Note: When choosing a test kit for iron in drinking water, keep in mind that you may commonly found iron in one of two forms in water: Ferric and/or Ferrous. Some test kits only test for one type… but the visual iron test kit above manufactured by WaterWorks has a detection range of 0ppm to 5ppm total iron (ferrous & ferric).

What do I do if I find iron, manganese or hydrogen sulfide in my water?

If you’ve tested your water and found one (or more) of those three contaminants, you probably want to know if someone makes a filter to remove them. Conveniently, a Filter Water carries a whole house dual filter system designed to remove iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.

While some filters for manganese, iron and hydrogen sulfide do not address the issue of other possible water contaminants, the Crystal Quest Dual Filter Iron, Hydrogen Sulfide and Manganese Filter System contains a 20″ solid carbon cartridge made with high-grade granulated activated carbon which puts a final polishing touch on the water by removing volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents — if present in the water.

Quite frankly, from what we have read, this filter system uses a number of different filtration components to “get the job done”

A 20″ sediment filter cartridge removes sediment, silt, sand and dirt which would otherwise clog up the other filtration elements and shorten their lifespans.

A (large) special manganese, iron and hydrogen sulfide removal mineral tank does… well, exactly what its name says it does.

In the second large tank, a series of beds containing ERA-9500 media, ERA-6500 media and Granular Activated Carbon remove hundreds of contaminants if they exist in the water.

In the last stage, the 20″ solid carbon cartridge mentioned previously takes out volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents — if present in the source water.

What about when the filter gets ‘full’? What then?

The Crystal Quest Dual Filter Iron, Hydrogen Sulfide and Manganese Filter System comes equipped with an electronic microprocessor that keeps track of filter life and automatically initiates backwash cycles when needed.

Will I need to replace the media?

Even with scheduled backwashing/recharging of the different media types the various filtration elements will need replacing.

• The 20″ sediment filter cartridge has an expected life expectancy of 6 to 8 months.
   
• The 20″ carbon filter has an expected life expectancy of 6 to 8 months.
   
• The iron/manganese/sulfur filtration media has an expected life expectancy of between 5 and 8 years depending upon contaminant concentration levels.

This means a properly installed unit will provide homeowners with quality water for long periods of time without the homeowners needing to perform any sort of maintenance.

Replacement cartridges readily available?

One thing that really irritates most folks… Buying a product and then hot having the ability to locate necessary replacement parts or components. You won’t have that problem with this Crystal Quest Iron/Manganese/Sulfur Filter System because it uses industry-standard filter cartridge sizes (20″ x 2.5″) and the filtration media can easily get replaced.

What metals could do all that?  Scientists debate that question quite often, but the point of the matter is that you don’t want ANY of the metals, debated or otherwise, in your water.

Sources of Metal Contamination in Drinking Water:

Metals find their way into your water supply in a number of ways.  While the water may have left its source (well, city reservoir, etc.) w/o metals in it, the instant it touched ANY metal it automatically picked up some ions — especially if the water had an unusually high or low pH for any reason.

Even if you think your house has all (new) PVC fittings and piping, keep in mind that your water provider does not use PVC piping to run the water from itself to your doorstep.  Oh, and those metal fittings called ‘faucets’ and the screens inside them contain metal as well. (reference)

So as you can see, consumers ought to consider doing a general test for metal ions their drinking water.  Critters such as aluminum, lead, cadmium and so forth can pop up from a number of sources and according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Health Professionals worldwide, people need to limit the amounts of metals they ingest.

Simple Test for Metals in Water:

Just a few short years ago consumers had to rely upon the ‘wisdom’ and ‘training’ of water system consultants (salesmen!) to tell them if they had metals in their drinking water. . . or they could shell out some serious dough and send their water off to a local lab for a complete and thorough analysis — which would tell them more information than they needed, yet probably wouldn’t tell them anything they could use to decide if they had problems with their water.

Thankfully those days have come to an end.  Consumers now have the option of testing their own drinking water for metals at a cost they can afford, and with an amount of ease they can tolerate.  A simple dip-n-read test strip for metals in water that detects levels as low as 10 ppb (typically reverse osmosis water is at this level or lower) and as high as 1,000 ppb (1 ppm) is readily available from a number of vendors.

While SenSafe(TM) Water Metals Check will not tell you specifically what metals your water contains, it will let you know that you may have a reason to have your water looked at by a water industry professional.

Testing for Specific Metals in Drinking Water

For those wishing to test for specific metals in their drinking water, please use the links below to locate information about ion-specific metals in water test kits:

• Arsenic in Water
• Chromium in Water 
• Copper in Water
• Iron in Water
• Lead in Water
• Manganese in Water
• Mercury in Water