How to Get Rid of Iron in Well Water

A lot of families using well water as their source have this problem of treating the iron contained therein which causes the water to drink unpleasantly and sometimes causes stain. While it is true the iron do not pose health risk, still, homeowners wanted to get rid of it in any way they could. Here are some of the tips in removing such element on your water well.

First and foremost, analyze the water. The yellowing or discoloration of the water may be due to soluble iron (meaning iron dissolves in the water), insoluble iron (meaning iron does not dissolve in the water) or iron bacteria. You must identify the number of gallons your water well is producing per minute, and how much water your household consumes. In analyzing the water, you can have the aid of your public health department which conducts certain laboratory testing or better yet you can ask your friend or your neighbors about it. If your neighbors do not have a problem regarding this, then you may opt to just adjust the depth of your current well or you can also drill a new one.

INSTALLING A WATER SOFTENER

Treatment systems on iron in well water ranges from the very simple to more complex and expensive systems, such as an ozonation system.

If the discoloration of the water is caused by just a minor annoyance, that is, the iron is insoluble, you can jumpstart by installing a simple cartridge filter in the pipe line. But from time to time you have to replace the cartridge filter as it gets clog by the iron.

When further simple lined up filter is necessary, the design of system will depend on the nature of the iron, whether it is soluble or not. If the iron is soluble, it must be turned into insoluble materials through different processes. This includes chlorination, aeration, catalytic filtration and ozonation. After which, when the soluble iron is converted into insoluble materials, then you can filter it out already. There are also water softener and manganese "greensand" systems that eliminate soluble iron through a chemical process called "ion exchange."

The well must be treated with a chlorine solution when iron bacteria are present. It is rather "thorny" to clear a water system totally of iron bacteria. The shocking process engrosses preparing a concentrated chlorine solution and circulating it through the well for and pumping the solution through all of the plumbing to eradicate any bacteria in the pipes.

How to Get Rid of Iron in Well Water

INSTALLING A WATER SOFTENER