The Water Softener Blog

If you live in a Great Lakes city, you've probably heard of zebra mussels. Those small, striped invaders that cling to rocks and boat hulls. But what you might not realize is that these tiny shellfish are quietly attacking something you never see: your city's water supply inlet . As they clog and coat the intake structures and tunnels that feed your treatment plant, they drive up operating costs, strain equipment, and ultimately show up on your monthly water bill. This problem goes far beyond just annoying boaters — it affects every single glass of water you pour at home. Why the Great Lakes Are the Perfect Breeding Ground for Zebra Mussels Zebra mussels didn't evolve in the Great Lakes. They arrived in ballast water from ships in the 1980s and found a nearly perfect environment: Plenty of calcium in the water to build their shells. Few natural predators are capable of controlling their population. Massive hard surfaces on rocks, dock...

If your home relies on municipal water, the water leaving the treatment plant has already undergone extensive chemical disinfection. Without these disinfectants, harmful microbes—bacteria, viruses, protozoa—could spread rapidly through the system. But there’s a hidden side to this water treatment chemistry. When chlorine and chloramine react with naturally occurring organic matter, they form unintended chemicals known as disinfection byproducts (DBPs) . These include THMs, HAAs, nitrosamines, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, iodinated DBPs, and more—most of which never appear in your annual water report. This guide explains what chemicals cities add, how DBPs form, and the whole-house and point-of-use filtration systems that protect your family. Why Cities Add Chemicals to Your Water Cities use disinfectants to keep water microbiologically safe through miles of pipes: Free chlorine Chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) Chlorine dioxide Ozone UV light (n...

When I founded The Water Softener Blog , I set out to build more than a product review site. After decades in water treatment—listening to families, diagnosing real water problems, and designing methodology-based water treatment solutions—I learned that the best outcomes come from clear methodologies and principles. Those principles became my compass in the field and now serve as the cornerstones of this blog . 1) Advocacy From the start of my career, I’ve acted as a consumer advocate . Too many homeowners get sold the wrong system—solutions that don’t match their water chemistry, home constraints, or budget. Advocacy means putting the homeowner first: clarifying goals, explaining trade-offs, and guarding against overselling and misinformation. On the blog: I translate tech jargon into plain English and share transparent pros/cons so readers can make informed, budget-smart decisions. 2) Expertise Real ...

Modular filtration meets smart water monitoring And maintenance gets easier than ever. Water treatment is moving toward treatment platforms that are easier to size, service, and upgrade. Two systems at the front of these innovations are the Enpress ONE® Filter System and the Enpress Pioneer® Filtration System .  ONE® System  delivers a universal, high-capacity point-of-entry (POE) vessel that accepts many water filter cartridge types from sediment filtration to Arsenic removal. At the same time, Pioneer adds usage-based monitoring and change-filter alerts for health-critical reduction needs such as PFAS. What Makes the Enpress ONE® Different? Traditional whole-house setups stack multiple small housings—sediment, carbon, iron—each adding cost, pressure drop, and maintenance time. The ONE® simplifies that with a single large-diameter vessel and drop-in, high-capacity cartridges tuned to specific problems such as chlorine/chlora...