Should I Buy A Water Filter

While most people get their drinking water from public water supplies, more than 13 million households in the United States rely on private wells for their drinking water. Well water tin can absorb many different compounds from the surrounding soil — and when levels of compounds similar sulfur get besides high, you lot'll demand to filter it. If y'all're dealing with high levels of sulfur in your drinking supply, learn how to remove sulfur from well h2o.

What Is Sulfur and How Does It Get in Well Water?

Sulfur is a naturally occurring chemical compound. There are two sources of sulfur in well water – sulfates and hydrogen sulfide gas.

Sulfates are a type of salt that contains sulfur. They may exist in the soil and rocks surrounding your well. Equally groundwater and rainwater seep through the soil and rocks, they tin acquit sulfates into your well water.
Hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) can happen naturally when plants or other organic material decays. It tin can also be related to pollution in the water. And when sulfur bacteria feed on sulfates in well h2o, they tin create H2S. You'll demand to remove the H2S from your water and vent the gas from low-lying spaces around your well.

Is Sulfur Harmful?

It depends on the level of sulfates or hydrogen sulfide in the water. In small amounts, these things don't crusade a problem.

Too much sulfate can crusade diarrhea and dehydration. It can also take a bitter taste, clog your pipes with slime and stain your laundry.

Too much H2S causes a rotten egg smell in well water. In big amounts, it tin be poisonous and pb to nausea and illness — simply this is more than likely to happen from breathing the gas than from drinking water. H2S can also corrode pipes and stain your utensils.

How Tin can I Tell If My Well Water Has Sulfur?

There are a few ways to tell if yous have a sulfur problem:

Aroma or sense of taste — Sulfur has a distinctive aroma similar to rotten eggs, and sulfates tin can give h2o a bitter sense of taste. If your well water has sulfur in it, you may notice an unpleasant olfactory property or odd gustation.
Slime or stains — Sulfur bacteria can go out black stains or a white, grey, black or reddish-brown slime on silverware or plumbing.
H2o tests — Get your well water tested every yr, even if you lot don't observe signs of sulfur or other bug. You can find several different h2o testing kits online or in stores. Simply to ensure accurate results, notice a state-certified laboratory to do the tests. And check with your local health department outset, in case they provide these tests for free.

How Tin I Remove Sulfur From My Well Water?

There are many options for removing sulfur from your well water. The all-time choice for yous will depend on the source of the sulfur, how serious the problem is and how much yous're able to spend. Options include:

Activated carbon filtration — Activated carbon filters use small pieces of porous carbon (like charcoal) to attract chemicals in water and filter them out. You can install an activated carbon filtration system every bit a depression-cost and low maintenance solution to remove a low concentration of sulfur — but information technology won't handle high concentrations of sulfur.
Aeration treatment — This is a low-toll and safe solution that adds air to the h2o. This process may reduce the hydrogen sulfide to acceptable levels, simply may not get rid of information technology completely. And information technology won't impale sulfur leaner.
Chlorine bleach — You tin inject chlorine bleach into your water earlier filtration. This is a depression-cost solution that can effectively remove medium-to-high levels of hydrogen sulfide from your h2o. But this method isn't fast-acting, and it also adds sodium to the water and can leave toxic rest.
Potassium permanganate — Y'all tin can utilise potassium permanganate solution in combination with a special type of filter to remove sulfur particles. This process gets rid of several odors, just it can be toxic and may get out your water looking pink.
Hydrogen peroxide — This is a fast and safety solution that leaves no chemical residue and no gustatory modality in the h2o. But an almanac supply of peroxide may be expensive, and then it'southward not every bit common in private home h2o systems.
Ozone gas — This is likewise a fast and prophylactic solution that leaves no chemical balance. Only ozone systems are expensive, and they add together gases to the h2o that you lot then need to vent.

If y'all own a individual well, or are thinking of putting i in, check in with your local wellness department about maintenance procedures to make sure your water is safe for everyday employ. Many health departments offer free water testing to cheque the levels of sulfur and other compounds — and they tin provide more than detailed advice about the best filtration methods.

Resource Links

"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfur Leaner in Well Water" via Minnesota Section of Wellness
"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfate in Private Drinking Water Wells" via University of Massachusetts Amherst
"Individual Drinking H2o Wells" via U.South. Ecology Protection Agency