Ensure Water Quality in Your Home and Know What to Do if You Smell Gas

Getting mail is fraught with risk, though it's not about getting unabombed, which is one of the things I worry about less than other things.

For instance, the other day, from the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, I received the Drinking Water Quality Report for 2010. Not exactly bedtime reading.

One side of my brain tries to throw this kind of thing in the recycle bin right away. But that's the Wuss side of my brain that always loses out to the Big Bully side, who insists on having a look.

TIPS TO ENSURE WATER QUALITY IN YOUR HOME is what it said on the front page.

Now I ask you, who can resist a headline that has "tips" in it? I must not be the only one, because whenever it's Tip Day on my Confessions of a Worrywart blog, I get a bump in the number of pageviews.

Now that I've read these water quality tips, I am stuck having to spend time removing and cleaning faucet aerators or, if I don't, I'm stuck worrying that I haven't done so.

If you are not afraid to read further to learn all the things you haven't been doing (if you are like me) but ought to have been doing, here are the tips:

• Run the cold water tap for two minutes before using it for drinking and cooking. Water quality can decline when it sits in pipes for a few hours.
• Do not use hot tap water for drinking and cooking. Sediment and metals build up in the water heater.
• Remove and clean faucet aerators.  Particles can collect in the aerator screen located at the tip of your faucet.
• Replace filter cartridges routinely. Sediment and bacteria can accumulate.
• Drain your water heater annually. Sediment and metals build up.
• Replace old household pipes. Aging pipes can cause discolored water and pressure issues.
• Flush your taps if you replace water pipes or fixtures. Flush cold-water taps at least five minutes for three days to remove any particles.

One day after receiving the water quality tips, "Energy Essentials" arrived in the mail, tucked neatly into the envelope with my bill from Washington Gas.

As a worrywart, I now consider it my responsibility to also share with you some of the gas leak hazards outlined in this flyer:

Distribution pipelines . . . can have an impact on people and property if they are damaged by digging or excavating. So call your gas company to locate the lines before you begin any digging, gardening or excavating.

What to Do If You Smell Natural Gas

• Do not attempt to locate the source of the odor. Call 911 or your gas company's emergency leak line.
• Leave immediately if the odor is very strong or you hear a hissing noise. Try to warn others as you exit.
• Do not turn electrical equipment or light switches on or off.
• Do not light a match.
• Do not use any type of battery-powered equipment.
• Do not start your car or any other type of motorized equipment.
• Call 911 ONLY AFTER you have reached a safe distance away from the building or area.
• Follow the same precautions if you are outside and smell natural gas.

Other clues to gas leaks:

• Hissing or blowing noises
• Dirt being thrown into the air
• Fire coming from the ground or appearing to burn above ground
• Water bubbling or being blown into the air at a pond, creek or river
• A dry spot in a moist field or dead or dying vegetation on or near a pipeline right-of-way

I have never heard of draining a water heater, have you? I'd love some votes on this!