you will have the right sized pumping rate after treatment is applied. It is common to see one GPM of flow reduction through each Tank of Treatment Media, even when they are sized right.    

Is it possible to treat Pop Up Sprinkler Irrigation Systems? Absolutely!!! Is it easy to get it right every time? It is if you have the knowledge and experience to answer all of the important questions beforehand. Let us know if you need help, we are up for the challenge! 

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )

In the recent Water Blog I discussed Working Water, Drinking water and Touched on Outdoor Water. This time I would like to expand more on Outdoor Water use. Entering into this new era of Green Construction most of the attention is being directed towards reducing the Consumption of Energy, although some credits are available for reducing the demand for water consumption. Outdoor Water use is the biggest abuser in the Potable Water category. Many of the solutions to today’s problems come from using answers from yesterday. Rain Barrels and Cisterns capture Rain that would otherwise be wasted. Landscapers are moving towards indigenous Shrubs, Perennials, and Trees that can survive in our ever changing New England environment.

An average Garden hose will deliver on average 8 Gallons Per Minute (gpm) where as an average household faucet will deliver 2 gpm. That is because the Faucets have flow restrictors in them to conserve water. In Outdoor use it is important to only restrict Water flow at the fixture itself. This is because every fixture is designed for different flows and pressures. To put this in better perspective a Garden Hose will deliver 240 gals. of water in a 1/2 hour and an average indoor Faucet only 60 gals. So if you have an irrigation system that runs for 2 hours to water the Lawn every morning that’s about 1000 gals a day or more. According to EPA calculations an average family of 4 only uses 200-300 gals of Water a day. For more information on water usage visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com.

When source Water is high in Metals it is not unusual to find Staining on Sidewalks, Granite Fixtures, and Siding. This Staining is best removed using an Acid based cleanser. It is possible to remove the Metals through Water Treatment Equipment. However, it will require a separate system than that which is currently treating the Working Water. Working Water systems are designed to treat the water at specific flows pressures and quantities. They backwash once the equipment reaches it’s capacity for Metals removal. If you are running 4-6 times more water through the irrigation system then it is very likely that your Water Water System is going to be under sized for the job of treating the Irrigation System. If you try to purchase a very large Water Treatment System to treat the Working Water and the Irrigation all in one, you will find yourself having a grossly over sized system during the 7-9 months when irrigation is not necessary. The system won’t clean itself often enough to keep itself fresh, unless it is adjusted to do so, and then it will use a ton of Salt to regenerate. That is why we recommend two systems in most cases. That way the Water Treatment System servicing the irrigation can be put in bypass in the Fall and then Serviced and sanitized in the Spring without any disruption to the Whole House Water System. More next time on Outdoor Water use!

Thank you for your continued support of Secondwind Water Systems. We truly appreciate your business and referrals. If you have any Water questions please visit our website at www.secondwindwater.com or call 1-800-287-5767. Until next time this is Chris Saltmarsh CWS-6, saying, “Thanks for reading!, and enjoy your great water”… : )