How to Get Rid of Iron in Well Water?

Iron is one of those elements the human body needs – in very small quantities. It even comes in supplement form for people who are deficient in it, so clearly, medical science has decreed that it is a good thing. But in very small quantities. Carefully controlled.

It is present in red meat, shellfish, spinach, kale, and broccoli. It’s in all kinds of foods and drinks, so if we eat a balanced diet, we take in enough iron to do what it does for our health.

What we don’t need, or want, are large amounts of iron in our water, but if you use well water, you may be getting exactly that. In extreme cases, it can lead to gastrointestinal problems, including constipation and diarrhea. Even if that is not the case, iron can nourish harmful bacteria.

Apart from health issues, iron in water can be a nuisance because it affects the taste. That strange metallic taste that you get sometimes: that is iron. It can spoil the exquisite, delicate flavor of a cup of herbal tea or some subtle recipe.

In the bathroom, it can cause reddish-brown stains where it has dripped for years into a bath or basin. Rust is iron-related, and that is part of the problem.

All things considered, you do not want too much iron in your well water. But how can you get rid of it? Those activated carbon filters with their plastic jugs can do a great job of taking the chemical taint out of your drinking and cooking water, but while they deal effectively with chlorine, they are not guaranteed to get rid of iron. Some such filters claim to do it, but how much do they get rid of? Not all of it.

Well Water Filtration System For Your Needs

No, these store-bought filters have their limitations. If you have excess iron in your well water, you need a well water filter system installed by a professional. The world is full of filters aimed at the do-it-yourself personalities, but you’ve only got to look at some of them to see they are inadequate, outdated ideas trying to get in on the act because water is big business these days.

Ever since those purveyors of bottled water started selling Americans the idea that we could do better than to accept what we were being given, we have been paying attention to something few people even thought about in previous generations.

That is not to say they created unreasonable expectations. The funny thing is that what we want from our water is not more of something but less of everything. No smell, no taste, nothing to see, floating around, microscopic and probably harmless. No calcium, which causes “hard” water (but that’s another story that you can discuss with your water pro when you get one). No sulfur to cause that rotten egg smell. And no iron.

That is a lot to ask when your water is coming from a hole in the ground. Well water is a kind of romantic idea that conjures up a more innocent age when the world was a safer place. But it also takes us back to a time of blind faith, when people thought because their water looked okay and because it was a natural thing, literally a gift from above, it must be perfectly harmless. We know better now, and anyone with a well water supply owes it to themselves and their visitors to get their H2O checked out and get rid of impurities, including another natural and traditionally useful substance: iron.

The first step is to establish if you have excess iron in your water, and this is best done by a water purity expert. Their tests will tell you how much iron is in your water and also what other undesirables are present. Some companies will test your water free of charge, so you will know exactly what you are dealing with and can decide whether or not to do something about it.