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Water Treatment News, Updates, and Answers
What do you look for when you need to do laundry? You want your whites to come out white, your colors to look bright, and you don’t want your clothes to shrink from an XL down to an XS.
You need great laundry equipment, and great water.
If you live on the west side of town, where do you go?
The Best Laundry Experience in the Twin Cities
The MegaWave Laundromat is the newest self-service Laundromat in Hopkins, MN. It’s conveniently located on the eastern edge of downtown Hopkins, next to the “Midnight Market”.
The store features only top-of-the-line 2011 Maytag equipment: 24 super-large washers and 24 high capacity dryers to be exact.
This is NOT your ordinary Laundromat. The store designers went all out to create “a great customer experience”. With 2 large flat screen TV’s, and free WIFI service, they made doing laundry both fun, and productive.
If you’re on-the-go, you can even sign up for a deluxe wash/dry/fold service (or drop-off laundry service).
You Can’t Get Clean Clothes with Hard Water in Hopkins
Hopkins water hardness is 18gpg, or extremely hard, and makes effective cleaning almost impossible.
Premier Water was called in during the construction phase to design a commercial water softener that could support the water usage of this new business.
With 24 washers, the planners estimated that the business could require a flow rate of 60gpm (gallons per minute). That is the equivalent of filling 15 bathtubs at the same time.
A massive Hellenbrand H200M water softener was installed to soften both the hot and cold water. This way, clients get great cleaning regardless of water temperature they choose.
The softener uses a 2” metered controller that regenerates on-demand and uses about 50% less water and salt than conventional water softeners.
The system was sized to make sure this Laundromat can supply every machine with soft water – without losing water pressure!
Summary
Washing machine broken? Clothes not getting clean enough? Or are you just in a hurry to get your laundry done?
If you live in the west metro area (Hopkins, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Edina), you can get premium laundry quality for a reasonable price at the MegaWave Laundromat. With the help of Premier Water, you’ll be treated to the softest water in town!
Megawave Coin Laundry
9 6th Ave South, Hopkins MN 55343
Phone: 763-350-7921
Email: info@MegaWaveCoinLaundry.com
Who We Are
Premier Water is a local, family-owned water treatment company based in Chanhassen, MN. Since 1978, Premier Water has successfully implemented 1000′s of Residential and Commercial Water Softeners. Give us a call to set up a FREE WATER TEST to help plan your next project. We can also be reached at (952) 479-4553 for more information.
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The Frederick Miller Spring has been a popular drinking water choice for those who want an alternative to drinking municipal “city” tap water.
One advantage to drinking tap water is that cities are legally required to provide ongoing water testing and drinking water quality reports. You may not like the results of the tests, but the information is there.
With spring water, you never really know what you’ll get – unless you have the water tested! For that reason, we collected several water samples and had them tested by two independent laboratories.
Here’s what we found:
Frederick Miller Spring Water Quality Test Results
Spring water is sometimes described as natural, or “living water”.
The term “living” implies that there are “things” growing and thriving in the water source (Plant life? Microbes? The Loch Ness Monster?). Microorganism testing is organism-specific, and conducted ala carte which can become very expensive.
Our testing was done pro bono.
While we did check for Arsenic (which can be a health risk), the water testing mainly focused on aesthetic issues. Here what the labs found from the samples we collected on 11/1/2011:
Alkalinity: 240ppm
Test results are similar to most of the well water that serves the municipalities and private residences in the west metro area.
Arsenic: 1ppb
The EPA health limit for this naturally occurring carcinogen is 0ppb, but you probably won’t find that in this part of town. 1ppb is not bad, and is actually lower than many of the western Minneapolis suburbs.
Hardness: 20gpg
Lots of dissolved rock here (Hard water comes from Calcite, Gypsum, and Dolomite). Very similar to Minnetonka and Chanhassen city water.
Iron: 0.01ppm
Rust stains begin at 0.3ppm, so we’re good to go here.
Manganese: 0.003ppm
Black stains become noticeable at 0.05ppm, and higher levels of Manganese have been shown to lower the IQ in children. This passes the test!
Nitrates: 2.0ppm
Legal limit is 10ppm, so this test passes. Nitrate contamination, which is believed to have come from a nearby landfill, has caused levels to exceed legal limits in the past.
pH: 7.51
No acidic issues here. High pH would be problematic if there was more iron in the water.
Phosphates: 0.08ppm
Nothing exciting here.
Saturation Index: +0.38
This is a corrosion indicator. A positive number indicates this would “leave deposits” as opposed to more aggressive water that would “dissolve” plumbing in an attempt to reach equilibrium (0.00).
Silica: 26.2ppm
Nothing exciting here either (wouldn’t be great for a boiler or cooling tower though).
TDS: 468ppm
Water started at as a rain drop made of Hydrogen and Oxygen (0ppm TDS). This is a measure of everything that dissolved into that drop of pure water. To get an accurate Total Dissolved Solids measurement, you really need an accurate TDS meter that compensates for temperature. The cheap handheld meters can be off by +/-25%. We like the meters from the Myron L company.
Summary
You now have a little more information about this water source to determine whether or not you’re comfortable drinking from it (or if it’s worth the gas money to go bottle up some water).
Would we drink it? Maybe if we were camping. In our homes? Probably not. Call us paranoid, but we get email updates about water contamination EVERY DAY! Today there are just too many toxic plumes for us to “consistently” trust an uncontrolled water source.
We’re also heavily biased as one of our primary services involves water purification for the medical and restaurant industries, in addition to homeowners.
About Premier Water
Premier Water is a local, family-owned water treatment company based in Chanhassen, MN. Since1978, Premier Water has successfully designed, installed, and serviced 1000’s of Water Purification and Water Filtration Systems.
We offer a FREE WATER TEST to gather information and help our clients get the right water treatment solution for their needs. We can also be reached at (952) 479-4553 for more information.
The Fredrick-Miller Spring is located on the east side of Spring Road (County Road 4) one-quarter mile north of US Highway 212/169.
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Do you need water softener service, but are unsure what’s wrong?
You adjusted your softener settings, you made sure you have salt, but you still have problems like hard water, low pressure, or discolored water.
The source of your frustration may not actually be a wrong setting, or broken part.
Your softener might be a little “backed up”, and it could be a real problem. Here’s why:
Why Your Water Softener Needs a Drain
Water softeners remove hard water minerals, and to some degree, they also remove small amounts of dirt and debris from your water.
The hard minerals stick to little plastic resin beads, and the dirt settles and collects at the bottom of the tank.
After so many gallons have been treated, the softener needs to clean itself out, aka regenerate.
The softener uses salt to remove the hard mineral deposits built up inside the system.
But what about all that crud in the bottom of the tank?
This is where the softener drain line comes into play – You need a POWERFUL flush to get it out!
What Happens if the Softener Drain Line is Blocked?
If you were watering a plant, and someone steps on the hose you are using, what would happen?
The plant wouldn’t get much water.
Now think about your water softener. You need to flush out all the crud you’ve collected in the tank, but the drain line has collapsed. What was once a ½” line, is now ⅛”.
Over time, dirt and excess hardness and iron will begin to plug up your water softener resin. Once damaged, resin is very expensive to replace, and you end up with a huge water softener repair bill.
If a drain line becomes severely restricted, it can actually blow off the softener during regeneration and cause a massive flood!
Drain Line Best Practices
On water softener service calls in Minnesota, we find a wide variety of drain line material being used.
Many of the Home Improvement Stores sell “Big Box Water Softeners” and “Installation Kits” to get them connected. The drain lines included in these kits are often made of a soft, squishy material that is similar to what you will find on a furnace condensate drain line.
This soft plastic material is usually clear or dark green in color, and you can easily pinch the line together with your fingers.
A better approach, is to use PVC or CPVC and hard-plumb the drain line. We often install softeners with hard-plumbed drain lines, and we ALWAYS use them on Iron Filters.
These drain lines don’t collapse on themselves, and they’re harder to knock off of the drain. They are a much better long term solution as they can easily last 25 years.
Do You Need Water Softener Service Because of a Bad Drain Line?
If you think you might have a bad drain line, or that it could have damaged your system, we offer a FREE SERVICE INSPECTION to help you determine if your system needs a repair. We can also be reached at (952) 479-4553 for more information.
About Premier Water
Premier Water is a local, family-owned water treatment company based in Chanhassen, MN. Since 1978, Premier Water has provided Award Winning Service for Residential and Commercial Water Softeners, Iron Filters, and Reverse Osmosis systems.
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When someone asks us what Iron Filter they need, we have a standard answer: It depends.
Every private well is different, and so are the needs of the family or business that is using it.
In this article, we will review a residential Iron Filter in Deephaven, MN that was completed as part of a beautiful whole-house remodel. Special water features in the new Master Bathroom meant that a standard Filter System just wouldn’t do!
Rusty, Stink Water – Where Do You Start?
With any Iron Filter, you need to know what’s in the water, and you need to know how fast (flow rate) you need it.
Iron Filtration works in two parts:
1. The particles in the water must be completely oxidized so they precipitate and settle out of the water
2. The filter bed must have enough SQUARE FOOTAGE to support the water flow rate you need to filter
Some items like Manganese and Hydrogen Sulfide require special consideration as they take longer to oxidize than Iron.
Well Water Test Results
Premier Water pulled several samples from the well for water analysis. Here are a few test results that pertain to our Filter project:
7.52 pH
4.88ppm Total Iron
0.303ppm Manganese
0.5ppm Hydrogen Sulfide
421ppm Total Dissolved Solids
300ppm Alkalinity
0.3ppm Tannins
Neg. Sulfate Reducing Bacteria
Neg. Iron Reducing Bacteria
The well water samples were free of bacteria-related problems, and the Tannin levels were low enough not to cause interference.
With water like this, most of our clients choose chemical-free systems like the Whole House Iron Curtain Water Filter. We have our Iron Curtain Water Filters custom-built to our specifications, and have found them to be the simplest, most reliable Iron Filters on the market.
Iron Filter Sizing Guide
This family had 5 people, and an average of 375 gallons of daily water use – which doesn’t really matter with our Filter Systems.
What does matter, is how fast (flow rate) they need that water!
To determine their “Flow Rate Requirements“, we surveyed their plumbing, fixtures, and appliances.
The bathtub in the new Master Bath fills with 3/4″ plumbing as opposed to standard 1/2″ lines.
Our clients plan on using this tub every night, but also expect that another sink + toilet could be used while the tub fills.
12gpm was the final “Peak Flow Rate” that we settled on to design our Iron Filter system.
Custom Iron Curtain Water Filter System
If you run water through an Iron Filter too fast, the water leave the filter just as dirty as it went in.
To achieve high quality filtration, you need to run water through an Iron Filter SLOWLY!!!!!
Iron Filter flow rates are measured in “Gallons per Minute” per “Square Foot”.
7gpm/sq. ft. is a good “Peak Flow Rate” which means you can use water at this rate – but for less than 10 minutes.
A single 18″ filter could achieve this peak flow rate, but it would require a MASSIVE 20gpm backwash rate which a floor drain cannot take!
The system we built used the following components:
(1) 16” x 65” pressurized aeration vessel
(2) 13” x 54” vessels using vertical depth filtration
The two filters have slightly more surface area than the single 18″ tank, but have a MUCH smaller backwash requirement of 10gpm.
The aeration tank was sized to give the air and water enough “contact time” to oxidize the high levels of Iron, etc.
Summary
This system is bigger than some Iron Filters we build, and smaller than others.
But it was the right size for this family and their home’s needs.
The water is clear, odor-free, and there’s not a stain in the entire home! And the bathtub? Let’s just say that it’s much more enjoyable to soak in – now that the water has been treated!
About Premier Water
Premier Water is a local, family-owned water treatmentcompany based in Chanhassen, MN. Since1978, Premier Water has successfully designed, installed, and serviced 1000’sof residential and commercial Iron Filtration Systems.
We offer a FREE WATER TEST to gather information and help our clients get the right water treatment solution fortheir needs. We can also be reached at(952) 479-4553 for more information.
Iron Filter by .
Is your Water Softener still removing sufficient hardness, or do you see water spots or scale? Is water pressure still adequate, or does it seem lower than it used to? Do you feel like you run out of soft water in between cycles?
If you answered yes to any of these problems, your water softener resin may be worn out.
So what is “Water Softener Resin”, why does it wear out, and how long does it last?
Magic Little Beads
Water Softeners use “Ion Exchange Resin Beads” that are little spheres that range from 0.3-1.2mm in size.
These beads are made by combining strands of Polystyrene which are wrapped around in a crisscross fashion, along with Divinylbenzene (DVB) which acts like a glue that holds the resin together.
The number of “links” in the bead will determine its strength, and how long it lasts.
Most modern water softeners use 8% crosslink resin. A few High Performance Water Softeners use 10% crosslink resin, which has more “links in the chain” to increase durability.
How Do Resin Beads Work?
The crosslink structure contains negatively charged “exchange sites” that hold sodium ions. As water travels through the softener, positively charged ions like Calcium, Magnesium, and Iron will stick to the exchange sites on the bead.
As the Hard Water Ions “stick” to the bead, the sodium ions are knocked off the bead, and into the water supply. Once the resin bead is loaded up, the softener must regenerate the beads with more sodium to continue working.
Iron Damage to Resin
Well Water in our area can have extremely high Iron levels, and most City Water sources still have low levels of Iron – even after going through the water treatment plant.
It takes 4x more sodium to clean iron off of a Resin Bead than it takes to remove Calcium or Magnesium.
If the iron is not THOROUGHLY cleaned off the bead, oxygen in the water oxidizes the Iron molecule causing it to grow roughly 20x in size. When this happens, the Resin Bead plugs up and loses a majority of its capacity.
Chlorine Damage
Chlorine is a great disinfectant that many cities use to control bacteria. It’s also a powerful oxidizer that affects rubber and plastic (like resin!).
Chlorinated water oxidizes and destroys Divinylbenzene (DVB) which is the crosslinking agent that gives beads their physical strength. Once the DVB bond is broken, the bead swells, and turns into a useless gel-like mass.
Here’s how you can predict chlorine’s effect on standard 8% resin life:
10/ parts-per-million (ppm) of chlorine = the expected years of service
At 0.5ppm chlorine, this is 20 years. At 2ppm, it is only five years.
Resin Takes a Beating – Literally
Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon. It can move through your plumbing at 8 feet per second.
Now imagine you’re running water at the bathroom sink, and you turn the water off. You don’t SLOWLY turn off the water. You pull the handle, and the water stops – quickly.
When flowing water stops immediately, it creates a shock wave that travels back through the plumbing system and SLAMS into the resin bed.
This slamming effect is called hydraulic shock. This “water hammer” physically cracks the plastic resin beads into little “fines” that eventually get flushed down the drain when the softener regenerates.
How Long Do Resin Beads Last?
Resin life is determined by a combination of the factors we discussed: the % crosslink in the bead, iron damage, chlorine damage, and hydraulic shock.
Depending on these conditions, standard 8% resin will breakdown 2-10% each year.
Besides removing chlorine or iron, you can also improve resin life by increasing the crosslink %.
Summary: When does Water Softener Resin need Replacement?
As resin breaks down, it releases fines that plug up the softener and result in a pressure drop. As it plugs up with iron, or oxidizes by chlorine, you lose capacity.
Lower capacity means more frequent regenerations which wastes water and salt.
If you used to regenerate every four days, it might be every three. Or maybe your hardness setting was at 15gpg, and now you have it set at 40gpg.
Instead of limping along with low water pressure, and wasting water and salt – its time to replace the resin! If the controls on the machine are old and outdated, sometimes it makes more sense to upgrade to a more efficient water softener.
If you’re having any of these problems with your current system, we offer a FREE Service Inspection to help you find out what your options are.
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