Three Grades of Water - Are You Using The Right Kind?

It's easy to assume that all water is the same, but even in your own home, there are many different uses for water.

Most people don't realize that there are three different types of water: utility grade, working grade, and drinking water. It's helpful to be aware of these different types of water, so that we understand how they are used and to better educate us on the level of treatment recommended for each kind.

• Drinking grade water is the water we put in our bodies and should be the best water possible!  We want to make sure that the water you use for consumption is clean and purified to the best quality possible for the health and safety of your family. This can also include the water you cook with or even ice that you may consume.
  
  Drinking water is an important element for our daily living and it's no secret that we need to drink a lot of water, so it is important to include additional levels of filtration at the tap - beyond what is being applied to the rest of your home.
  

• Working grade water is the water you would use to any kind of "chore" around the house. This is typically treated, because this water runs through your plumbing in your home. You can find this water being used in your laundry machines, dishwasher, shower, bathtub, and other appliances that are connected to your home's plumbing system. It is still touching your body and a lot of important places inside your house.
  
  If the water you are using to run your household contains contaminants that would leave build-up, staining, or foul odors behind, it can do damage to these investments and just be downright irritating to live with. When we test the water in our homes, we are going to be testing the working grade water to determine if treatment is needed to prevent damage to your plumbing, appliances, laundry, as well as any aesthetic issues that are displeasing to the eye.
  

• Utility grade water is water that is best used for watering your lawn, plants, shrubbery, etc. Utility grade water doesn't necessarily need to go through treatment to reduce contaminants, because they aren't doing any harm to the items the water is being applied to. Due to not being treated, this water could potentially have an odor, leave rust-colored stains or hardness and would not be recommended for drinking.

How to Treat Your Water to the Right Grade

Water supplies often differ depending on where you live and the treatment requirements for that area. You may find that your city pre-treats its water, meaning you'll have quality utility and working grade water without needing additional in-home equipment. Other cities, with particularly hard water, may require softening before the water is used throughout your home to prevent the hard water build-up. Homes with well water, however, will often have more issues with the quality of their utility and working grade water. Not only is hardness common in well water, there may even be brown discoloration and staining, a rotten egg smell, sediment, acidic water, and/or more in certain areas of the country.

To combat these issues, these homeowners may need to invest in a whole-home water softener and filtering systems to simply get their water to working grade. Additional water filters to combat other contaminants may be needed to bring this water to drinking grade. To take your drinking grade water to the next level, consider integrating a reverse osmosis system in order to get the best-tasting water that you can trust for your family. New Elements Water strives to make sure that the water in your home is clean. We encourage new residents to double check the quality of water with an in-home water test from New Elements Water!

Call us today to have a water expert provide you with a free in-home water test. Take charge of getting the right grade of water for every kind of use!