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Knowing the contents of your water is important to understand how your window cleaning system will operate over a long period of time. If the equipment you are running is set to run your business for a few years, thinking about maintenance, running costs and the reliability of your system is a must.
A TDS meter will give you a simple reading of water purity in terms of parts per million (PPM), but it doesn’t allow you to see what those ppm are made of. Generally water is classified as Hard (Over 150ppm from the tap source) or Soft (Less than 150ppm). If your source water is hard, of particular interest in running your purification system is the calcium carbonate content (CaC03).
You can find out what your tap water is made of simply by contacting your local water board. The Water Board can usually provide a detailed report based on your postcode.
Most water boards across the U.K. have a section on their websites which allow you to simply enter your postcode and it will generate a detailed description of the last test on your water.
Be warned these reports are very detailed and give you a lot of information, most of which you won’t need.
Specifically, look out for the calcium carbonate (CAC03) content of the water, usually read in PPM. Should this reading be less than 150ppm (parts per million), a water softener is not necessary, a simple RO/DI System will suffice without excessively high running costs. If the reading of CaC03 is higher than 150ppm, you should consider picking up a water softener. Not doing so will mean your running costs are likely to be high, and the lifespan of the membrane in the RO/DI system will be limited.
CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate) – Less than 150ppm – Anything more than 150ppm of CaCO3 then you should invest in a water softener.