Drinking water contaminants and water quality characteristics vary across a water distribution network, from neighborhood to neighborhood — and even from residence to residence depending upon the age of the residence and each residence’s type of plumbing in-home and connecting the home to the public water system.

With that said, today we will address an inquiry sent in by ‘Katherine L’ in Cincinnati who asked the following:

Hi, we just bought our first house (near Cincinnati OH), a long home, with a well. When we first had the water tested while under contract it was during the rainy season in the spring so we were told that having 1 coliform bacteria unit was no unusual. Regardless, we bought a UV for that. We moved in in August and found that a water softener had been used on the house during the testing, so since then we have discovered iron, lot’s of iron and iron bacteria and slippery total solids (please correct that last bit!). We are using bottled water until we figure out which solutions are good for us. There are so many systems out there, we can’t decide what we really need!

First off, it seems as though Katherine has already gone and had her water tested by a certified water testing laboratory — and we think that a very wise move on her part since one must know what contaminants need removing before he or she can make an educated decision regarding a water filtration system.

Iron in drinking water

While not bad enough to make the EPA’s Primary Drinking Water Standards list, iron in drinking water can create a host of problems for people in the form of unwanted staining, unpleasant tasting water, discolored water, and clog forming iron deposits.

One can test for the presence of (ferrous & ferric) iron using a simple total iron test kit which allows users to test for total iron levels between 0.3 and 5.0 mg/L (ppm) in a matter of minutes.

Or, if one suspects a serious amount of dissolved iron in their water, the Ida’s Iron Check made by WaterWorks has the ability to detect concentrations of dissolved iron as high as 50 ppm in a short period of time and without complicated laboratory equipment or specialized training.

OK, so now you know you have iron. How does one get the iron OUT of drinking water?

Easy answer: Filtration.

More realistic answer: “The correct filtration system for one’s unique iron in water concentration.”

Very few situations in drinking water remediation (the correction of water quality issues) have simple solutions and every water quality situation presents a unique challenge. Therefore it stands to reason that not every water treatment system will have what it takes to correct every possible water quality problem.

Based upon your water test results, carefully read through the specs of various water filtration devices to make certain the unit you select will remove the amount of iron and type of iron present on your water.

Can I use a water softener to remove iron?

Despite what some folks may tell you (while trying to sell you a water softener), you should not attempt to use a water softener as a line of defense against iron in water. The iron will clog the softener and cause the unit to need much more frequent regeneration, backwashing and service visits — all of which wind up costing YOU more money.

For more information on why you should not use a water softener as a filter for iron we suggest taking a look at an earlier article we wrote called Can I Use My Water Softener as an Iron Filter?… and then not use your water softener as an iron filter.

What iron filter would you recommend?

Obviously, since we work closely with both Filter Water and Filters Fast, we suggest beginning your search with either one of those companies.

No matter what filter system you decide on, make SURE it comes with a sediment pre-filter. Otherwise you will find yourself having to backwash your iron filter a lot more often than you’ll enjoy!

We have had many people ask us about potential problems and/or dangers associated with the presence of iron in drinking water since we started the Water Testing Blog. We attribute the public’s interest in iron in drinking water to its ability to stain fixtures, clog certain types of filters, stain clothes, ruin the taste of food and beverages, cause water to have an unpleasant taste, etc.

Despite all those drawbacks to the presence of iron in drinking water, it does not, at least according to the current Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Standards set forth by the USEPA, pose much of a health risk.

Note: The USEPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level for iron in drinking water at 0.3 ppm in their Secondary Drinking Water Standards, which deal more with aesthetic properties of water than with health-related issues.

Most often when testing for iron people will test for Ferrous Iron:

* Ferrous — This form of iron results in the most complaints and reasons for examination of water for iron content. If allowed to remain in a state with little oxygen present, this type of iron remains in solution and the water will appear colorless. However, in the case of tap water allowed to remain in service lines coming from a well or other source, rust colored iron particles may begin to precipitate out of solution. These particles obviously ruin water clarity and give the impression of unsafe drinking water. Additionally, they clog certain types of water filtration systems and cause the owners of those water filtration systems to replace them well in advance of their expected replacement dates. Water professionals often refer to this type of iron in water as ‘clear iron’. ( source )

To test for the presence of iron in water yourself, you can choose from several different methods:

• Liquid, Tablet and/or Powder Test Kits — see Taylor Iron K-1716 Test Kit
• Electronic Meters — see eXact Micro 7+ and Color Q PRO 11
• Test Strips — see Ida’s Iron, Iron Check, AquaChek Iron, and Visual Total Iron

We recently learned that Filter Water, an online distributor of drinking water quality improvement and water testing products, has expanded the number of SenSafe Test Kits to include Ida’s Iron, a dual range test strip that can detect ferrous iron levels as low as 0.005 ppm and as high as 50 ppm in under a minute.

Ida’s Iron specifically reacts with (ferrous) dissolved iron (in the +2 state) without interference from other heavy metals such as copper, silver, mercury, lead or chromium.

For applications where fast, accurate field testing for low levels of Fe+2 matters, Ida’s Iron provides a solid solution and allows you to say, “goodbye” to time-consuming wet-chemical kits that may require specialized training or equipment.

Features of Ida’s Iron include low detection range, easy testing procedures, test times under one minute, no need for glassware, and low test reagent concentrations.

Below you will see a sample of the Ida’s Iron color chart and label:

Label & Color Chart for Ida’s Iron

Ida’s Iron Check Water Test Specifications:

• Sensitivity: 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.03, 0.06, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10, 20, 50 ppm (mg/L)
• Test time: 45 seconds
• 25 test strips in a package

Note: To test for total iron, you will want to use a test kit such as the Visual Iron Test Kit which detects both ferrous iron and ferric iron.