Understanding your water
Water quality splits into two branches that are measured with the same words and judged by different standards. Start with the one you are asking about.
22 parameters
Pools & Hot Tubs
Water you swim in. Balanced for sanitation, comfort and equipment.
37 parameters
Drinking & Household Water
Water you drink, shower in, run through pipes, and brew with. Judged for health, taste and what it does to your plumbing.
By what you use the water for
Most people arrive with a practical question rather than a parameter name: coffee that tastes flat, a shower that leaves skin tight, a kettle that keeps furring up. These start from the use and work back to the numbers.
- Water for Coffee & Espresso MachinesWhy the same beans taste different on different water, and which numbers actually decide it.
- Water for Black TeaWhy the same teabag makes a different cup in London and Manchester, what the film on the surface actually is, and how the British tea industry solved it by changing the tea rather than the water.
- Water for Green TeaGreen tea is the one that degrades rather than just tasting different: hard, alkaline water measurably destroys its catechins and browns the cup. What the research shows, and what Chinese and Japanese practice has said for twelve centuries.
- Shower Water, Skin & HairWhy the same soap behaves differently in different houses, and what actually causes tight skin and dull hair.
- Water in Your PipesWhat your water is doing to your plumbing, and what your plumbing is adding to your water.
- Distilled, RO & Deionized WaterHow distillation, reverse osmosis and deionization each strip water down, what each one leaves behind, and why all three test acidic once they meet air.
- Alkaline & High-pH WaterWhat high-pH water is, what the health claims rest on, and when a high reading is worth acting on.