Stinky Water!
GETTING THE STINKY SMELL OUT OF WATER IS USUALLY THE BEST WAY TO SPEND A BUNCH OF MONEY AND THEN LEARN TO HATE YOUR LOCAL WATER TREATMENT GUY WHEN THE SYSTEM DOESN’T WORK. THE MAJORITY OF US THAT ARE IN THE WATER TREATMENT BUSINESS ARE GOOD PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT WHAT KIND OF NIGHTMARE WE ARE ENTERING INTO WHEN WE STUTTER THE WORDS, “YES, WE CAN GET RID OF THE HYDROGEN SULFIDE SMELL IN YOUR WATER.”
THIS IS AN ARTICLE THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO END UP WITH CLEAN, NON-SMELLING WATER IN YOUR HOUSE. INSTEAD OF USING ALL THE HIGH TECH TERMS OF THE GASES AND ENGINEERING EXPLANATIONS THAT WE ARE NOT SURE THAT EVEN ENGINEERS UNDERSTAND; THE SERIOUSLY LOW TEC, ‘JEFF FOXWORTHY’ TERMS, LIKE ‘SMELLY’, ‘STUFF’, AND ‘JUNK’ IS THE BEST WAY TO EXPLAIN WHAT TAKES PLACE.
WE THINK THERE ARE THREE GROUPS OF WATER TREATMENT DEALERS.
1. “THE DUMB BLOND”. (NO REFLECTION OF HAIR COLOR) THIS IS SOMEONE WHO STARTS OUT WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, IS TOLD BY HIS SUPPLIERS WHAT SHOULD WORK, INSTALLS THE EQUIPMENT, AND THEN WHEN IT DOESN’T WORK, GOES NUTS MAKING NUMEROUS SERVICE CALLS TO YOUR HOUSE TO TRY AND FIX YOUR WATER, AND DOZENS OF PHONE CALLS TO HIS SUPPLIER TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR WATER STILL SMELLS. HE THEN EITHER SPENDS QUITE OF BIT OF HIS OWN MONEY TO GET THE SYSTEM TO WORK, OR HE REMOVES THE EQUIPMENT HE INSTALLED AND REFUNDS YOU YOUR MONEY . . . THE LESSON LEARNED – DON’T MESS WITH STINKY WATER.
2. “THE RIP-OFF ARTIST”. THIS IS A DEALER THAT INTENTIONALLY SETS OUT TO RELIEVE YOU OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR EQUIPMENT THAT WILL ABSORB THE SMELL FOR ABOUT A MONTH -OR UNTIL YOUR CHECK CLEARS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. IN OUR AREA WE HAVE A DEALER OF A NATIONALLY KNOWN FRANCHISE THAT INSTALLS DOZENS OF DIRECT PRESSURE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS THAT SIMPLY DON’T WORK. THIS DEALER HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS. HE KNOWS THAT HIS EQUIPMENT WON’T LAST THE TEST OF TIME, BUT INSTALLS IT ANYWAY. THEN WHEN IT STOPS WORKING, HE WON’T RETURN YOUR PHONE CALLS. (HE DID CALL US AND USED LOTS OF NASTY WORDS WHILE HE TRIED TO EXPLAIN THAT HE WAS MUCH MORE CERTIFIED THEN WE ARE . . . CERTIFIABLE PERHAPS.)
3. “THE NON-PROFIT DEALER”. (NOT BY CHOICE) THIS IS WATER SYSTEMS PROFESSIONAL THAT HAS LEARNED BY TRIAL AND ERROR HOW TO GET THE SMELL OUT WATER BY TESTING MANY TYPES OF EQUIPMENT. HE HAS STUDIED WATER AND UNDERSTANDS THE INTERACTION OF THE OTHER MINERALS AND SUBSTANCES IN WATER. HE HAS EARNED THE EQUIVALENT OF A MASTER’S DEGREE BY MAKING DOZENS AND DOZENS OF ‘FREE’ TRIPS TO CLIENTS HOUSES OVER A PERIOD OF MANY YEARS TO RESOLVE WATER TREATMENT PROBLEMS, AND HAS ENDED UP WITH WAYS OF GETTING THE SMELL OUT OF WATER – LONG TERM.
YEARS AGO, WE STARTED OUT IN “THE DUMB BLOND” CATEGORY AND HAVE LONG SINCE MOVED INTO “THE NON-PROFIT DEALER” STATUS. PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE WATER TREATMENT INDUSTRY IS THAT SUPPLIERS ONLY UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ABOUT SMELLY WATER. THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY THINGS THAT LEAD DEALERS INTO PROBLEMS:
THE AMOUNT OF SMELL VARIES IN THE WATER. YEARS AGO, WE INSTALLED A DIRECT PRESSURE ‘PROVECTOR’ SYSTEM MADE BY ‘WATER SOFT’ ON A BRAND NEW WELL. THIS EQUIPMENT HAD AN AIR INJECTION VENTURI THAT USED THE AIR TO OXIDIZE THE WATER IN THE LONG PIPELINE TO THE HOUSE. THE OXIDIZED HYDROGEN SULPHIDE AND IRON AND MANGANESE IN THE WATER THEN WENT INTO A SCRUBBER TANK AND THEN INTO A MULTI-MEDIA FILTER WHERE THE OXIDIZED ‘JUNK’ WAS REMOVED. IT WORKED GREAT SINCE THE WATER HAD SMELL OF LESS THAN 3 PPM. SIX MONTHS LATER, WE GOT A CALL SAYING THAT THE SYSTEM DIDN’T WORK. SINCE WE WERE STILL IN OUR FORMATIVE ‘DUMB BLOND’ YEARS, IT TOOK US THREE TRIPS OUT TO THE CLIENT’S HOUSE (20 MILES ONE WAY, OF COURSE) TO FIGURE OUT THAT THE SMELL IN THE WATER WAS NOW TESTING AT 12 PPM. THIS JOB WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE USED OZONE TO CURE THE PROBLEM. HOW WERE WE TO KNOW THAT THE SMELL WOULD INCREASE IN THE WATER ONCE THE WELL BEGAN TO BE USED? THIS WAS NO ONE’S FAULT. THE ONLY THING WE SHOULD HAVE DONE IS WARNED THE CLIENT THAT THE WATER COULD GET WORSE – IF WE HAD KNOWN.
DIRECT PRESSURE SYSTEMS DON’T WORK. THE NATIONAL FRANCHISE CROOKS IN OUR AREA, AND OTHERS, USE A CHEMICAL FEED PUMP THAT INJECTS CHLORINE IN THE WATER LINE JUST AFTER THE PRESSURE TANK. THIS CHLORINATED SMELLY WATER FEEDS INTO A RETENTION TIME TANK WHERE THE SOLIDS OXIDIZE (MAKES THE SLICK SOLIDS GROW LARGE ENOUGH FOR A FILTER TO CATCH THEM). THEN THE CHLORINATED, OXIDIZED, AND STILL SMELLY WATER GOES INTO ONE TYPE OF FILTER OR ANOTHER. THIS FILTER CATCHES THE OXIDIZED PARTICULATE. GREAT. NOW THE CLEAN, STILL SMELLY WATER ENTERS A CARBON FILTER THAT ALL THE BOOKS SAY WILL ABSORB THE SMELL. IT DOES - FOR ABOUT THIRTY DAYS. WE DON’T CARE WHAT THE BOOKS AND THE FORMULAS SAY ABOUT HOW MUCH CARBON WILL ABSORB. WHEN IT COMES TO HYDROGEN SULPHIDE SMELLS, THE BOOKS ARE WRONG. THE OPERATING WORD ABOUT THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IN THE WATER TREATMENT BUSINESS REGARDING ABSORBTION IS WHAT MY TEENAGE DAUGHTERS SAY, “SHUT-UUP!”
OTHER JUNK IN THE WATER. TRYING TO REMOVE THE SMELL IN THE WATER IS LIKE GETTING INTO A FIST FIGHT WITH SOME GUY – AND ALL HIS BUDDIES JUMP IN TO HELP HIM BEAT YOU UP. THE PH OF THE WATER CANNOT BE LOW, THE HARDNESS (LIQUID ROCK, TO KEEP IT SIMPLE) HAS GOT TO BE EITHER LOW OR REMOVED, AND THEN, WHAT ABOUT THE SODIUM THAT OFTEN TIMES IS HIDING UNDER THE SMELL AND TASTE OF HYDROGEN SULPHIDE WATER? THE HARD WATER HAS TO BE SOFTENED BEFORE THE GASES CAN BE REMOVED. AFTER THE SMELLS ARE REMOVED, IF THE SODIUM LEVELS ARE HIGH, TO BE ABLE TO DRINK THE WATER, THE WATER HAS TO BE TREATED THROUGH A REVERSE OSMOSIS UNIT. YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD WATER SOURCE IN TERMS OF VOLUME, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO PLAN ON WASTING ABOUT HALF OF THE WATER YOU TREAT WITH REVERSE OSMOSIS.
AT THIS POINT, YOU ARE PROBABLY REACHING FOR THE PHONE BOOK TO DIAL UP YOUR LOCAL REALTOR TO SELL YOUR HOUSE THAT HAS THE STINKY WELL. IN OUR AREA THERE IS A PROMINANT LOCAL REALTOR THAT CALLS US TO QUOTE ON WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS FOR THE PROPERTIES THAT HE IS INVOLVED WITH. HE TELLS US THAT IF HE WALKS INTO A HOUSE AND SMELLS THE NASTY HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS, HE AUTOMATICLY DEVALUES THE PROPERTY $15,000 PER $100,000 OF INITIAL VALUE. OUCH.
YOU CAN HAVE CLEAN, NON-SMELLING WATER, LONG TERM. WE HAVE DEVELOPED HARD EARNED PROPRITARY METHODS IN CONJUNCTION WITH FINDING AND TESTING EQUIPMENT THAT WILL DEAL WITH CLEARING AND REMOVAL OF THE SMELLS – AND WE DON’T CARE HOW BAD THE WATER IS. THE COSTS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS RANGE FROM $3,000 TO $12,000.
IF YOU LIVE IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO, WE CAN MAKE A FREE ON-SITE CALL TO ASSESS YOUR SITUATION AND THEN PRESENT YOU WITH A PROPOSAL WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS. IF YOU LIVE OUT OF THE AREA, (AND DON’T WANT TO PAY US TO FLY IN AND HAVE US STAY AT THE MARRIOTT AND, OF COURSE, THE UNLIMITED MASSEUESE TIME) WE CAN SPEND SOME TIME ON THE PHONE WITH YOU TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL AND SUPPLY YOU WITH EQUIPMENT AND WORKING DRAWINGS ON HOW TO INSTALL THE SYSTEM.
WHAT DO WE DO? WITHOUT DEVULGING SEVERAL OF OUR PROPRITARY TECHNIQUES, WE DO THE FOLLOWING:
GET THE JUNK OUT OF THE WATER FIRST. IF THE WATER IS HARD, THE WATER HAS GOT TO BE SOFTENED BEFORE THE WATER IS OZONATED. IF THE CALCIUM AND LIME ISN’T REMOVED FIRST, THE OZONE IS NOT NEARLY AS EFFECTIVE. (TRY TO FIND THAT INFORMATION IN A WATER TREATMENT BOOK).
RELIEVE THE GASSES. WE DON’T PRETEND TO KNOW OR EVEN TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MIX OF GASSES YOU HAVE THAT CAUSE THE SMELL/S. WE KNOW, HOWEVER, WHAT SIZE OZONE UNIT WILL CAUSE ALL THE GASSES TO DISBURSE AND VENT OUT IN A STORAGE TANK INSTALLATION. A KEY CONCEPT IS THAT ALL THE GASSES HAVE TO BE DISBURSED BEFORE CONFINING THE WATER INTO A DIRECT PRESSURE SYSTEM. THE SIZE OF THE ATMOSPHERIC STORAGE TANK IN RELATION TO THE AMOUNT OF WATER USED IS CRITICAL. CONTACT TIME IS THE BEST FRIEND OF OZONE.
CORRECTLY SIZED FILTER/S. THERE IS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF FLOW (GPM) AND THE CAPACITY OF WATER TREATMENT MEDIA TO BE ABLE TO ‘PLAY CATCH’. ALMOST MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THE RATE OF BACKWASH. IF THE BACKWASH FLOW RATE IS TOO HIGH, THE MEDIA IS LIFTED OUT OF THE FILTER AND THEN YOUR PERFECTLY SIZED FILTER DOEN’T HAVE THE AMOUNT OF MEDIA IN IT TO CATCH THE JUNK IN THE WATER. IF THE BACKWASH FLOW RATE IS TOO SLOW, YOU DON’T CLEAN THE FILTER MEDIA PROPERLY. THEN, IN A FEW DAYS, YOU DON’T HAVE CLEAN WATER.
THE DOUBLE CIRCULATION CONNECTION. ALL WE CAN SAY IS THAT WE MAKE THE WATER TOO TIRED TO KEEP THE SMELL.
IF YOU SENSE THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF ATTITUDE ABOUT THE WATER TREATMENT END OF OUR BUSINESS . . . WE DO. WE STARTED OUT IN THE PUMP BUSINESS YEARS AGO AND HAVE FOUND OUT THE HARD AND EXPENSIVE WAY THAT WE CAN’T GET OUT OF DOING WATER TREATMENT BECAUSE OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE PUMPING EQUIPMENT, STORAGE TANKS, AND WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT. WE SPEND 600% MORE TIME IN KEEPING UP WITH WATER TREATMENT TRENDS AND CHANGES. WE DRIVE MORE MILES ON BID JOBS THAT WE NEVER GET DUE TO THE OVERALL COST OF WATER TREATMENT. WE GET HAMMERED BY PEOPLE THAT HAVE SPENT ALL THEIR MONEY WITH THE ‘RIP-OFF TREATMENT DEALERS’ AND THEN WANT US TO MAGICALLY MAKE THEIR JUNK EQUIPMENT WORK - FOR LITTLE OR NO ADDITIONAL COST. AFTER ALL THE TIME WE SPEND EDUCATING OUR CLIENTS, THEY STILL EXPECT THE EQUIPMENT TO WORK FOREVER WITH NO COST OF MAINTAINANCE . . .“SHUT-UUP!
IF YOU WANT A WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM THAT WORKS AND ARE WILLING TO DEAL WITH THE COST OF MAINTENACE, WE CAN HELP. CLEAN, CLEAR, NON-SMELLING, DRINKING WATER. WE CAN MAKE THE WATER ANY WAY YOU WANT IT.
FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HELP YOU GET THE WATER QUALITY THAT YOU WANT, AND WHERE YOU WANT IT, YOU HAVE FOUR CHOICES:
RAW SMELLY WATER.
SAFE SMELLY WATER
SAFE NON-SMELLY WATER.
SAFE DRINKING WATER.
THE COSTS OF BOTH THE INSTALLATION OF THE WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT AND THE FUTURE MAINTENANCE OF THE EQUIPMENT ARE DEPENDENT UPON WHAT QUALITY OF WATER YOU CHOOSE.
CLEAN, CLEAR, SAFE, NON-SMELLING WATER IS A LONG TERM COMMITMENT. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ENOUGH INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE WISELY, AND TO CREATE A NEW CLASS OF WATER TREATMENT DEALER . . . ‘THE PROFITABLE AND BELOVED WATER TREATMENT PROFESSIONAL’. WE CAN HEAR OUR COMPITITION NOW, SAYING; “SHUT-UUP!”
