Water Quality Testing

💧 What Minerals and Elements Affect How Your Water Tastes, Smells, and Feels

Even though your water may look clean, it can contain natural minerals and additives that change its taste, smell, and texture. Below are the most common culprits — especially in places like Lubbock, Texas, where groundwater hardness is high.

🪨 Calcium & Magnesium

What They Are: Natural minerals from rocks and soil — they make water “hard.”
Effects:

Feel: Leaves skin dry or itchy and hair dull or brittle.
Taste: Slightly bitter or chalky.
Other Signs: White spots on dishes, cloudy glassware, soap scum, and scale buildup on fixtures and appliances.
Solution: A water softener removes these minerals through ion exchange, making water feel smoother and cleaner.

🧂 Iron

What It Is: A metal naturally found in soil and pipes.
Effects:

Taste: Metallic, rusty, or blood-like taste.
Smell: Sometimes gives water an earthy or musty odor.
Other Signs: Orange or brown stains in sinks, toilets, and laundry.
Solution: A filtration system or iron filter paired with a water softener can remove excess iron.

🧫 Sulfur (Hydrogen Sulfide Gas)

What It Is: A naturally occurring gas sometimes found in well water or certain groundwater supplies.
Effects:

Smell: Strong “rotten egg” odor.
Taste: Metallic or foul.
Other Signs: Odor especially noticeable from hot water taps.
Solution: Activated carbon filters or specialized sulfur-removal systems eliminate the smell and gas.

🧴 Chlorine & Chloramine

What They Are: Chemicals added by municipalities to disinfect city water.
Effects:

Taste: Chemical or bleach-like.
Smell: Swimming pool odor.
Feel: Can cause dry skin, irritated eyes, and flat-tasting coffee or tea.
Solution: A carbon filter or reverse osmosis system removes chlorine and improves taste and smell.

⚙️ Manganese

What It Is: A metal similar to iron, often found in well water.
Effects:

Taste: Bitter or metallic.
Smell: Musty or oily.
Other Signs: Black or dark brown stains on plumbing fixtures and laundry.
Solution: Filtration combined with a softener or oxidizing filter system.

🧊 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

What It Is: The total amount of minerals and salts dissolved in water — includes calcium, sodium, potassium, and others.
Effects:

Taste: Flat, salty, or mineral-heavy.
Smell: Occasionally earthy or stale.
Other Signs: White residue on faucets, spots on dishes.
Solution: A reverse osmosis system dramatically reduces TDS, giving you crisp, clean, bottled-water-quality taste.

🪶 Sodium

What It Is: Naturally occurring salt in some water sources or added through softening.
Effects:

Taste: Slightly salty if levels are high.
Feel: Makes softened water feel slick or silky.
Solution: For drinking water, use reverse osmosis to remove excess sodium while keeping your whole-home water soft.

🌿 Organic Compounds (from Decay or Algae)

What They Are: Naturally occurring organic materials in lakes, rivers, or reservoirs.
Effects:

Taste/Smell: Musty, earthy, or swampy.
Feel: No noticeable feel change, but can affect coffee or tea flavor.
Solution: Carbon filtration removes these organic compounds and improves taste.

Honest Water Company of Lubbock

Honest Water Company of Lubbock

Water Quality Testing

💧 What Minerals and Elements Affect How Your Water Tastes, Smells, and Feels

🪨 Calcium & Magnesium

🧂 Iron

🧫 Sulfur (Hydrogen Sulfide Gas)

🧴 Chlorine & Chloramine

⚙️ Manganese

🧊 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

🪶 Sodium

🌿 Organic Compounds (from Decay or Algae)

Think Your Water Might Be Causing These Problems?

Honest Water Company of Lubbock

Honest Water Company of Lubbock

Water Quality Testing

💧 What Minerals and Elements Affect How Your Water Tastes, Smells, and Feels

🪨 Calcium & Magnesium

🧂 Iron

🧫 Sulfur (Hydrogen Sulfide Gas)

🧴 Chlorine & Chloramine

⚙️ Manganese

🧊 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

🪶 Sodium

🌿 Organic Compounds (from Decay or Algae)

Think Your Water Might Be Causing These Problems?

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