Water treatment & radon mitigation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster city and the surrounding townships sit on top of some of the hardest water in Pennsylvania.
Otter Home is a family-owned water and air company serving Lancaster and the rest of Lancaster County. We test first, then recommend only the equipment your test results actually call for — softeners, iron and sulfur removal, acid neutralizers, reverse osmosis drinking water, whole-home air purification and radon systems.
Water chemistry in Lancaster
Lancaster County is built on the Conestoga and Ledger limestone valleys. Rainwater moving through that carbonate bedrock dissolves calcium and magnesium, which is why so much of the county tests in the 15–25 grain-per-gallon range — three to five times the point where scale starts damaging water heaters, dishwashers and fixtures. Farm-country nitrate is the second thing we watch for: shallow wells near cropland and manure application routinely test above the 10 mg/L drinking-water limit.
City water vs. private wells
City of Lancaster homes are on treated surface water from the Susquehanna and Conestoga; move a few miles out toward Lampeter, Bird-in-Hand or Willow Street and most homes are on private wells.
Common well water problems
Very high hardness, nitrate from agricultural runoff, coliform bacteria in older hand-dug or shallow wells, and iron staining in the eastern part of the county.
Municipal chlorination
The Lancaster city system is chlorinated and fluoridated. Chlorine does its job in the main, but it's what leaves the taste and smell at your tap and dries out skin and hair — a carbon filter takes it out at the point of entry.
Radon in this area
Lancaster County averages well above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level in many townships. If you've never tested, it's worth doing — mitigation is straightforward once you know the number.
Other towns we serve
Free water test in Lancaster.
No obligation, no pressure. We test, we explain what the numbers mean, and you decide.