Is Your Water Contaminated With Iron? |If you ever lived where iron was a problem in the water, you were probably glad if you were able to move away! Iron in household water systems is one of the biggest nuisances and is the cause of some refusing to live in certain neighborhoods.
Iron problems in water are in two different ionic forms. Ferrous iron, or iron(II) oxide (FeO) is the first. Water out of the faucet containing FeO is clear and colorless. However, FeO rapidly oxidizes when exposed to air and forms ferric oxide, or Fe(III) oxide, or Fe2O3. This iron compound is reddish brown and is used as a cheap red paint pigment. This form of iron causes the stain in the tub, sink, and toilet.
This iron also stains the laundry. Whites lose their whiteness and this dingy coloring cannot be easily removed. It only takes .3 parts of iron per million to cause these staining problems. When we lived in the country on well water, I found my white shirts gradually losing their whiteness, especially on the sleeves. The water was not clear or bad tasting, but the presence of iron showed up in the laundry. The problem was finally solved by adding borax to the whites� laundry.
The staining is a bother, but also the iron leaves a disagreeable metallic taste to the water. Speaking of staining, the iron also reacts with the tannin in coffee, tea, and alcohol, producing an undesirable gray or black appearance.
Here is a simple test to see what kind of iron (if any) you might have in your water. Fill a clear glass with water and let it sit for fifteen to twenty minutes. If all the visible iron falls to the bottom, then you have ferric iron in the water. They are about five microns or smaller, large enough to be filtered out.
If this is the case, a cartridge filter such as an activated carbon or charcoal filter will remove the iron and clear up the water. The particles will lodge in the filter and can be backwashed or scrubbed out when the filter is cleaned.
On the other hand, if the particles did not fall to the bottom, then a cartridge filter will probably not be able to remove them. You will then need to turn to a water softener or an iron removal system. Discussing this is beyond the scope of this article.
Filtering your drinking water with an activated charcoal cartridge filter has added bonuses. Whether or not iron is a problem with the water, many other contaminants, including some that are harmful, are also removed. These include heavy metals, pathogens and bacteria, chlorine and chlorine compounds, nitrates and nitrites, and many hydrocarbons.
Yes, our bodies need iron but not in the form present in contaminated water. Ferric oxide ruins flavoring and stains clothing and plumbing fixtures. Removing iron(III) from your drinking water by means of a cartridge filter is a relatively inexpensive fix.
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