Is Hard Water Ruining Happy Hour?

Wolverine Water Systems, a Michigan-based water treatment company serving the state since 1947, published a fun seasonal piece on how hard water affects homemade drinks. The setup is simple: nearly 85% of U.S. homes have hard water, and while some beverages genuinely benefit from certain minerals (hard water can enhance hop bitterness in beer and contribute to a richer flavor in whiskey) the average home's tap water is unlikely to have the right mineral ratio to do this well. More often than not, contaminants like iron, manganese, and chlorine get in the way. Professional breweries and distilleries typically soften and purify their water first, then add back specific minerals in controlled amounts to hit their target flavor profile. The piece also makes a good point about ice: hard water produces cloudy cubes that release minerals as they melt, diluting and altering the drink as it sits.

Aquasana published a practical guide on coliform bacteria in well water, one of the most common findings during routine well testing and one that well owners often don't fully understand. The team starts with a useful distinction: coliform itself usually doesn't cause illness, but its presence is a red flag that outside contaminants are getting into the well. Common entry points include cracks in the well casing or cap, flooding, poorly maintained nearby septic systems, and shallow or older wells that don't meet current construction standards. The guide walks through a five-step response: stop using the water for drinking, identify the source of contamination, shock chlorinate the well to kill existing bacteria, add filtration for ongoing protection, and retest to confirm the problem is resolved. On the filtration side, Aquasana recommends a UV system as part of a whole-house well water setup.

Three brands, all push-to-connect, but not interchangeable. In our latest video blog, Darrin walks through exactly which fitting is right for which job. 

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Which fitting for which job: 

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Complete Water Solutions, a Wisconsin-based industrial water treatment company, published a guide on RO membrane maintenance for beverage manufacturers. The core argument is that most premature membrane failures aren't caused by the membrane itself but by what's happening upstream. Poorly done pre-treatment (sediment loading, chlorine breakthrough from carbon filters, hardness minerals) is the primary culprit. The team emphasizes that chlorine is particularly damaging to thin-film composite membranes, and even small amounts passing through a carbon filter can cause permanent damage over time. Beyond pre-treatment, the piece covers routine Clean-in-Place procedures, TDS and pressure monitoring, and the importance of tracking performance trends so gradual declines get caught before they become production problems.

LeverEdge, a water treatment equipment manufacturer, published a guide on why homeowners get lost when they try to buy water treatment products online. The piece identifies four main reasons the online shopping experience breaks down: industry jargon that reads like a foreign language, the illusion that one product can solve every water problem, conflicting reviews driven by affiliate marketing rather than actual performance, and a complete disconnect between clicking "buy" and actually solving a plumbing problem. That last point is the sharpest one, as a filter that works perfectly for a homeowner with mild city chlorine may fail completely for someone managing heavy iron from a rural well, which is why thousands of five-star reviews mean very little without knowing what water problem those reviewers actually had. LeverEdge recommends getting a water test first, looking for NSF or WQA certifications rather than star ratings, and factoring in installation and ongoing maintenance costs.