Do You Know the Most Common Well Water Contaminants?

If you are a homeowner who receives well water, it's important to be aware of various factors that may affect the water in your home. Many wells contain contaminants that can cause plumbing problems or affect your health. Each private well has its own unique issues, but certain chemical compounds are very commonly found in well water. Read on to learn about these compounds and why well water treatment systems can protect your health and your plumbing.

While these two metals are toxic when they occur in very high levels, lower levels of contamination can still cause a number of problems when they’re dissolved in your well water. Iron may leave brown rust stains in your sink, while discoloration from manganese will be closer to black. Furthermore, soaps and detergents don’t have any effect on these stains, and if you resort to bleach or baking soda, you will probably make the stain worse. Iron and manganese dissolved in your drinking water give it an unpleasant taste, but they cause even more problems when they stop being dissolved and build up deposits in your pipes. Clogged plumbing and expensive water system repairs become necessary over time.

The presence of hydrogen sulfide in drinking water is usually the result of sulfur bacteria or decayed plant material, although it can also be created by chemical reactions caused by components in your water heater. Hydrogen sulfide gives your water a “rotten egg” smell, affecting your entire aesthetic experience of using your household’s water. Prevailing scientific advice about this chemical is that if the bad taste doesn’t prevent you from drinking the water, the amount of hydrogen sulfide isn’t high enough to cause health concerns.

If you filter the entire water system in your house, you can protect your plumbing from blockages and spare yourself the worry of wondering whether an off-taste indicates some type of contamination. While you may find iron and manganese in your daily vitamins, that doesn’t mean you want to be ingesting unknown quantities of them every day in your water. HydroCare whole house water filtration system filters out contaminants much better than a tap filter so that every faucet in your home has cleaner, healthier, better-tasting water. To learn more about our simple installation process, contact us today.