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Helpful Articles About Home Plumbing in Milwaukee
S & K Pump and Plumbing Milwaukee provides homeowners with helpful articles on home plumbing. These home plumbing tips are a great resource for homeowners throughout southeastern Wisconsin as they offer helpful information to solve minor plumbing problems with quick and easy plumbing repairs. Be sure to check back often as we will frequently be adding new plumbing topics to address your individual plumbing questions.
For all Milwaukee plumbing needs in Oak Creek, Mequon, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Germantown, Oconomowoc, Hartland, West Bend, and Southeastern Wisconsin, contact Milwaukee plumbers at S&K today at 262-782-7190.
Water and Water Treatment Articles:
- Next to the air we breathe, water is one of the most important elements in our lives -
Think about it!
Approximately 70% of the human body is water
Shouldn’t you replace it with the cleanest water possible?
75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated
Are you?
- Lack of water is the number one trigger of: Daytime fatigue, impaired short term memory and back & joint pain -
Decrease Yours!
- Drinking adequate amounts of clean water (8 – 8 oz. glasses or more) is critical to the success of diet & weight loss programs and can significantly reduce the risk of many forms of cancer
(i.e.: Breast, Bladder & Colon)
For better health and possibly an increased life span,
drink more water!
Why wait any longer to improve the quality of your life and health?
Call us today!
262-782-7190
Water in Reverse
The fresh squeezed solution for purer drinking water
Better than bottled: Did you know that the best way to purify the undesirable qualities out of your tap water costs far less than store-bought bottled water?
Reverse Osmosis: How does it work?
Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) is the reverse of the natural process of osmosis.
Plants and animals absorb water through semi-permeable cell walls, referred to as semi-permeable membranes. Osmosis is the natural process in which water of a lower concentration of dissolved substance will pass thru a membrane into a solution of higher dissolved substance.
Example: If you want to hydrate a plant or animal, water it with clean water with low dissolved solids content (R.O. water, distilled water, de-ionized drinking water, etc.). If you want to dehydrate a plant or animal, water it with high concentration water of dissolved substance (salt water, for example). For plants, rain water or water from a dehumidifier is better than tap water found in most treated municipal, community and private water supplies. For animals, water from a dehumidifier may be undesirable or risky due to potential biohazards.
In Reverse Osmosis, pressure is applied to the more concentrated water or “solution side” of the semi-permeable membrane to overcome the natural osmotic pressure and force water through to the less concentrated side. The end result is water with far fewer impurities than what was started with, often referred to as "Fresh Squeezed Water".
Will one membrane work?
Yes, one membrane will normally bring most waters down into the drinking water standards range providing adequate pressure is applied and the membrane surface area is large enough for the application.
The benefits are proper hydration with water that is extremely low in, or free of, undesirable impurities.
How is distilled or spring water (store purchased) different?
Distillation is another method of purification of water through the use of heat to convert water to vapor, leaving most of the previous contained impurities behind and re-condensing the water vapor back into liquid water. Reverse
Osmosis and Distilled waters are very similar and often difficult to tell apart. Distilled water tends to be flat by comparison due, it is thought, to the fact that most distillation processes are done under atmospheric pressure, and the natural air that is in the water is lost in the process. Reverse Osmosis systems operate under many atmospheric pressures and retain the natural dissolved air that is found in water, and is trapped while under pressure until it is drawn from the system.
Spring water is a type of ground water, as is well water. Spring water is water that is naturally filtered by the earth and naturally flows to the surface as commonly found on the sides of hills. Just because water is from a spring doesn't mean it is safe to consume or is going to taste good.
It may be exactly the same as someone's well water as the source may be the same. Well water is often the exact same type of water as spring water except for the fact that it was intercepted and pumped to the surface before it reached the side of the hill where it normally flowed out and spilled into a river or stream. Store-bought waters are usually mass-produced and generally don't have the quality as water produced by an in-home Reverse Osmosis drinking water system.
How large of a unit and where does it go?
Most “Point Of Use” (POU) Reverse Osmosis drinking water systems fit comfortably under the kitchen sink in the cabinet, from where the purified drinking water runs up to a faucet mounted alongside the regular faucet on the kitchen sink. Often they are installed in the basement (when existing and possible) and piped up to the separate drinking faucet at the kitchen sink.
Cost?
Pennies to nickels per gallon compared to bottled waters that run dimes to dollars per gallon, even tens of dollars per gallon in some cases (Do the math).
Many higher quality bottled waters utilize reverse osmosis as their main purification process (just read the labels). It is one of the best and most cost effective technologies available for water purification, and will be for many years to come.
John A. Smits, CWS-1, CWSO, MPRA
Certified Water Specialist, Certified Water System Operator, Master Plumber.
* Information compiled from research and data available from the Water Quality Association.
WQA&H JAS030205
A Water Heater Is A Water Heater – Not!!!
Customers have asked why water heaters have increased in price so much in recent years.
Well what hasn’t might be an answer however there’s more to the story.
The Federal Government adopted the FVIR (flammable vapor ignition resistant) technology almost ten years ago now. This added a considerable amount to the price of a gas heater. Different manufacturers have developed their own version but as long as it met the standard it was approved. In several heaters it made the heater taller to incorporate the FVIR technology. Then we have the rise in steel, copper and brass prices. Added to all of that we have increased efficiency standards. This has led us to look at the different types of models that have become available on the market. Several of the different types have been available before but have been re-engineered to be more efficient. Basic gas water heaters are available in Natural and Propane gas. There is also an oil fired type available. Most of these heaters are available with a 6 year warranty and several can be upgraded to a 10 year warranty for an extra fee. Yes there are minimum performance efficiency standards from the government but there are higher efficiency models available to choose from. Many of the models you will see at the big box stores for a low price are of the lower efficiency numbers. We’ve only begun!
Gas heaters can be the standard vent type (up a chimney) or power vent type (out the side of your home). The power vent cannot be vented out the old chimney pipe. We can get a lot more technical here but in the interest of simplicity we’ll leave it there.
Staying with the tank type heaters, there is of course the standard electric heater and the electric heat pump water heater. The heat pump heater can give off cool dry air as a by product while heating the water very efficiently. Let’s not forget the solar powered heaters with the electric backup elements for those cold or overcast days. These heaters still have a pretty decent government rebate on them. Now we get into the hybrid models that are gas fired but the internal venting allows them to develop some great efficiency numbers as well as higher output of hot water. Along with that of course come higher price tags. Stick with me here we haven’t run out of options yet. How about a tankless heater? The gas models are the most used for whole house use due to the fact that an electric model often requires extensive revamping of the electrical system. Gas tankless heaters can be very efficient during operation while delivering a non stop supply of hot water. It is necessary to properly size the heater to ensure an adequate flow of water. Some installations require more than one heater. Sizing and installation are important for a proper result. Tankless heaters can be serviced and virtually all of the parts can be replaced without the need to replace the complete unit. The unit hangs on a wall freeing up valuable floor space. These heaters are generally vented out the side of the building as well.
How about a combination of a tankless and a hybrid with a small tank type heater? These heaters attempt to accomplish a steady supply of hot water while at the same time eliminating the need for additional re-circulation of water to eliminate the sandwich effect of cold and hot water. There is also a water heater that runs off of your boiler and heats the domestic water through a heat exchanger.
Now that I’ve totally confused you it’s easier to see why water heaters have risen in price as well as in efficiency. It’s up to you to choose but when you are trying to decide I’d recommend a licensed plumber who has the knowledge to help you with the right decision for your needs and a legal installation.
Jeff Kuhn
Master Plumber
S&K Pump & Plumbing Inc.