Did anyone else (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) read in the
Chronicle that chloramines will negatively affect the gaskets in our
faucets? This would have been in the series of articles the Chron did when
EBMUD said they'd convert to chloramines instead of chlorine for Hetch
Hetchy water.

John Talpa, I know this is out of your line but do you know anything about
this? gaskets 'wearing out' faster? Or hardening becasue of chloramines?

Sounded like total BS when I read the article, but now I'm beginning to
wonder.... of course because a gasket I changed in the shower is dripping
again after only 6 mos... LOL!! Guess my skills don't lend themselves to
plumbing...

K Barrett

K Barrett wrote:

Did anyone else (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) read in the
Chronicle that chloramines will negatively affect the gaskets in our
faucets? This would have been in the series of articles the Chron did when
EBMUD said they'd convert to chloramines instead of chlorine for Hetch
Hetchy water.


EBMUD? You let a organization named EBMUD touch your water? I knew
there was a reason I didn't want to move to Silicone Valley...

Sounded like total BS when I read the article, but now I'm beginning to
wonder.... of course because a gasket I changed in the shower is dripping
again after only 6 mos... LOL!! Guess my skills don't lend themselves to
plumbing...



I bet a charcoal filter would take out the chloramines (and PCBs,
and whatever else...). You can get a whole house filter installed on
your main line pretty inexpensively. Or do it yourself if you don't
mind a torch. But then again, I haven't had city water in a long time.
And John Talpa set me up good for my well water, so I'm sure he knows
the answer.

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit

I would expect it to somewhat reduce the life of rubber gaskets and washers.
They will tend to get hard and lose their elasticity more quickly. However,
in normal use, the chloramine level isn't very high and it probably won't be
a significant change.

As far as your shower is concerned, it probably isn't the chloramines. When
a faucet starts to drip, you compensate by tightening the handle more and
more to stop the drip. Then, when the washer is finally replaced, you
forget to 'lighten up' on the tightening. With the new flexible washer,
over-tightening cuts the surface and damages it.

So, when a faucet drips, fix it quickly. If you do wait, remember to close
down the faucet handle just enough to stop water flow without
over-tightening.

Many municipal suppliers are switching to chloramines because of the problem
with chlorine reacting with organics to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
These byproducts are possible cancer causing agents. Research is being
conducted to determine how significant a risk there is with DBPs.
Chloramine forms less DBPs and is being used more frequently.

John G. Talpa, CWS-VI
Certified Water Specialist
JT Company


"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:v6_ma.225233$Zo.42504@sccrnsc03...
Did anyone else (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) read in the
Chronicle that chloramines will negatively affect the gaskets in our
faucets? This would have been in the series of articles the Chron did when
EBMUD said they'd convert to chloramines instead of chlorine for Hetch
Hetchy water.

John Talpa, I know this is out of your line but do you know anything about
this? gaskets 'wearing out' faster? Or hardening becasue of chloramines?

Sounded like total BS when I read the article, but now I'm beginning to
wonder.... of course because a gasket I changed in the shower is dripping
again after only 6 mos... LOL!! Guess my skills don't lend themselves to
plumbing...

K Barrett

Rob is correct. A good carbon filter will remove the chlorine and
chloramines.

One caveat: Most carbon cartridge filters are not capable of filtering the
whole house water supply.

The common filter housing available in hardware stores, home improvement
stores, etc., is about 10" long and comes with a particulate filter. It
takes out sediment or 'chunks.' It can handle flow rates in the 8-12 gallon
per minute (gpm) range, which is normally adequate.

However, if you put a standard carbon filter in that housing, it is no
longer capable of the high flow rate. A normal 10" carbon filter is rated
for no more than 1 gpm. For carbon to work properly, you need contact time.
To do this, you will have to do one of two things: Slow down the flow, or
increase the amount of carbon that the water is exposed to.

So, if you need to remove chlorine and/or chloramines for the whole house,
you will need to have a much larger unit. In most locations, you will need
a unit that looks like a water softener in size to have adequate flow rates
while removing the chlorine and chloramines. If you try to 'get by' with
the cartridges to save money, you will not remove much of the chlorine or
chloramines. In some locations, I've actually seen the carbon filter
collapse under high flow rates.

John G. Talpa, CWS-VI
Certified Water Specialist
JT Company




"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
K Barrett wrote:

Did anyone else (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) read in the
Chronicle that chloramines will negatively affect the gaskets in our
faucets? This would have been in the series of articles the Chron did
when
EBMUD said they'd convert to chloramines instead of chlorine for Hetch
Hetchy water.


EBMUD? You let a organization named EBMUD touch your water? I knew
there was a reason I didn't want to move to Silicone Valley...

Sounded like total BS when I read the article, but now I'm beginning to
wonder.... of course because a gasket I changed in the shower is dripping
again after only 6 mos... LOL!! Guess my skills don't lend themselves to
plumbing...



I bet a charcoal filter would take out the chloramines (and PCBs,
and whatever else...). You can get a whole house filter installed on
your main line pretty inexpensively. Or do it yourself if you don't
mind a torch. But then again, I haven't had city water in a long time.
And John Talpa set me up good for my well water, so I'm sure he knows
the answer.

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit

Thanks John! I thought the idea about gaskets wearing out sounded like
BS. Now I just gota get motivated this weekend to fix the dang drip. Its
driving me batty.

Kath

"John G. Talpa" wrote:

I would expect it to somewhat reduce the life of rubber gaskets and washers.
They will tend to get hard and lose their elasticity more quickly. However,
in normal use, the chloramine level isn't very high and it probably won't be
a significant change.

As far as your shower is concerned, it probably isn't the chloramines. When
a faucet starts to drip, you compensate by tightening the handle more and
more to stop the drip. Then, when the washer is finally replaced, you
forget to 'lighten up' on the tightening. With the new flexible washer,
over-tightening cuts the surface and damages it.

So, when a faucet drips, fix it quickly. If you do wait, remember to close
down the faucet handle just enough to stop water flow without
over-tightening.

Many municipal suppliers are switching to chloramines because of the problem
with chlorine reacting with organics to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
These byproducts are possible cancer causing agents. Research is being
conducted to determine how significant a risk there is with DBPs.
Chloramine forms less DBPs and is being used more frequently.

John G. Talpa, CWS-VI
Certified Water Specialist
JT Company

"K Barrett" wrote in message
news:v6_ma.225233$Zo.42504@sccrnsc03...
Did anyone else (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) read in the
Chronicle that chloramines will negatively affect the gaskets in our
faucets? This would have been in the series of articles the Chron did when
EBMUD said they'd convert to chloramines instead of chlorine for Hetch
Hetchy water.

John Talpa, I know this is out of your line but do you know anything about
this? gaskets 'wearing out' faster? Or hardening becasue of chloramines?

Sounded like total BS when I read the article, but now I'm beginning to
wonder.... of course because a gasket I changed in the shower is dripping
again after only 6 mos... LOL!! Guess my skills don't lend themselves to
plumbing...

K Barrett