Q&A about UV Water Purification Systems.

This article series explains procedures & reasons for using permanently-installed UV light (ultra violet light) treatment systems to address bacterial contamination in drinking water or well water - one of the options for correcting unsanitary or unsatisfactory drinking water.

UV - Ultraviolet light as a Water Purifier FAQs

These questions & answers about UV water treatment systems used to disinfect drinking water were posted originally at UV ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT WATER TREATMENT - be sure to review that information.

On 2018-04-24 by (mod) - Do uv lamps lite up the full length of the tube?

Yes, for the ones that I have seen. I suspect your bulb is burned out. Of Course it also makes sense to check with the manufacturer.

On 2018-04-24 by Larry

Do uv lamps lite up the full length of the tube? Mine does not. Just on the ends.

On 2018-03-10 by (mod) -

Mike

Here we are talking about using a UV light to treat water for bacterial contamination. That treatment takes place ahead of ALL other water equipment, including your water heater.

However a water heater can develop its own bacterial contamination.

See WATER HEATER CAUSES of WATER ODORS https://inspectapedia.com/water/Sulphur_Odor_in_Water.php#Water_Heater

See WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT DISINFECTION - https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water_Equipment_Disinfection.php - how to disinfect water filters, water heaters, water tanks, activated charcoal systems, water softeners, sulphur treatment & other water treatment equipment.

Also see DRAIN a WATER HEATER TANK - https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Hot_Water_Tank_Drain_Procedure.php - for advice on how to flush the water heater.

On 2018-03-10 by Mike

Do you need to let the bleach enter hot water tank as well or not?

On 2017-10-08 by (mod) - otters in the Georgian bay not a source of contamination

Bev
Otters in the Georgian bay would not alone be a significant cause of a coliform problem in your water. More-likely the system needs disinfection and filter replacement.
You do not need to replace a UV bulb based on coliform if it is a year old or less. You'd replace a UV bulb if it were burned-out or if it has aged beyond the manufacturers' recommended usage-life.

On 2017-10-03 by bev

we have a UV20 system. Sediment filter, charcoal filter then the UV bulb. We also have a pre filter that we change monthly. We draw our water from Georgian Bay but we are in a small sheltered Bay on Georgian Bay. We were away for 10 days and I've been told if they are left stagnant for a period of time, it can get contaminated.

We also know that there were Otters in our Bay while we were away.We now have coliform and e coli. We just installed the new bulb in July. We have changed the pre filter, 1st and 2nd filter as required. Can we now just change the pre 1st and 2nd and bleach the system without having to put a new expensive bulb in ?

On 2016-07-13 by Fern Perry

What can I possibly do if my well water fails the coliform test after I've had a 5 micron filter and a UV light tube installed?

Moderator reply:

Fern:

Start with a bacteria test that gives a count so that you know the actual level of coliform contamination in your water supply. If the count is quite high then it's not likely that any UV light will be sufficient. Instead, if you cannot find and fix the source of contamination in your well, you probably need a combination of filtration, chlorination, and possibly also UV.

On 2016-11-01 by mom

how do you determine how many gallons per minute you need to be sanitizing/size of light to purchase. Is there a formula to go by?

On 2016-05-10 by (mod) -

Than

If your water system needs a UV light - typically to try to kill off bacteria in the water supply - and if the UV light is OFF - then the water is not safe to drink. You can solve this problem temporarily by boiling all drinking water until the UV light is fixed. Beware that there are other limitations to the effectiveness of a UV light system and other maintenance required for the light to work properly - discussed in the article above.

Also search InspectrApedia.com for EMERGENCY DRINKING WATER to see other ways you can obtain safe drinking water until your UV system is repaired.

On 2016-05-09 by THAN

IF UV LAMP NOT BE OPEN POWER.THEN DOES IT EFFECT FOR EAT WATER.

On 2016-04-13 by (mod) - UV light on a water system doesn't affect water flow

Anon a UV light on a water system doesn't affect water flow - it just shines light on water passing by. Of course if sludge or mud or debris has collected anywhere in your piping system , including in the light, then not only might the water flow rate diminish, but the UV light will no longer be reliably treating the water.

On 2016-04-13 by Anonymous

Did uv light cause water level decreased fast?

On 2015-12-13 by (mod) -

No, Dianne.

On 2015-12-07 by Dianne

Will UV solve the iron bacteria in my well water?

On 2015-10-19 by Dino

Hello, we have the same issue (water has a glue like smell when the sterilizer is running) on a ship, and the crew reported that after switching off one of the two UV lamps of the sterilizer the smell is gone. Is there a logical explanation for this?

On 2015-10-12 by Anonymous

Query the UV light can affect or ruin the minerals of spring water?

On 2015-10-03 by Nicholas

Hello, I work on a ship and we use chlorine to dose our potable water tanks. We have a UV sterilizer as the last stop before the water goes to the accommodations for consumption. My question is, the shipyard put the rehardeners (we have reverse osmosis water makers) directly before the UV sterilizer.

The rehardener is a dolomite mixture. When we run the UV sterilizer the water that comes out of the taps almost has a glue like smell to it. We have confirmed that the smell of the water is related to the UV sterilizer being in operation.

Do you know if it is the rehardeners being located right before it goes into the UV as the issue? Have you ever heard of this before? Thank you

On 2015-09-24 by (mod) -

No, George, the UV light does not impart significant heat to water flowing through the system.

Why would water out of the cold water tap get hot anyway?

On 2015-09-24 by George Borovan

I have installed a new UV light. Noticed that the water out of cold water tap doesn't get hot when first water is used in the morning. Does this mean the bulb may be defective? If it is defective why doesn't the alarm go off?

...

Continue reading at UV ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT WATER TREATMENT or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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• WATER QUALITY & QUANTITY San Miguel de Allende
• WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT DISINFECTION
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UV ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT WATER TREATMENT FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

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