Water Problems, Symptoms and Equipment

Private well owners often seek water treatment devices to solve a number of common water problems that can be smelled, felt, tasted, or seen. Some of these symptoms indicate a serious issue, while others do not represent a health risk.

If you notice any of the symptoms listed in the following table, first have your water tested by a certified independent laboratory to verify the cause of the problem.

TWG labs employees an experienced staff of water chemistry technicians that can isolate contaminates and bacterial infection in your water source.

Once you have determined the source of your water problem, you can then match appropriate water treatment methods to the problem by browsing the table below.

If you have complicated water treatment concerns that require expert guidance, then please Contact Us. The Water Guy can build and calibrate your Water System to YOUR specific requirements.

Problem / Symptom	Cause	Treatment
Hard Water
Spots on glass, cars, and rings in wash basins and bathtub (scaly deposits in pipes, water heaters and appliances)	Calcium and magnesium mineral build-up	Cation-exchange water softeners, and anti-scale devices (these are very specific to use)
Sediment / Grittiness
Abrasive texture to water when washing (Residue is left in sinks, bath tubs)	Sand particles or silt in the water	Spin-down filtration, Cartridge filters, NextSand Systems or Ultrafiltration
Odors
Musty, earthy or woody smell	Usually harmless organic matter	Activated carbon filter
Chlorine smell	Chlorination and or chloramines	Activated carbon filters, some are specific to chloramines
Gasoline or oil smell	Possible leak in fuel oil tank or other underground tank leaking into water supply.	There are specific filters to trap hydrocarbons. It is essential to locate and remove underground source. Granular Activated Carbon filters or systems can provide some treatment.
Rotten egg odor	Dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas in water supply (h2S)	Manganese greensand, Katalox Lite, Filter Ox, Catylitic Carbon, and KDF85 filters
	Presence of iron or sulfate-reducing bacteria in water supply, some bacteria.	Constant chlorination followed by activated carbon filtration
	Degradation of a magnesium rod in a hot water tank/heater in certain water conditions	Remove magnesium rod from heater, replace with our Zinc alloy rod or titanium electric anodes
Detergent odor or foaming water	Septic tank leaking into groundwater supply	Eliminate source and shock-chlorinate system Shock entire systema and install and permanent barrier to contamination, UV sterilizer or chemical injection
Methane Gas (Caution required; gas is explosive and toxic)	Naturally decaying organic material found in: Shallow water wells near swamps Housing areas built above or near old landfills Aquifers overlying oil fields	Residential/commercial aeration system and re-pump, followed by Catalytic carbon system
Phenol (chemical) odor	Industrial waste seeping into groundwater	Activated Catalytic Carbon filter systems Coconut Carbon Filters and or filter systems
Pesticides
Sharp chemical odor in water	Leaching of applied pesticides into groundwater	Activated coconut carbon filters, and continue to monitor the treated water
Taste
Salty or brackish	High sodium content	Carbon filtration, Reverse osmosis, water distiller Water can be treated for drinking and cooking or the whole home when sodium levels are very high.
Soda taste, slippery feel	High total dissolved solids that are alkaline in nature	Use reverse osmosis to reduce levels.
Metallic taste	Very low pH (3 to 5.5)	Calcite and or corosex cartridge filters or stand alone whole house systems, static or valved. (see acid water)
Metallic taste	High iron content (over 0.3 mg/L), manganese over 0.05mg/l	See heading for iron/reddish under appearance category
Appearance
Turbidity (cloudiness) (Silt, clay, or suspended particles in water)	Silt or sand from well	Sand trap and/or new well screen
Acidic water (Green stains on fixtures and/or a blue-green tint to the water)	Water high in carbon dioxide content (with a pH below 6.8) that reacts with brass and copper plumbing	Calcite and or corosex cartridge filters or stand alone whole house systems, static or valved. Soda ash chemical feed followed by filtration
Black cast to water (Black stains on fixtures)	Interaction of carbon dioxide or organics and manganese in the soil. Above 0.05 mg/L manganese causes staining, and is usually found combined with iron	Chlorination followed by filtration Oxidizing filter Water Softener, Birm, Katalox Lite, Filter Ox, Filox, Pyrolox GreenSand Oxidation with potassium permanganate
Reddish or discolored water (from iron) (Red-brown stains on sinks and other porcelain fixtures; water turns reddish brown during cooking or heating; stains on laundry)	Indicates more than 0.3 mg/L dissolved iron present. Water appears clear when first drawn from cold water tap	Water softener and minimum pH of 6.7 (unaerated) will remove 0.5 mg/L or iron for every 17 mg/L or hardness For iron levels over 10 mg/L, chlorination in a retention tank that allows for oxidation, followed by filtration/dechlorination
	Precipitated iron (Water is discolored when drawn)	If pH is higher than 6.7, a manganese greensand filter will remove up to 10 mg/L or iron, Other medias with air injection can also work at specific pH levels such as Katalox, Birm, Filter Ox. If pH is higher than 6.8 and oxygen is 15 percent of the total iron content, try an manganese oxide media. Cartridge filters and NexSand can also remove red iron. To remove more than that, use a calcite filter followed by an iron filter or water softener
	Iron dissolved from old pipe with pH below 6.8	Generally we need to raise the pH before a removal media (see acid water)
Reddish / Brownish Color	Organic Carbons	Anion resin systems that work similar to a water softener using sodium to regenerate the media bed.
Reddish color (In water sample after standing 24 hours)	Colloidal iron	Constant chlorination followed by filtration with activate carbon to remove chlorine
Milky water (Water cloudy when drawn)	Precipitate sludge that is created when water is heated	Flush water heater from time to time
	High volume of air in water from poorly functioning pump	Water will generally clear quickly after standing
	Excessive coagulant-feed being carried through filter	Reduce coagulant quantity being fed Service filters properly
Yellow water (Yellowish tint to water after softening and/or filtering)	Tannins (humic acids) present from water passing through peaty soil or decaying vegetation	Anion-exchange Chlorination with full retention time followed by filtration to remove chlorine
Contaminants with no visible colour, odor or taste
High chloride content in water (Blackening and pitting of stainless steel sinks and kitchen utensils)	Excessive salt content. Note that high temperature drying concentrates chloride, accelerating corrosion	Use chloride-resistant metals Reverse osmosis Distillation
Fluoride (Yellowish or mottled teeth in children)	Fluoride above 2.0 mg/L in groundwater	Anion exchange Reduce concentration to 0.2 mg/L with activated alumina Reverse Osmosis Distillation
Nitrates (Maximum level set by EPA is 10 mg/L; this level or above is dangerous for infants)	Sources include nearby human or animal waste leaching into well, or heavy use of commercial fertilizers with nitrogen entering the groundwater	Find sources of wastes and take steps to protect wellhead Anion exchange regenerated with NaCl for water with less than 3 mg/L; verify treatment level via water quality analysis Reverse osmosis for drinking and cooking water will remove 65 percent of nitrate; try to limit original concentration to 25 mg/l as N Home distillation system for drinking/cooking water
Radioactive contaminants (The public health authority will post notices. Radium 226 above 5piC/L and Strontium-90 above 10piC/L are considered health risks)	Naturally occurring in deep wells from phosphate rock or radium-bearing rock strata; atmospheric fallout or other human related activities that product nuclear waste	Remove cationic radioactivity with cation-exchange water softener Treat with mixed bed deionizer for removal of anionic and cationic nuclides Reverse osmosis should remove 70 percent of nuclides
	Radon gas given off by decaying radium dissolved in water	Aeration by faucet aerator to dissipate dissolved radon
Heavy Metals (EPA has established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for each metal. Lead, Zinc, Copper, Cadmium, etc)	Industrial waste pollution; corrosion products from plumbing caused by low pH waters	Reverse osmosis pH adjustment to prevent corrosion of water distribution system Water softener will remove cadmium, copper and zinc if operated properly Distillation
Arsenic (EPA maximum is 0.01 mg/L; health risks increase above this level)	Natural groundwater contaminant in certain regions; industrial waste; herbicides and pesticides	Reverse osmosis will remove up to 90 percent Activated alumina Anion exchange Distillation
Barium (EPA maximum is 2 mg/L; health risks increase above this amount)	Naturally occurring in certain geographic areas	Remove using cation-exchange Reverse osmosis Distillation
Boron (Inhibits normal plant growth; above 1 mg/L considered undesirable for human use)	Naturally occurring in the southwest United States and other areas	Selective anion-exchange resin Reverse osmosis Activated carbon Distillation
Cyanide (No visible color, taste or odor; above 0.2 mg/L considered a health risk)	Industrial waste pollution from electroplating, steel and cooking facilities	Continuous chlorination and activated-carbon filtration of metals after pH adjustment Anion exchange Reverse osmosis
Trichloroethylene (TCE) (Notices are issued from Public Health Department)	Waste degreasing and dry cleaning solutions entering surface or groundwater supplies	Series of activated-carbon filters and constant monitoring between units for breakthrough Aeration Boiling

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