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When Should You Consider Water Filtration?

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When Should You Consider Water Filtration

The number of fairly high-profile water contamination cases that have occurred across the country in recent years means that water quality is really something we all should pay more attention to. Your local water treatment plant is obviously supposed to properly filter and treat the water supply to ensure that it is safe to drink. However, the truth is that, despite the best efforts of local governments, drinking water still often contains contaminants. For this reason, it is important that every homeowner understands the signs of contamination as this will make it easier to determine whether or not your home could benefit from a water filtration system.

Does My Home Need a Water Filtration System?

The most obvious and most effective way to determine whether or not your home needs a water filtration system is to have your water tested. In addition to determining whether or not your water is contaminated, a water quality test will also tell you exactly what types of contaminants are present. This is important as some types of filtration systems only filter out certain types of contaminants, such as bacteria, which means that you might need to choose a system capable of filtering out chemical contaminants if this is an issue.

Signs That You Might Need Water Filtration

Although having your water quality tested is always a good option, there are actually a number of other ways that you can easily tell if your water might be contaminated. Therefore, it is important that you also pay attention for any of the following issues.

Bad Smells. Water isn’t supposed to have a smell, which means that if your water suddenly does smell off it could be a sign that it’s contaminated.

Funny Taste. Although the tap water in many locations doesn’t exactly taste great, you’ll still want to be aware for any changes in the taste. In this case, you’ll want to pay special attention that your water doesn’t suddenly taste bitter or metallic as these could be signs of potentially harmful elemental or chemical contamination. If you do notice a taste, stop drinking the water immediately until you can either have it tested or install a filtration system.

Discoloration. Water that is any color except clear indicates that it contains some other contaminants. If your water sometimes turns brown or red, it usually indicates that you have rusty plumbing. However, if you notice any other colors, you’ll need to make sure to immediately seek professional assistance and have your water tested as colorful water is a sure sign of chemical contamination.

Unusually Brittle Hair or Dry Skin. Water treatment facilities use a number of chemicals to treat water and eliminate bacterial and biological contaminants. Unfortunately, these chemicals are not always filtered out properly, in which case they may cause your skin to dry out or your hair to become overly dry and brittle. Therefore, if you suddenly notice either of these issues, it’s a good idea to have your water tested or consider installing a filtration system.

Clean drinking water is one of our most basic needs. Unfortunately, recent events show that you can’t always rely on the government to actually ensure that your water supply is clean and safe to drink. Therefore, it is essential that you pay attention for any of the signs of contamination, and if you do notice any of them, immediately consider having a water filtration system installed.

Starting A New Photography Business?

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Starting A New Photography Business

If you’ve dreamed of being a photographer for years, and you’ve decided to take the leap now, well done! You’ve made a brave decision, but it is one which will reap great rewards if you heed advice and take the right steps.

It’s always a good idea to listen to professionals in the business, those who have been doing this for a long time, and have probably made all the mistakes for you. Listening to their advice means that you can avoid the mistakes they made, and this clears the road to success for you.

To help you on your path to photography success, here are a few tips to bear in mind.

Create a website as your first step

Nobody gets anywhere without an online portfolio these days, because everyone looks on the Internet when they are trying to hire someone, for any job at all. Make sure your site is professional, it looks the part, and it shows your best work. Remember to have clear contact details, and keep updating regularly.

Freelance on the side first

It’s all very well and good being gung-ho and quitting your day job, sure in the knowledge that you’re going to succeed, but you need a back up plan, and you need to also see if this is going to work for you first. Slowly slowly is always the best plan of action. On top of this, it’s very easy for a creative mind to get overloaded from time to time, so having your main job is something which will help you keep balance in your mind.

Answer queries straight away

Don’t hand around waiting to answer someone’s query; the longer you wait, the more chance there is of them going somewhere else. Answering a question won’t take long, but it could be the difference between getting that gig, or it going to someone else.

You are going to fail, and you are going to miss jobs

You need to make peace with the fact that you’re going to make the odd mistake from time to time, and it’s okay. You will learn harsh lessons in any creative profession, especially such a competitive one, but you need to learn from them every time.

Streamline your equipment

Yes, you need the odd bit of equipment for specialist jobs, but really, if you have a top quality camera, you don’t need all manner of added extras, it just complicates things. Narrow your lenses down to three, or you could even go as far as two, provided you know how to use them in the best possible way. You don’t want to be carrying more heavy equipment from job to job than is necessary!

Always back up your work

Do not rely on technology, it breaks at some point! Back up any work you do on a memory stick or in an online cloud, and this will give you total peace of mind.

You will be a jack of all trades

When you are a photographer, you’re not just the guy or girl taking the photos, you are your own manager, your own decision maker, your own book-keeper, your own website manager, you’re basically everything, and you need to prioritize your time accordingly. As your business grows, as it surely will, it might be an idea to consider hiring someone who can help you, perhaps with your website needs, if this is not something which is your strong point.

It’s about how you treat people

Photography is a very hands-on and personalized job, and you will be dealing with people in real situations, sometimes personal situations, such as a wedding day, for example. For this reason, the most basic of things needs to be in your mind – manners and personality. This could be the difference between a word of mouth referral to someone else, resulting in another job, or negative feedback, which can be very damaging indeed.

With more than 30 years of confirmed efficiency and effects, all of us pride ourselves at Philip O’Neill Photography with a dedication to top quality with each customer we work together with. Visit them site at www.philiponeillphotography.com.