How To Purify Well Water for Drinking?

Well water can be full of impurities. It’s bound to be, because of how it comes to be in that well. It falls from the sky, pure as you like, then continues through whatever pollution is in the air near the ground and onto the ground itself. Through the grass, mud, or whatever, where people have been walking themselves and their dogs, and down through the layers of soil and rock. There could be fertilizer or pesticide on the surface or further down. There could be traces of feces. Pollutants, contaminants, and all sorts of things you just don’t want to consume food and drinks.

In addition to what might be seen as traditional impurities – everything from lead to arsenic – that might be found in our water, the US Environmental Protection Agency has in recent years added a new generation of hazardous substances known as forever chemicals. These are the sorts of chemicals hailed as brilliant because of what they make possible, such as waterproofing and making fabrics stain-resistant or grease-resistant.

Like many man-made substances, these arrived in the world via laboratories and were used for practical purposes before the downsides were fully understood. They can be toxic in small amounts, and they are called forever chemicals because they are incredibly difficult to break down. In recent years we have become accustomed to the word biodegradable and how important it is when the planet is becoming choked with plastic. Forever chemicals may not be physically presenting a problem, but they exist, and they don’t go away.

If you use well water, have you ever considered the journey your precious H2O takes before it emerges through a pipe into your kitchen or bathroom? You wouldn’t eat the soil, because another word for it is dirt, and everybody knows dirt is bad. But how to purify well water for drinking: that is a serious question.

This is a Job for Professionals

The idea of using a filter to get rid of impurities in water is a long-established one. Sand can act as a filter at a basic level. Coffee filters are made of very porous paper that allows color and flavor through but keeps the coffee solids back. Even sieves and colanders are forms of filter, albeit very primitive by the standards we are considering here.

Household water filters can take the chlorine smell and taste out of water, but they are powerless to deal with many of the other nasties that are coming through the faucet. At this stage, you won’t know what is in the water. Your only clues will be the smell and taste - for instance, sulfur causes a rotten egg smell, while excess iron can lead to a metallic taste. You may also be alarmed by the amount of limescale, the crust inside your kettle. This is calcium and indicates what is known as hard water, which can damage household appliances and leave your skin and hair feeling and looking less than ideal after a shower.

The first task is to find out just what the undesirables are in your water, and this can be done by sending a sample to a laboratory for testing. This, though, leaves the issue of doing something about it. A better course of action is to contact a water purity company first. Some will carry out a test free of charge. This will tell you exactly what you are dealing with, and the company can then recommend what kind of filter you need. With the problem in the hands of the professionals, you will be on your way to pure, supremely healthy drinking water.

With the appropriate well water filter installed, you can have the best of both worlds: the good feeling of having your own, independent water supply, and the knowledge that all is well as regards what it contains.