Should I install a Water filter or Soft
robteed
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Should I install a Water filter or Soft water treatment. We dug a new well 240′ deep. The water has a sulfur odor. The neighbor says his
water doesnt stain the sink or toilet, doesnt have a water filter.
He does have the odor though.
We havent given much thought to this problem at this time as we are still building. Any thoughts are welcome.
Replies
Robteed,
Good water is important if you are to enjoy your home. First have your water tested to see what's in it, I had a rotten egg smell in my well water that was caused by an Iron bacteria. My well is only a couple years old and I had not had that problem before, the well tests show that I have fairly high sulfates and very low nitrates (thank goodness). The sulfur or rotten egg smell was most pronounced first thing in the morning in the shower and diminished rapidly after about 10 minutes but was still noticeable. I was overdue to chlorinate my well anyway so I dumped in about five gallons of bleach in it and ran a hose back from the house and into the well to mix it for about an hour. Then I purged all the pipes and fixtures and let it set for about 10 hours before flushing the pipes and the well by letting the tubs run for about 1 hour. No more rotten egg smell, however I could smell the bleach just a little for about two days afterward. I do this once a year, and it is important to make sure you fill all the fixtures and tanks with the bleach well water, don't forget the hand spray heads on the kitchen sink and the brine tank on the water softner. My system consists of a one horsepower pump about 30 feet down the cased well, a 50 micron whole house filter before the 85 gallon pressure tank, the outside taps are split off, then a 5 micron filter and a water softner, then a 5 stage reverse osmosis system for the ice maker and drinking/cooking water. The drinking water never did have a problem smelling like rotten eggs like the shower did. I just got done exhibiting at our State Fair and I was right next to a company called Hague Water Treatment and they have a unit that seems to be more than a water softner in that it treats the water for bacteria too. If it is all they claim it is then it might be worth the 2000 to 3000 that they want for it. This company wants to sell you a package deal that runs around $5000 but I'd never go for that, just the equipment is all I would get. I got my R.O. unit at Sam's and it was around $150 and works great. First step is to get it tested and then see what kind of equipment you will need to get to deal with it. Good luck!
Hey Sniper,
Thanks for all the info. This should help
My wellwater is strongly sulfurous (sp?), and we solved it with a chlorine injector (which, by itself is pretty inexpensive). No bacteria, but the water was also very hard, so we installed a water softener, as well.
When I first moved into my house, only the toilet and one cold-water tap in the kitchen was connected to the well. Everything else drew from the basement cistern ... nice soft rainwater. That worked fine until a stray cat got into the basement, and drowned in the cistern. The water was tasting mighty foul when I finally discovered the carcass ... yuck! (The cistern water wasn't potable, but I did brush my teeth with it.)
Good luck ... have your water tested as a first step.
Filters and softeners do different things. You have to test your water to see what's in it.
Softeners remove only calcium and magnesium (these cause "hardness"), replacing them with sodium, and sometimes potassium. They can remove some iron but only in one of two valence states. They won't remove any other contamination, including sulphur.
Filters come in all kinds. Particulate filters remove only particles. If your water does not have any grit or cloudiness caused by particles then a particulate filter won't do anything. In fact, it's a place that bacteria can breed, so you wouldn't install one unless it's needed. Activated carbon filters remove organics and organic odors, but don't do much for sulphur. There are many other types of filters, too.
If your water is hard, I recommend a softener. This house I'm in now is the first place I've lived with hard water. It really leave a mess in the shower and dishwasher, nothing comes clean. After the softener went in, I have to clean the shower much less often, I can use much less detergent in the wash, and the dishes come out of the dishwasher without a hazy white film.
That water test is a definite necessity if you aren't to just start shooting in the dark for an answer and cure. Make sure you get the heavy metal tests as well as those for nitrates and nitrites. That heavy metal test should reveal if you have an arsenic problem as well.
Water problems and their cures is a pretty complex subject depending upon what all is in there. It's not something that can really be diagnosed to the degree necessary on a forum, but there has been some good advice given so far IMO.
For general ideas of the causes and basic treatments for basic water problems, try the link below. Just keep in mind that when more than one problem exists, treatment for all of them simultaneously becomes a bit more complex.
http://www.goodwaterco.com/e-comprob.phtml
As has already been stated, sulfur odors in water can have a couple of different causes. The water test should narrow things down. However, a test for hydrogen sulfide gas being emitted from the well needs to be done on site.
You should get a sulphur treatment system installed for your well water.
https://watercare.ie/hydrogen-sulphide-removal-systems/
well, soft water is a pre-filter system, it could remove most of the segment, dust, and the water filter system, normally there are 2 types, under reverse osmosis water filter, countertop reverse osmosis water filter, you could find more information by this articles.
https://www.simpurelife.com/blogs/blogs/how-to-choose-reverse-osmosis-system?_pos=1&_sid=78ca3a4f7&_ss=r
The original posting is quite old, but seems to indicate that the rotten-egg smell is not in the drinking water, but only in the shower. This characteristic is indicative of hydrogen sulfide emitting bacteria in the hot water heater. If, indeed, this is the case, then a powered anode in the hot water heater is a simple solution.
I installed a powered anode from Corro-Protec in a friend's water heater and the smell disappeared in a day or so. This only works if the rotten-egg smell is only on the hot water side. If the smell is on both cold and hot water sides, then more expensive treatments are required...