Commercial & Industrial Water Treatment Services in Pittsburgh, PA

Boiler Water Treatment Services

Scale or corrosion, whether through general use or pitting, can cause extensive damage to your boiler. Incorporating boiler water treatment services at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, businesses prevents the development of corrosion and scale, and in turn, keeps your boiler active and efficient.

Our range of services can help a boiler run more efficiently and take care of these damaging threats. We offer:

• A free survey for determining your system’s status and needs.
• Regularly scheduled testing with a customized chemical treatment plan.
• Boiler care during peak use and the off-season.
• Scale and corrosion prevention methods.
• Continued maintenance at a guaranteed annual price.
• Treatments administered by ISO-certified technicians.

These treatments and services can help you avoid the high costs of scale and corrosion. Scale can cause uneven heat distribution, which wastes energy and warps tubes, and corrosion can cause pitting, steam trap failure and leaking condensate lines. Problems like these may require costly repairs, unplanned downtime and reduced efficiency. Appropriate treatments can better protect your boiler and overall system for improved operations and equipment lifespans.

Our Methods

Boiler setups can vary widely, so we employ a range of different solutions to address different environments. These include:

• Blowdown. This process involves ensuring appropriate concentration cycles by purposefully draining the feedwater from the boiler. Feedwater is then added with a lower concentration of dissolved solids, replacing the “blown down” water and creating a lower concentration of dissolved minerals in the water overall.
• Chemicals. The right chemical solution can consume the kinds of minerals that form scale. Take water softeners, for instance, which remove iron, calcium and magnesium ions from feedwater. Sulfite, on the other hand, can absorb high levels of oxygen in the water that could cause pitting. Other products include those that disperse precipitated crystals, preventing them from settling as deposits. We personalize our treatment plans to include scale prevention, oxygen scavengers, water softening-pre-treatment, return line treatment and general corrosion inhibitors.
• Engineering solutions. We offer equipment like coupon racks and contact headwater meters to provide accurate system monitoring, along with controllers that can automate conductivity bleeds, feeds and readouts. Other equipment options include boiler probes, chemical pumps and boiler blowdown solenoids.

When deciding what combination of methods to use, we conduct thorough testing and analysis to determine which techniques will deliver the right kind of scale and corrosion defense in that specific environment. We have technicians highly trained in water treatment who will work with you to determine the best solution.

Legionella Testing Services

If Legionella takes up residence in your company’s water systems, it could be a source of outbreak, leading to the dangerous Legionnaire’s disease or the less-serious Pontiac fever. Legionella is a bacteria that likes warm, wet environments, such as those in locations with stagnant water, redundant or off-line pumps and permanently capped pipework. Water systems such as air washers, cooling towers and fountains are prime locations for Legionella growth, along with biofilm and slime that grows on the surfaces of bodies of water.

Legionella grows in many of the water systems used to power businesses, so the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) established Standard 188, which outlines Legionella precautions and a water management plan requirement for these companies. This standard applies to many different types of buildings based on the susceptibility of the population or the potential for growth within the building’s systems.

Buildings adhering to Standard 188 include those with:

• Centralized hot water heaters.
• More than 10 stories.
• Occupants over the age of 65.
• One or more water features.
• Inpatient health care.
• A whirlpool or spa.
• Free chlorine over .5 parts-per-million.

Legionella has a unique pattern of growth, so testing for it can be difficult. This bacteria is generally consumed by an amoeba, multiplying from within until the amoeba explodes into the water supply. That means it can grow from undetectable levels to high levels very quickly. Working with experts ensures careful monitoring and a treatment plan developed with a knowledge of the different species and serogroups of Legionella.

Our Methods

When providing Legionella testing services to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, businesses, we partner with leading testing services for accurate information and carefully address the behavior of Legionella in your water system environment to create your treatment plan. Our ISO-certified technicians conduct thorough testing and implement control solutions with a variety of chemicals and equipment that meet your business demands.

Biocides and chemicals are often sufficient, but not always. Engineering solutions and maintenance and cleaning processes are also important. Remember that your demands can change as work operations evolve, and Chardon Labs can keep up with these changes for a dependably clean system.

In addition to Legionella control, monitoring and testing, we also assist with other aspects, like:

• Education.
• Risk assessment.
• Consultations.
• Water management plan development.
• Implementation assistance.
• Cooling tower cleaning.

If your business needs a water management plan according to Standard 188, we can help you develop one through comprehensive surveys and risk assessments, along with an expert evaluation of the results, implementation and best practices to utilize moving forward.