Understanding the Basics of Microfiltration
Hospitals and healthcare facilities are becoming more aware of the dangers of waterborne pathogens that can exist in their manmade plumbing systems. With growing concern of preventing infections, point-of-use (POU) filtration has been more frequently used in the healthcare market to aid in reducing bacteria counts found in water. However, not all filters are created equally, and it is important to understand the basics of microbiological filtration.
We detected the presence of Legionella in one or more of our building water systems….. Now what do we do? This is probably the second most commonly asked question, surpassed only by: “Do I have to test my water systems for Legionella?” Often the question is posed this way:
“We recently performed Legionella testing on our building water systems and found one or more positive sample results. What should we do about it?”
A Growing Problem
Each day people all over the world are exposed to ice. Whether it be from their refrigerator ice machine, their favorite restaurant, during their hospital stay, or on an airplane, people sip on their ice cold beverages or suck on ice chips unaware of the microorganisms that could be sitting dormant within the ice.
What's required and what is my sampling plan?
The simple answer is no (not directly), and here’s why: There is no known safe level of Legionella in a building water system. Therefore, even a non-detect sample result is not necessarily “safe.” The reason why is because the life cycle of this organism, coupled with the stresses put on it via temperature, disinfectants, etc. found within building water systems, may cause it to enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state.
What You Need to Know
Chlorine and bromine based biocides are widely used for microbiological control in cooling tower systems. These halogen compounds form strong oxidizing agents in water, which is how they kill bacteria and other microorganisms. Routine testing is important to confirm effective halogen residuals are maintained. Low residuals can result in poor microbiological control. High residuals can cause corrosion and destroy inhibitors.
Water softeners are ion exchange systems designed to remove scale-forming calcium and magnesium ions prior to boiler, cooling, and reverse osmosis systems. The amount of hardness a softener can remove between regenerations is known as the softener capacity and can be expressed either in grains or in gallons. Capacity is important when sizing, configuring, or troubleshooting a softener.
How Blended Water Supplies Impact Water Treatment
The source(s) of water supplied to cooling towers, boilers, and processes may vary greatly daily or even hourly. The impact this has on water systems must be closely monitored to avoid scale, deposits, corrosion, inefficient water usage, and other negative impacts on operational costs.
Chem-Aqua representatives are frequently asked, “How often do I need to test my water?” The answer to this question is as varied as the systems that Chem-Aqua treats. There are a number of factors that go into determining the “best practice” for each facility. Typically, these factors are:
How to Keep Your Cooling Tower Clean
Every spring we welcome the milder weather, and with it, various plant and animal life. However, not all of nature’s gifts are beneficial to our evaporative cooling systems; especially the outdoor cooling towers that reject heat from our commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities. Late wintry storms can cause ice and snow accumulation. Heavy rain and hail can disrupt the anticipated easing of the harsh environmental conditions of winter.
How Should You Stay Cool?
When seeking to cool a large scale commercial or industrial facility, insufficient information often leads to an unsatisfactory solution. While some stakeholders choose water-cooled chillers because they believe the cooling tower in these systems offers more efficiency, others prefer air-based cooling systems because of the less prohibitive upfront price. And with recent technological advances made in both air and water-based chilling systems, determining which option is the right fit has become even more challenging. To decide which system best suits a specific project’s needs, it’s important to understand the pros and cons associated with each option.