How would you know if harmful toxins have contaminated your water? If water was discolored, you would know something was wrong immediately. But, many toxins are colorless, and you could potentially be oblivious to various lurking impurities. Fortunately, there are several tasks you can do to spot the signs of contaminated water. If you’re concerned about the quality of the water where you live, here is some information about what makes water contaminated and how you can tell if you need a water filter.

What Is Contaminated Water?

The definition of contaminated water is very broad. The Safe Water Drinking Act defines it as referring to anything other than water molecules. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that this water contaminated is bad for you. The Contaminate Candidate List — CCL — is a list of all the contaminates other than water molecules that you can reasonably expect to find in drinking water without posing a threat. You need only be concerned about contaminants when one has been identified as being harmful for human consumption.

What Are the Signs That Your Water Is Contaminated?

It’s beneficial that water is colorless and odorless because it makes it much easier to spot anything amiss in what comes out of your tap. If you see any of these anomalies, you should stop drinking your water immediately and contact a water filter specialist to investigate:

• Smell: Water shouldn’t smell of anything. If your water smells of rotten eggs, it may contain hydrogen sulfide; a bleach smell means it could have chlorine in it; and barium could be the culprit if you can smell fish.
• Color: Your water should never be anything other than clear. Yellow or brown water could mean you have mineral or rust build-up; if your water has a green or blue tinge to it, it could contain copper. You should also be cautious if your water is colorless but cloudy instead of being crystal clear.
• Taste: Be wary of a metallic taste, as it could mean your water contains iron or copper.

Affordable Water Treatment in Gig Harbor, WA, has one goal — to improve the water quality for the residents of western Washington. For over 50 years, this family-owned and -operated business has endeavored to treat residential and commercial water to not only make it taste better and get rid of any bad odors and stains but also, more importantly, to ensure you can drink your water with peace of mind. Whether you’re looking for a full-scale water purification system or are keen to understand more about how a water filter can help, visit their website or call them today at (253) 858-7644. They also regularly post helpful tips and articles on their Facebook page.