| If you have ever lived where iron is a problem with | | | | Here is a simple test to see what kind of iron (if any) |
| house water supply, then you know the | | | | you might have in your water. Fill a clear glass with |
| consequences! It is one of the most overt problems | | | | water and let it sit for fifteen to twenty minutes. If |
| with drinking, cooking, and cleaning water because of | | | | all the visible iron falls to the bottom, then you have |
| the flavor, stains and color. | | | | ferric iron in the water. They are about five microns |
| Iron found in water is in two different forms. The | | | | or smaller, large enough to be filtered out. |
| first is ferrous iron, or iron(II) oxide (FeO). Water | | | | In this case, a cartridge filter will be able to remove |
| containing ferrous oxide will be colorless and clear. | | | | the ferric contaminants from the water. The particles |
| However, FeO rapidly oxidizes when exposed to air | | | | are not too small to be lodged in the filter and thus |
| and forms ferric oxide, or Fe(III) oxide, or Fe2O3. | | | | removed from the water. |
| This form of iron is reddish brown and is used as a | | | | On the other hand, if the particles did not fall to the |
| cheap pigment to make red paint. This is the form of | | | | bottom, then a cartridge filter will probably not be |
| iron that causes the red and brown stain in the sink, | | | | able to remove them. In this case either a water |
| toilet, and tub. | | | | softener or an iron removal system will be needed. |
| This iron also stains the laundry. Whites lose their | | | | This article cannot deal with these. |
| whiteness and this dingy coloring cannot be easily | | | | Filtering your drinking water with an activated |
| removed. It doesnt take much, only .3 parts per | | | | charcoal cartridge filter has added bonuses. Whether |
| million, to cause these problems. Formerly, when we | | | | or not iron is a problem with the water, many other |
| lived in the country and had a well, my white shirts | | | | contaminants, including some that are harmful, are |
| gradually lost their whiteness, especially on the | | | | also removed. These may include many |
| sleeves. The water was not clear or bad tasting, but | | | | hydrocarbons, pathogens and bacteria, chlorine and |
| the presence of iron showed up in the laundry. It | | | | chlorine compounds, nitrates and nitrites, and heavy |
| was finally solved when my wife added borax to the | | | | metals. |
| water when she washed whites. | | | | Iron is needed in our bodies but iron(III)oxide does |
| Not only is the staining a bother, but the iron also | | | | not provide it. It is an expensive nuisance that ruins |
| gives a disagreeable metallic taste to drinking and | | | | flavoring and stains clothing and plumbing fixtures. If |
| cooking water. Speaking of staining, the iron also | | | | you have a problem with iron(III) contamination in |
| reacts with the tannin in coffee, tea, and alcohol, | | | | your water, consider buying a cartridge filter as a |
| producing an undesirable gray or black appearance. | | | | relatively inexpensive fix. |