Water is a good solvent and picks up impurities easily.  Pure water — tasteless, colorless, and odorless — is often called the universal solvent.   “Dissolved solids” refer to any minerals, salts, metals, cations or anions dissolved in water. Total dissolved solids (TDS) comprise inorganic salts (principally calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates) and some small amounts of organic matter that are dissolved in water.

TDS in drinking-water can originate from natural sources, sewage, urban run-off, industrial wastewater and the nature of the piping or hardware used to convey the water, i.e., the plumbing. In the United States, elevated TDS has been due to natural environmental features such as mineral springs, carbonate deposits, salt deposits, and sea water intrusion, but other sources may include: salts used for road de-icing, anti-skid materials, drinking water treatment chemicals, stormwater, and agricultural runoff, and point/non-point wastewater discharges.

High total dissolved solids may affect the aesthetic quality of the water, interfere with washing clothes and corroding plumbing fixtures.

Contact Water Products & Solutions to have your water tested for total dissolved solids.