What Do We Do?

A lot of people do not really know what we do - friends, customers, suppliers . . . A lot of people have heard of us, know our name and know some of what we do but I want to take this opportunity to answer the question.

45 years ago, Andy Holmes saw a need for water treatment and became a Culligan dealer. Through his and other's marketing efforts, "Hey Culligan Man!" became one of the best recognized corporate slogan - but it still doesn't say what he did. 

12 years ago, after searching for better equipment, we became an Ecowater dealer. We developed our slogan "At Holmes Ecowater, we make your home's water - better!"  It does a better job of telling what we  do, but many didn't know what it really meant.

Contact with us is the best way to find out what we really do.

• Rural homeowners that had untreated well water that caused staining or smelled bad found out that we fix well water
• Or if they had dugout water that was contaminated or dirty found out that we fix surface water
• Or if they had bad tasting water found out that we made their water taste better
• People in the city that got tired of bathtub ring, scummy showers, dingy clothes, dry itchy skin found out that we made their water feel better
• People that were spending too much on soaps and detergents, clothes and linens weren't lasting as long as they should, paying too much to heat their water found out that we made their water save money
• Those living in the city that didn't like the taste of chlorine found out that we made their water taste better 
• Families that became concerned about chemicals or other contaminants in their drinking water found out that we made their water safer
• And for many years, when people wanted to just get great water from a water cooler found out that we made great water for them to take home.
• When businesses saw spots on dishes, high cleaning expenses, scaling plumbing or production problems, they found out we make their water a valuable business partner.
• When people visited places like Vancouver and noticed how much better water could be, they found out that we can bring that vacation water to their homes
• When people worried about greenhouse gases, carbon footprint, and the environment, they found that Our products are Zero Footprint
  
  Certified, We recycle our cartridges and our systems reduce your impact on the environment.
• When concerns came up about chemicals in the plastics, energy consumption making and transporting bottled water, We discontinued bottled water and offer bottleless water coolers.

When you see all of this and consider that we work on commercial and industrial water as well as residential, you can see that our slogan doesn't tell you all that we do, but until we can find the perfect one - remember:

At Holmes Ecowater, We Make Your Home's Water - Better!

What is Water Hardness?

We hear a lot about water hardness, but what is it, where does it come from and what does it do?

Chemically, water hardness is made up mostly by Calcium and Magnesium. 

Water is called the universal solvent, dissolving some of almost anything it comes in contact with. And when it comes in contact with limestone or similar rock formations, it dissolves these hardness minerals. The more of these minerals it dissolves, the harder the water becomes. Hardness is most commonly measured in Grains per Gallon or Milligrams per Liter 

Water Hardness Scale
Grains Per Gallon	Milligrams Per Liter (mg/L)or Parts Per Million (ppm)	Classification
less than 1.0	less than 17.1	Soft
1.0 - 3.5	17.1 - 60	Slightly Hard
3.5 - 7.0	60 - 120	Moderately Hard
7.0 - 10.5	120 - 180	Hard
over 10.5	over 180	Very Hard

Most surface water supplies in Southern Alberta range from 9 - 15 grains per gallon hard. 

When water is just 7 grains hard, the amount of hardness in 1,000 gallons is 1 pound. That means a family of 4 in this area will bring the equivalent of a 150# boulder into their home each year.

When hard water is heated, it forms scale. This scale builds up in pipes, water heaters and appliances. You have probably noticed this scale formation in kettles. If you have every carried out your old water heater and carried in the new one, you will no just how much rock is in the old tank. Scale acts as an insulator in your water heater. You wouldn't want to put a brick between your stove and your pot! Just 1/8" of scale costs an extra 18% to heat.  Studies have shown that gas water heaters operating on hard water will cost an extra 29% over the life of the heater. 


Another problem of hard water is its reaction with soap. A soap curd forms. I'm sure we have all seen film on shower tiles and doors, and bathtub ring. This is soap curd. you will get this even if you don't step foot in the bath if you put soap in hard water. This soap curd gets on everything that is washed with soap and hard water - dishes, clothes, your skin - many people experience dry itchy skin after bathing in hard water.

Recently, the Water Quality Association completed a couple of studies showing The benefits of softened water - Energy Savings and Detergent Savings. Check it out here!

You owe it to yourself to try soft water. Contact us for more information on our FREE Trial!

Water Conservation

Canadians are among the highest per capita water users in the world

On Average, How Much Water Do the Following Activities Take?

Taking a Bath or Shower      50-120 Liters  

Watering the Yard              700 Liters

Washing the Dishes            50-225 Liters

Washing Clothes                200 Liters

Washing the Car                350 Liters

Brushing Your Teeth            4 Liters

Cooking                            40 Liters

Drinking                            2 Liters

Flushing the Toilet (once)    15-25 Liters

How Much Water Does It Take To Produce 1 Serving of:

Lettuce                             20 Liters

Wheat Bread                     50 Liters

Rice                                130 Liters

Milk                                250 Liters

Steak                           9,800 Liters

Typical Breakfast for 1       800 Liters

Typical Lunch for 1         5,400 Liters

Typical Dinner for 1      11,000 Liters

How Can We Save Water?

• There are a number of ways to save water and they all start with you
• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher when they are full. You can save up to 4,000 Liters a month
• Put food colouring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. Fixing it can save up to 4,000 Liters a month
• Use a water-efficient shower head. They are inexpensive and easy to install; and you can save up to 2,800 Liters a month
• Turning the tap off while brushing your teeth can save 95 Liters a month
• A tap leaking 1 drop of water per second wastes more than 25 Liters of water a day - That's 9,000 Liters a year
• High efficiency Ecowater water softeners will use less than half of the salt and water of other systems
• Zero Waste Drinking Water systems are available.