Water Spots Blog

We have all done it. Drank a bottle of water or a soft drink, and when we think no one is looking, thrown it away in the garbage, left with a twinge of guilt. On the other hand, many households attempt their hand at recycling, which in many cases also leads to plastic waste somewhere along the lines. If you have ever felt the guilt of wasting this plastic, you are not alone.

Ok, so what are a few bottles tossed away here or there? It may be adding up to more than we think. According to an article from MSNBC, the EPA said that only 7.1 percent of our plastic waste was recycled in 2008. And according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, over half of Americans drink bottled water, making it a billion dollar market each year. So while your couple of bottles may not seem so bad, imagine how many other people have done the same. It adds up. Plastic waste can lead to toxins dissolving into the ground, blocking drainage systems, causing environmental and even harmful health effects.

There are so many brands of bottled water and flavored water, but the truth is, buying bottled water and the dangers of plastic waste don’t compare to the affordability and the safer options you can find with a water filtration system. Don’t fall into the marketing scams created by many of these companies. Bottled water doesn’t prove to be safer than tap water. Filtrated water is safe, cost-effective, and responsible. You can drink as much as you need and not feel guilty about any lack of recycling.

Rayne provides these solutions and can eliminate the plastic waste in your household, as it already does for thousands of others. To read more about plastic waste in America, click here.

In their official annual report, President Obama’s Cancer Panel recommends the use of home water filter devices to decrease exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. While municipal water systems are tested on a regular basis and homeowners are encouraged to test their wells for contamination, studies find that there are still numerous known or suspected carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are ingested through drinking water. The report says that control of environmental cancer risks is hampered by conflicting or inadequate exposure measurement and ineffective regulation of chemical exposures. And, while disinfection of public water supplies has dramatically reduced waterborne illnesses, research indicates that long-term exposure to disinfection by-products such as trihalomethans may increase cancer risk.

In addition to man-made dangers, there are naturally occurring problems with drinking water. For example, most of the inorganic arsenic in drinking water is from natural sources. Even though it is “completely natural”, this ingested arsenic has been linked with skin, lung, bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers.

The President’s Cancer Panel’s report, titled “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risks: What We Can Do Now” indicates that “individuals and families have many opportunities to reduce or eliminate chemical exposures.” Some of the suggestions made by the Panel include:

Filtering home tap or well water to decrease exposure to known or suspected carcinogens. Also, when water must be stored or carried, stainless steel, glass, or BPA-and phthalate-free containers should be used.

In 2009 alone, approximately 1.5 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. Further, approximately 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and about 21 percent will die from cancer. In addition to causing cancer, many of the chemicals that the panel studied also interfere with normal hormonal function. Also distressing is the fact that many cancers are increasing in children. The report states that “pound for pound, children take in more food, water, air, and other environmental substances than adults.”

How do we combat the millions of contaminants facing our bodies every day? The first step is to become informed. Second, we take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves and our families. The Water Quality Association recommends purchasing water treatment products that have received the Gold Seal certification for being able to remove a variety of contaminants. Finally, we must each take a stand for our community. Every person can choose to be the voice that demands responsive policy making and responsible industry.

To read the full report, click here

In a recent study by independent research facility Battelle Memorial Institute, water softener systems were shown to be the key to efficiency of water heaters, major appliances, and plumbing fixtures. The study tested efficiency ratings of appliances over their expected lifespan using both hard and soft water.

Here are some interesting test results:

Gas water heaters maintained their original factory efficiency ratings over the 15-year lifespan when heating with softened water. The same gas water heater lost as much as 48% efficiency with 30 gpg hard water.

Electric water heaters had minimal buildup over their lifespan when heating softened water. Those electric water heaters using hard water had increased incidence of heating element replacement because of the buildup within the storage tank.

Tankless water heaters maintained their original factory efficiency ratings when heating with softened water. The same tankless heaters completely failed to function after only 1.6 years of equivalent hot water usage with hard water. Additionally, the cost of operation was 34% higher with 20 gpg water and 47% higher with 30 gpg water than with softened water.

Showerheads and faucets maintained their ability to work as well as new for their expected life time when used with softened water. When used with hard water, however, showerheads lost 75% of their flow rate within 18 months, and faucets could not maintain their flow rate and were often completely plugged after 19 equivalent days of testing.

Dishwashers and washing machines showed no wear after 240 wash cycles when using softened water. When used with hard water, the appliances required descaling and extensive cleaning.

While it is important to choose energy-efficient appliances, this study shows that using hard water can quickly and drastically compromise their efficiency to the point where they do not actually save energy at all. The best thing you can do? Invest in a water softener to improve the longevity and efficiency of all of your appliances and plumbing fixtures.

Click here to read the entire press release.

It has been used for animal feeds, herbicides, pesticides, lead batteries, and wood preservatives among others. We’re talking about arsenic – a cancer causing carcinogen. So why is it still contaminating our water? And why isn’t every municipal water source scrambling to filter out this toxin for its residents?

According to the US Geological Survey’s site, a range of about 0.05 – 0.30 g is considered a deadly amount if ingested daily over a period less than or equal to 14 days in a row. A single ingested amount as small as 0.13 g can be lethal to an adult. Yet, even more alarming are the numbers here in the United States. It has been estimated that more than 34 million Americans have been drinking tap water supplied by systems containing varying levels of arsenic. So what’s the big deal? Arsenic intake can result in many symptoms including chronic health effects, including organ damage, cancer, and even death.

How is it getting in our water in the first place? According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, it naturally occurs in water after it has dissolved from minerals in our rocks and soil. Other times, arsenic enters our groundwater from mining, manufacturing, and pollution. While industrialization takes great pains to prevent groundwater contamination nowadays, we can’t wage war on naturally occurring processes – like minerals dissolving in rainwater.

What are our options if arsenic cannot be prevented from the main source? We could buy bottled water at the grocery store each week. But, in looking at the whole picture (the cost of the water, transporting the plastic to a recycling center, the costs associated with recycling plastic and not even knowing if the bottled water is assured to be safe) still don’t have me buying in.

Particularly here in California, where there are pockets of arsenic are in some places the highest in the nation, it is more appropriate to look into home water conditioning, water filtration, or reverse osmosis to rid many unwanted and unsafe toxins in drinking water. Weigh your “costs”- an affordable water filtration system, or unaffordable health risks.

In a recent study by independent research facility Battelle Memorial Institute, water softener systems were shown to be the key to efficiency of water heaters, major appliances, and plumbing fixtures. The study tested efficiency ratings of appliances over their expected lifespan using both hard and soft water.

Here are some interesting test results:

Gas water heaters maintained their original factory efficiency ratings over the 15-year lifespan when heating with softened water. The same gas water heater lost as much as 48% efficiency with 30 gpg hard water.

Electric water heaters had minimal buildup over their lifespan when heating softened water. Those electric water heaters using hard water had increased incidence of heating element replacement because of the buildup within the storage tank.

Tankless water heaters maintained their original factory efficiency ratings when heating with softened water. The same tankless heaters completely failed to function after only 1.6 years of equivalent hot water usage with hard water. Additionally, the cost of operation was 34% higher with 20 gpg water and 47% higher with 30 gpg water than with softened water.

Showerheads and faucets maintained their ability to work as well as new for their expected life time when used with softened water. When used with hard water, however, showerheads lost 75% of their flow rate within 18 months, and faucets could not maintain their flow rate and were often completely plugged after 19 equivalent days of testing.

Dishwashers and washing machines showed no wear after 240 wash cycles when using softened water. When used with hard water, the appliances required descaling and extensive cleaning.

While it is important to choose energy-efficient appliances, this study shows that using hard water can quickly and drastically compromise their efficiency to the point where they do not actually save energy at all. The best thing you can do? Invest in a water softener to improve the longevity and efficiency of all of your appliances and plumbing fixtures.

Click here to read the entire press release.

Recently, researchers from Columbia University and the University of New Hampshire have been doing some testing on elementary students in central Maine studying the connection between high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater and intelligence levels. These researchers are specifically studying third, fourth and fifth grade students that live in areas having high arsenic content in their water supplies.

Arsenic in ground water is largely the result of minerals dissolving from weathered rocks and soils. In 2001 the EPA lowered the maximum level of arsenic permitted in drinking water from 50 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter. Federal and state geologists have found that a lot of Maine’s landscape contains types of rock that dissolve arsenic and other elements into the ground water.

One University of New Hampshire researcher, Carol Ladd, stated ‘If your water is high in arsenic, you may not want to drink it, or cook rice or spaghetti or other things that absorb a lot of water.’

Three years ago researchers started evaluating elementary-school children in two school districts serving Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield, and Wayne. Now they want to expand to an additional 500 students whose families use private well water to see how they compare.

The researchers have studied well-water supplies from more than 200 children and their families, finding that the water supplies of 55 of the first 92 participants had arsenic levels that exceeded federal guidelines. The research into the connection between arsenic levels in groundwater and children’s IQ levels is drawing attention to the frequency of arsenic in water.

In addition to these new concerns, arsenic is a carcinogen which causes many cancers including skin, lung and bladder, as well as cardiovascular disease. Even low concentrations of arsenic contamination can raise the risk of several serious diseases. It’s a good idea to know what your drinking water contains to keep you and your family healthy. To read the entire article, click here.

Water softeners are a huge asset to American homeowners. These appliances not only soften water, but they also are shown to conserve energy by making appliances more efficient, decrease the amount of harsh cleaning chemicals being used and flushed down the drain, and reduce the abuse other water-using appliances endure.

The Water Quality Research Foundation in partnership with the Battelle Memorial Institute recently completed a study on the energy efficiency impact of water softeners. This study revealed that softened water helps save energy because it doesn‘t cause buildup of scale the way hard water does. Many people only recognize the problem of hard water when they are scrubbing away water spots and calcium buildup on the bathroom faucet. The unseen effects of hard water, however, are much more damaging than those unsightly water spots.

Consider the water heater, one of the largest energy-using appliances in our homes. This study found that water heaters using hard water generate 1 to 2 lbs of scale each year, while those using soft water generate NO scale. It takes just a few weeks to generate hard water scale build up. This buildup makes appliances less energy efficient and shortens their usable life span. Installing a water softener can actually make household appliances last significantly longer and raise their energy efficiency.

The Water Quality Association issued press release on June 3, 2009 that summarizes a study on hard water and shower heads. This study shows that untreated hard water can rapidly lead to clogged showerheads, in some cases as soon as a year and a half of regular use. In the study, after just one week of constant testing with hard water, more than three-fourths of showerhead nozzles became clogged. After the same length of time, showerheads using softened water performed nearly as well as on the day they were installed. Some might argue that a plugged shower head conserves water, but it isn’t much of a shower.

No matter what angle you take in looking at the facts, having a water softener in your home makes good sense and cents. Ask your Rayne dealer how you can save money, conserve energy, and help your appliances last longer.

This week kudos go to Rayne of Phoenix for their commitment to being environmentally responsible – and for very simply having a great idea!

In the Phoenix Business Journal last week, Rayne of Phoenix revealed the introduction of two patent-pending processes for home and business use. The first product is a home water softener that limits the amount of salt that is allowed to enter the wastewater system, and the other is a drinking water system that, unlike reverse-osmosis, wastes minimal water in the purification process. In an industry that has changed very little over the last 50 years, these two products will be the leading edge into the future.

Water softening systems flush water through tanks filled with salt and as a result of a chemical reaction, the sodium changes places with hard-water elements like calcium, manganese, and magnesium. This process, when taking place in tens of thousands of homes using traditional water softeners, creates more than 1 million pounds of salt pollution in Arizona’s groundwater each year. Rayne’s solution? To desalinate the water before discharging it as wastewater. Rayne of Phoenix provides customers Soft Water Exchange Tank Service, which confines tank regeneration to a properly-designed desalination facility so that salt discharge rate is nearly 0% and water usage is reduced by at least two-thirds.

Rayne’s second new product, a drinking water system called Linx, is being rolled out as an alternative to traditional reverse osmosis systems. Much like traditional systems, Linx works on an ion-exchange principle, but wastes 90% less water than reverse osmosis.

Great job, Rayne of Phoenix! You’ve raised the bar for service, quality, and green living once again.

For the third time in six months, Fremont, Ohio issued a warning for residents to use bottled water for children under the age of six months. The city’s water tested excessively high in nitrates, a toxic substance that often enters water supply systems from fertilizers, animal wastes, septic tanks, municipal sewage treatment systems, and decaying plant debris.

Even small amounts of nitrates can cause infants to become seriously ill, with symptoms including shortness of breath and blue baby syndrome. These symptoms require immediate medical care because the condition can rapidly progress to coma and death. It is highly recommended that breast-feeding mothers also refrain from using municipal water.

The Ohio Administrative Code requires that drinking water contain no more than 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter. This level is considered safe for more individuals. However, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website, pregnant women who drink nitrate-contaminated water during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with birth defects and long-term ingestion of water high in nitrates may increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

A good quality Drinking Water System will effectively reduce the nitrates in drinking water. Nitrate is tasteless and odorless, which means that water must be chemically tested by a professional laboratory to determine contamination. Boiling water will not reduce the nitrate level. In fact, excessive boiling actually makes the nitrates more concentrated as the pure water evaporates.

Your only means of treatment are an in-home water treatment system like the Rayne Evolution or a Rayne RO System.

To read more about this article, click here.

A recent study of E.P.A. data shows that Safe Drinking Water Act violations have occurred in all 50 states and more than 20% of municipal drinking water systems have violated crucial elements of this law.

Some were isolated events with little risk to communities and others were due to contamination that has persisted for years.  While communities are required by law to deliver safe water to residents, studies have shown that since 2004, the drinking water provided to more than 49 million people contained illegal traces of chemicals and contaminates such as arsenic and uranium as well as bacteria common in sewage waste water. 

Some of these contaminates even in small doses were found to be linked to cancer and one, Radium, was found as much as 2,000 times the legal limit.  Since 2004 in the state of New York, 205 water systems have recorded violations but only 3 systems have had any enforcement of penalties.

Unfortunately, most violations will not be pursued by the E.P.A. and Justice Department because imposing fines against the municipality will ultimately fine the local tax payer as more and more communities are struggling with revenue.

Regrettably a large portion of violations are in systems serving less than 20,000 residents, in communities were resources and expertise are often limited.

While the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will ask E.P.A. officials about how water safety laws are handled and the E.P.A. has in turn said they will be announcing new standards and practices, this grave data reminds us that treating the water as it enters our home can give us with the quality drinking water that our community may not provide.

Read more about this article here.