Author Archives: vernon

Is Bottled Spring Water Really from a Pure Spring?

Hydration is a key component for staying healthy. Everyone knows drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day is recommended. But, what is often not mentioned is the quality of the water you are drinking. With so many different types and brands of bottled water, it’s hard to know what is the best choice.

Spring Water

The big buzz word in the bottled water industry is spring water. Advertisers often show images of snow-capped mountains and streams on the water bottles. This makes you to believe this water is meant for you to drink straight from the Earth. In reality, spring water is from an underground source (not necessarily a spring). It’s often untreated and can contain any number of impurities and/or contaminants.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has a study that found contaminants such as coliform, arsenic and nitrates in bottled water supplies. Best case scenario: you are drinking glorified, expensive tap water when you purchase bottled spring water.

Knowing you are drinking pure and safe water is essential. Best Water Solutions has treated drinking water in North Central Florida since 1982. We have practical, proven, cost-effective technology options that will assure you and your family are only drinking contaminant free, safe water.

Investing in Your Investments & Using Your Tax Refund to Protect Your Home

With the average tax-refund reaching $3,000 the past few years, many of us have a big decision on our hands. That is:  How to best utilize these new funds?  Consider protection for what may be your greatest financial investment, your home.

Consider a Water Filtration System from Best Water Solutions.

Sometimes, it’s what we don’t see that can harm us most.  Hard water leaves stains on counter tops and faucets, despite constant cleaning.  Though, the real damage from hard water occurs over time, and severely affects the life of our costly home appliances.  When hard water is heated, the dissolved minerals in water form scale that covers the heating element in your hot water heater, dishwasher and other water using appliances. Over time, the scale on the element thickens, making it more difficult for the heating element to operate properly. Your appliances need to work harder to produce the same amount of hot water they did when they were new, drawing even more energy. Additionally, water pressure plummets as the volume of water is displaced by scale deposits.

With an investment in your home’s water system, you’re taking an active measure to extend the life of your appliances and save time in your daily cleaning routine.  Make the best decision by using your tax refund to invest in your greatest investment.

Call Best Water Solutions today for a free water analysis and consultation.

Gainesville: 352-372-2707 Ocala: 352-369-1707

5 Simple (& Natural!) Cleaning Tips

  1. Hard Water Stains. Cut a lemon in half and rub over the hard water stains, then rinse!
  2. Stains in Bathtub. To remove dirt and grime from your tub, sprinkle baking soda on the stains. Then spray with white vinegar until it starts to foam. Scrub until it turns into a paste, scrubbing away the stains! This can also be used on sinks and toilet bowls.
  3. Stainless Steel Sink (Soap Scum & Hard Water). Rinse the sink with water. Grab a lemon or lime and cut it in half. Pour some baking soda into a dish. Dip the meat side of the fruit into the baking soda. Scrub, repeating if necessary, then rinse.
  4. Washing Machine.  Make sure you’re cleaning out your washing machine at least once a year. Read your machine’s instructions on how to drain the hose, removing sediment and buildup. This will help keep your machine in top working order.
  5. (The EASIEST tip of ALL!) Don’t feel like scrubbing? Cleaning? Sweating? Then call Best Water Solutions! By installing a water filtration system in your home, you can eliminate hard water stains and soap scum, as well as make a huge difference in protecting your appliances and extending their life. Call us today for a free water analysis and consultation and say goodbye to hard water stains and soap scum!
New Year's Eve Sparklers Celebration

New Year’s Resolutions

Searching for some New Year’s Resolutions that don’t involve fad diets or a gym membership? Look no further! Here are some New Year’s Resolutions that are not only easy, but give back to you, your family and the environment.

Make a difference in your environment:

1.    With Best Water Solutions Earth friendly equipment resolve to  reduce your carbon footprint:

       –  Eliminate bottlde water and reduce landfill trash

       –  Use less harmful chemicals and water to clean your home

       – Use less  soap and detergents when washing clothes, etc.

       – Improve the efficiency of your water heaters which could save 20% of your energy bill

            *Saving you $ is an added benefit of each of the above.

Make a difference in your home :

2.      With Best Water Solutions Drinking Water equipment, resolve to:

        – Enhance the quality of your tap water

        –  Improve the health of your family and pets

        – Improve the taste and appearance of food

        – Help with the flushing of toxins from your body by drinking 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of Best Water per day.

Make a difference in your life:

3.      With a Water Softener from Best Water Solutions, resolve to:

    – Have healthier, softer skin and hair

    – Prevent wrinkles on skin

    – Extend life of appliances

    – Enjoy sparkling dishes and flatware

    – Enjoy cleaner, softer laundry

Call us today to schedule your free consultation and water analysis. By installing our drinking water equipment and water softeners, you accomplish all of the above resolutions in one easy move, and continue them for years to come!

Gainesville: 352-372-2707 Ocala: 352-369-1707

How Does Water Become Polluted?

Water is the life source for everything on our planet. It is amazing in so many ways. What’s most fascinating is the same quantity of water is on the planet that was at the beginning of time. No new water is created or destroyed. It is simply recycled and reused. This process is known as the Water Cycle. Most of us learned about it in 5th grade science class with a diagram similar to the one below.

The cycling nature of this process helps to filter pollutants  from the water.  However, increasing pollution in the world is reducing the ability for the Earth to complete this process.

There is No Beginning Point in This Cycle and All Steps Occur Simultaneously, But Let’s Begin with Evaporation.

Phase 1: Evaporation

Liquid water absorbs heat energy from the sun and becomes vapor. And some pollutants, in the water from the runoff phase, evaporate as well. This vapor also mixes with pollution from smoke stacks of industrial and coal fired power plants becoming slightly acidic.

Phase 2: Condensation

At very high altitudes, water vapor changes to particles of water or ice forming clouds and fog. These clouds and fog, which still contain the pollutants, travel by wind all over the world.

Phase 3: Sublimation

Sometimes, ice will convert directly to vapor without turning to liquid first.

Phase 4: Precipitation

The clouds form by the slightly acidic, and polluted condensation and pour down as rain, snow and other forms.

Phase 5: Transpiration

So, as the water falls from the sky, it’s absorbed by soil and fed to plants. If this water is polluted, it contributes to sickly plants, therefore making them sicker rather than better. The extra water leaves the plants in the form of gas.

Phase 6: Runoff

The various forms of water that cannot be absorbed into the soil lead to runoff.  And, most of the polluting happens in this phase.  Animal waste, discharges from manufacturing, petroleum products from our roads, lawn and agricultural chemicals dissolve into the water and flow into sewers, sinkholes, lakes and rivers.

Phase 7: Infiltration

 Any water that plants do not absorb, nor evaporates into the air, as a result seeps into the various sources of our drinking water.

Where Florida Get’s Its Water

We collect our drinking water from the reservoirs and aquifers, which unfortunately have been polluted. Sometimes this water is barely filtered before we introduce it into our homes and our bodies. Even well water can include toxins because of the infiltration phase.

Having a professional filtration system is vital to the well being of your family and home. The experts at Best Water Solutions can design and install a treatment system that removes the above contamination from your water.  You will enjoy water that is pure and healthy.

Call us today at Gainesville: 352-372-2707 or Ocala:  352-369-1707  to schedule a free, no obligation water analysis.

 

 

Preserve Your Appliances

To all homeowners in the North Central Florida area: you’ve worked hard for what you have. You own a beautiful home and have filled it with memories and love. Probably,  you’ve also filled it with an array of costly appliances, from coffee makers to bathtub faucets.

Preserve the Value of Your Home

If you want to preserve the value of your home and the life of its appliances, remove contaminants from your water. Our North Central Florida water is often hard water, meaning it contains dissolved limerock or hard minerals.

Hard minerals as a result create a buildup in your appliances causing them to clog and work less efficiently. Also, it leaves spots on bathtubs, sinks and dishes. Removing these minerals from water in your home will extend the lifespan of your ice maker, dishwasher, washing machine, water heater and faucets in the home you hope to preserve for generations.

Best Water Solutions can help!

Contact us for a free water analysis by calling 352-372-2707 in Gainesville or 352-369-1707 in Ocala. At this no obligation evaluation, our water specialists will test your water and provide a range of options for filtration and purification.

Drink Recipes Using Best Water: Taste the Difference!

Now that you’ve experienced the difference of purified water from Best Water, try out these three drink recipes that use purified water and classic combinations of fruit and herbs. Enjoy!

Spa Water

  • 2 quarts Best Water
  • ¼ cucumber, sliced
  • ½ lime, sliced
  • 5-10 mint leaves

Put the cucumber, mint and limes in the bottom of a 2-quart pitcher. Muddle lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Add ice. Pour Best Water on top until full. Stir, refrigerate and enjoy!

Watermelon Rosemary Water

  • 2 quarts Best Water
  • 1 cup cubed seedless watermelon
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Place the watermelon and rosemary sprigs in the bottom of a 2-quart pitcher. Muddle lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Add ice. Pour Best Water on top until full. Stir, refrigerate and enjoy!

Blackberry Sage Water

  • 2 quarts Best Water
  • 1 cup fresh blackberries
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh sage

Place the blackberry and sage sprigs in the bottom of a 2-quart pitcher. Muddle lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Add ice. Pour Best Water on top until full. Stir, refrigerate and enjoy!

**Recipes should be kept in the refrigerator and will last for up to 3 days.**

You Are What You Eat…and Drink?

We rinse our fruit and vegetables in it. Clean our dishes in it. Disinfect our kitchens with it. Shower our children and selves in it. We drink it. Water is essential for survival and touches nearly every area of our lives. Yet, we don’t always take the precautions to make sure it is safe, or even fit for its purpose!

Contaminates in Water

Contaminates in water are not just a problem overseas, or in under-developed areas. Our local North Florida Springs have high levels of nitrogen contaminants due to pollution. The EPA requires nitrates be kept below 10 milligrams per liter in drinking water. Above 10 mg can cause death to infants and is harmful to adults, and pregnant women.

Runoff & Storm Water

Runoff and storm water introduces petroleum byproducts, heavy metals and animal waste into the springs and sinkholes. Some contaminants reach our drinking aquifers. Fertilizers, nitrates, chemical herbicides and pesticides add to the dangerous pollution in our aquifers. As a result, contaminants such as e-Coli, Giardia, nitrates, arsenic, lead and pesticides are found in our wells and drinking water. Consequently, when we ingest these contaminants it can cause bladder and kidney disease. And, other negative long-term health effects. Though, these contaminants are not only harmful to our health.

Nuisances such as iron and limerock dissolving Cause:

  • Damage to our water using appliances.
  • Dry, brittle hair and discoloration.
  • A drying effect on our skin.

However, We Can Help

You can protect your family, call us today! We professionally test water to identify problems and treatment options to remove the contaminants before they enter your home. Visit our website, or call for a consultation today!

Gainesville: 352-372-2707 Ocala: 352-369-1707

New Mothers: Protect Your Baby from Harsh Contaminants

We know that boiling water helps purify it of bacteria, viruses and other living organisms. What you might not know is, it’s only a partial solution. While high temperatures kill microbiological organisms, it does not kill a wide variety of chemicals because evaporation concentrates the contaminants. This presents potential risks especially dangerous when using untreated tap or well water to make formula for infants.

Bath Time

Another danger our small children face is bathing in warm tap water. In the shower and bath, when water is heated, they are overexposed to chemicals that are inhaled and absorbed through the skin. With inhalation and dermal exposure, virtually 100% of the contaminants are absorbed directly into the bloodstream. In 1991, the EPA concluded that the average person absorbed more contaminants from bathing and showering than from drinking polluted water. Researchers believe the surface-area to body-weight ratio of toddlers and infants increases the rate of dermal absorption. Warm water only accelerates the already increased dermal absorption becoming a danger to the child.  Over time these contaminants may cause health issues for the growing child.

Another issue is film residue left on the child’s skin from the combination of hard minerals in water combining with soap products can trap bacteria. This causes skin issues such as diaper rash, cradle cap, eczema and other uncomfortable irritations.

Another Concern:

Is washing your baby’s laundry in contaminated water; the soap scum can cause the material to irritate their sensitive skin.

Learn about ways you can insure your home has the softest, purest water available. Call for a consultation about Best Water Solutions many purification systems and services.

Gainesville: 352-372-2707 Ocala: 352-369-1707