Why Treat Rainwater?

As water is collected from rooflines and fed into rainwater tanks, it collects sediment, bacteria and viruses that can be dangerous to the health of your family if consumed without treatment.

There are two methods of treatment, by liquid dosing with Davey Acquasafe or by treating the water with UV.

Liquid dosing up to every two months and testing with test strips, helps to keep bacteria at bay and should be followed with 1 micron filtration at any drinking water taps.

Treating with UV reduces the need for strict water monitoring and requires less maintenance than dosing with Acquasafe. The first step with UV treatment is to ensure the water is filtered to remove any particulate matter.

Just Water Pumps recommend utilising two stage filtration; firstly removing sediment and the secondly, one micron to polish the water, ready for UV treatment. The two stage filtration means that the UV has the ability to penetrate any bacteria in the water supply, rendering them unable to breed.

Treating with UV is a highly effective way to sterilise the bacteria in water with the added benefit of not changing the taste of the water in any way.

Why Treat Mains Water?

Mainswater in most western countries we can expect to be free of bacteria and viruses as it is pre-treated in chemical plants, most commonly with chlorine. It can however can be tainted by many substances as it passes down the pipeline to your home, with the potential to include not only chlorine, but aluminium, lead, asbestos, pesticides, sulphur, sediment, and rust. Treatment at drinking water taps is most common using a carbon based filter that will remove taste and odour issues.

Carbon filters however require replacement fairly frequently and a great alternative for drinking water taps is Davey’s Microlene Underbench filters containing KDF media. With a capacity of 30,000 litres and a life of up to 3 years these kits include a stylish tap to install at your kitchen benchtop.

If chlorine exposure is of concern for other areas of your home, such as your bathroom, larger capacity carbon filters can be installed on incoming water supply ensuring all water is treated.

Is hard water a problem in your area?

If you have hard water, you probably already know it, and a simple solution is to install a water softener. Scale buildup in appliances, iron staining issues, poor incoming pressure, cloudy glassware, soaps that don’t lather and hard washing are all symptoms of hard water. Davey Kinetico water softeners are a non-electric system to correct hard water, that is not only annoying, but can be costly and lead to premature failure of heated appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and water heaters.