Experts Can Test if Your Water is Safe

Meet AFCOA. Located in Georgia, Florida, and the Southeast, their mission is to make sure consumers understand what’s in their water. Have you ever asked, “How healthy is my water?” It’s important to find out the quality of the water that you drink, cook with, and bathe and shower in.

AFCOA Water Filtration (Advanced Filtration Companies of America) was founded by Jay and Terry Koerner with the purpose and vision of bringing honesty and integrity to the business of cleaning up water with the highest quality equipment available in the industry. They have more than 37 years of experience in the water filtration industry and are committed to ongoing service and maintenance of equipment that has been installed in their clients’ homes, some of whom have been clients since AFCOA was founded.

According to Jay Koerner, who serves as the CEO and founder of AFCOA, “One of the best decisions you can make for you and your family is to remove chlorine and various potential chemicals from your drinking, showering, and bathing water. Water is so vitally important in your life and your health, and you use it from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed. We contain 60 percent to 70 percent water by volume in our bodies, and the quality of the water can directly relate to the quality of our health.”

Jay Koerner explained, “One might say, ‘You can buy a filter or be a filter’ when it comes to water. We are what we drink. Healthy water is free of any contaminants, impurities, and pollutants that can get into our water. No additives attached to the H2O, just two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The closer your water is to this definition, the healthier it is for you. Unhealthy water can have a wide variety of adverse effects on your health. Many illnesses have been correlated with the quality of water you drink. Unhealthy water can have many different contaminants and impurities, as well as PFOS, and PFAS (the ‘forever chemicals’), and the list goes on.”

“Chlorine is added to protect against waterborne illnesses such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery, to name a few. New Jersey, in 1908, was one of the first communities to add chlorine to the water. Within a few years, most municipalities in the United States joined in. Chlorine is a great oxidizer and has been used for over 100 years to treat our water for immediate bacteriological problems. However, as time goes on, certain illnesses have been linked to having chlorine in the water supply.”

Jay Koerner added, “City and county municipalities have to use chlorine to protect the public health from any bacteriological contamination. Chlorine creates by-products such as THMs. Two-thirds of the chemicals that we get into our bodies typically come directly through our skin from showering and bathing, as well as some that can be inhaled as gaseous vapors while taking hot showers.”

He elaborated, “A whole-house carbon filtration system that’s been designed to remove all VOCs, chlorine, and other contaminants is a great investment for your family’s health and well-being. Whole-house filtration systems are also very popular because they remove all the chlorine, chemicals, and different VOCs that can potentially be in your water supply while you’re taking a bath or showering.”

When dealing with boil water alerts, he suggests a UV (ultraviolet) system which has been found to help break down some pharmaceuticals in the water. It will safeguard your family, so you won’t have to worry about a boil water alert being announced two or three days after the fact. UV systems can work 30,000 times faster than chlorine in dealing with bacteriological issues.

Reverse osmosis is a technology that’s been used for many years. Jay Koerner indicated that it could refine your water down to .0001 μm, effectively removing all salts, heavy metals, and minerals that may or may not be in the water supply. Filtering to this level also removes forever chemicals, lead, toxins, fluoride, and many other unwanted contaminants.

He added, “Alkaline water has been a big hit for the past decade on the supermarket shelves and in convenience stores throughout the U.S. As a go-to beverage, alkaline water is water in which the pH is above 7.0. Alkaline filters can be added to a reverse osmosis system to get the very best water. All impurities will be removed by the reverse osmosis system, then calcium and magnesium minerals are added back to increase your pH (potential of hydrogen), therefore increasing your alkalinity.

“Your water should be tested by a company that focuses on what is in the water supply listed in the quarterly reports, and how these substances can be removed effectively. Regulations now require counties to send you water testing reports to show where the MCL (Maximum Contaminant Levels) are in your specific water that they deliver to your home. Some of the items that are listed on the water quality report you may not even be able to pronounce or certainly not recognize as far as what they are, but they have been found in the water supplies. The Clean Water Act (1972) Report in 1974, 50 years ago, had already found that in public drinking water supply sources such as rivers, lakes, and streams, there were over 2,100 chemical compounds present. We must ask ourselves whether the industry has gotten better over the last 50 years, or have we developed more chemicals and medicines that turn into more chemical compounds over time.”

Jay Koerner advocates that the quality of drinking water is extremely important. He confirms, “That’s why more and more bottled water is being stocked in the coolers and on the shelves at stores. People are becoming more concerned and aware of the quality of water. A drinking water system installed at your home puts the water right there at your fingertips. In most cases, the system can also be hooked up to your refrigerator and icemaker. A reverse osmosis system is the smartest option based on research and convenience. Water filtration, whether it be a drinking system, a whole-house filtration system, or a complete water filtration system, is one of the best investments that you can ever make for your home and health. It protects the longevity of your plumbing, your faucets, your fixtures, and your water heaters. And it certainly also protects your health.”

If you have well water in your home, then you should have it tested at least once a year for bacteriological contamination. Studies have been conducted in different states, and they found that, on average, between 24 to 70 percent of wells tested had contamination, with the percentage varying between state reports. A water filtration expert can do a test on-site and determine what type of equipment is needed for other parameters of your water, such as pH, hardness, iron, and more. Bacteria tests should be sent to a lab for analysis. For more information, you can contact AFCOA at 770-377-3810 or visit afcoawaterfiltration.com.