Well water is often billed as a cheap and easy way to get drinking water in a home or commercial setting. However, the fact that the water is from a ground source means that you will need to have it filtered and cleaned before you can make it safe for human consumption. The typical way of doing this is by running it through some sort of filter that will get rid of all the material that you don’t want the water to have. The commonest of these include elements such as manganese and iron, microbes and sediment. Some of the commonest filter materials that can be used to purify such water include:
Granular activated carbon
This is also known as activated charcoal. In essence, it is a form of coal that has been treated and ground such that it can absorb particles from the water. The fact that it’s grounded to a coarse powder gives it a huge surface area, which then allows it to get rid of a large amount of such compounds in the water in a shorter amount of time. Some of the contaminants that are most easily removed by this filter material include chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, iron and manganese. In addition to that, it has also been shown to get rid of some organic compounds in water, such as those that might contaminated the well water from surface runoff. If you are interested in buying a filter for your well water, getting one that has granular activated carbon will always be a good idea.
Manganese greensand
This is a filter material that contains a substance known as glauconite. The latter tends to react with metal ions including manganese and water, forcing them to form salts that are then trapped by the filter material. The effect of using this filter material is that it will help get rid of these two ions. The only downside to using it is that you will need to regularly maintain the filter in order to ensure that it keeps working as expected. In addition to that, you also need to realize that it works best when there is a very high concentration of these metals in the water. It is therefore ideal to use manganese greensand when manganese and iron contamination is a major problem.
BIRM
This is yet another filter material that works to remove excess iron and manganese from the well water. It works by catalyzing a reaction between the manganese or iron with oxygen. This then results in the formation of insoluble compounds that are then trapped by the filter. As is the case with the manganese greensand filter, BIRM also requires constant maintenance to work effectively.
In addition to the use of the various types of filter, one could also consider investing in ion exchange systems. They help to get rid of any ions including calcium that have not been removed by these filters.
In summary, for you to find it easier to use your well water, you will almost always need to use a filter. Choosing the right one depends on the nature of the well water.