Case Study: Mains water leaves skin irritated and tapware calcified
Dave and Shelley Power built their dream home in Napier eleven years ago. Connected to the municipal water supply, they assumed water filtration wouldn’t be necessary. However, it wasn’t long before they began experiencing issues – with both their home and their health – traced back to the quality of their water.
“Both our daughters have trouble with eczema and whenever they would shower or wash their hands their skin would flare up and get itchy. One of them ended up with skin so dry, there were little cuts all over her – she had a really bad reaction and at one point she was using filtered water from our fridge to wash her hands,” explains Dave.
“The glass panes of our showers became calcified and white very quickly and you could actually feel the hardness in the water when you showered. I was getting an itchy scalp and even my eyelids felt dry.”
Their concerns grew after converting part of their house into an Airbnb and the new sink faucet developed a persistent drip, quickly became encrusted with mineral deposits, and had to be replaced within a year because it was impossible to keep clean.
What professional water testing revealed
PASLR water testing showed elevated hardness and manganese levels, both of which can contribute to skin irritation.
“The testing didn’t detect high chlorine levels as chlorine tends to evaporate from the sample before it reaches the lab but we knew because of the location of the home that chlorine was present in the water and can also be a contributor to skin sensitivity and dryness,” explains Kelvin Boyd, Pumps Team Leader for PASLR.
“While the test didn’t show excessive levels of fine sediment, filters were installed as best practice and the condition of these filters after twelve months tells a different story and confirms that there is more sediment present in the mains supply than the lab results suggest,” he says.
READ MORE: How to remove chemicals and pollutants from your drinking water with specialised filters
The PASLR water treatment solution
When specifying a solution, we needed to ensure it could maintain the volume of water required for a two-bathroom house with multiple appliances, amenities plus the Airbnb, and that there would be no drop in water pressure.
Microlene Kinetico Water Softener
A non-electric water softener offering a continuous supply of soft water using a twin tank system and patented turbine. Reduces calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron. Makes cleaning easier and hair and clothes softer. Reduces scale in pipes and appliances. We specified the largest one in the range to maximise the flow rate into the house, as it was being filtered directly to the source.
Microlene Filtration & Purification (KAS20JM)
A twin housing filtration kit including:
- 20 inch 5 micron sediment filter cartridge to reduce fine sediment
- 20 inch carbon block cartridge to reduce chlorine, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds
Benefits of the whole house water filtration system
- No calcification on the glass shower doors or tap fittings
- The family can drink the water from every tap in the house and can no longer taste or smell the water
- Skin flare ups are no longer a problem due to hard water or chlorine
- There is no drop in water pressure when multiple appliances and amenities are being used at once