Consuming untreated well water is ill-advised, irrespective of whether you have a fresh water well or not. Well water often contains different contaminants such as bacteria, organic chemicals, sediments, heavy metal particles, and even excessive amounts of fluoride. Thus, consuming the well water before it gets filtered can have adverse effects on your health. Additionally, unfiltered well water can potentially damage your appliances, such as your laundry machine.
Thus, if you draw your water from a water well, it is highly recommended you invest in a well water filtration and treatment system. However, before deciding on a particular well water filtration system, there are various factors you need to consider in order to pick the right system for your well.
Thus, here are four factors that will help you determine the best water filtration system for your well.
The Contaminants in the Water
Different well water treatment systems are designed to filter out different types of contaminants in water. Hence, one filtration system may differ from another based on the kind of contaminants it can filter out of your well water.
Hence, before investing in a well water treatment system, it is best to have your water tested first. Testing your water will provide you with information on which contaminants are present in your well water. With this information, you are in a position to choose an appropriate well water filtration system.
Filtration/Treatment Method
In addition to the type of contaminants, well water filtration systems also differ based on how the filtration process works. Typically, there are several distinct types of well water filtration systems. The filtration systems include but are not limited to the following:
• Active Carbon: These filters utilize carbon particles to filter out various contaminants such as iron, pesticides, and lead. However, they are not very efficient in removing bacteria.
• Resin filters: These types of filters are primarily designed for removing iron particles. The main benefit of resin filters is that they tend to last longer than other types of filters.
• Reverse osmosis filters: These types of filters are adequate for removing fluoride and heavy metal contaminants from your water. Unfortunately, they are not ideal for filtering out organic pollutants.
• UV Filters: These types of filters utilize ultraviolet rays to kill bacteria. However, they are not ideal for removing other kinds of contaminants, such as heavy metal particles.
• Water Ionizing filters: These types of filters use an electric current to ionize heavy metal particles present in your well water.
Since each filter is suitable for removing specific types of contaminants, it is advisable to invest in a well water treatment system that combines several types of filters. Ideally, it would be best to choose a combination of filters based on all the contaminants in your well water.
Effect on Water Pressure
When water passes through a well water treatment system, it is bound to lose some pressure. As a result, well water treatment and filtration systems have a rate of flow rating that describes how much water the system can allow to pass through at any given moment. The rate of flow is usually given in gallons per minute.
Thus, if you are looking to invest in a water treatment system, it is advisable first to calculate the rate of flow your household requires. Once you have determined the adequate flow rate for your home, you can pick a well water filtration system that matches it.
However, it is advisable to pick a well water treatment system with a higher flow rate because as sediment accumulates inside the filter, you will experience a reduced flow rate. Thus a higher flow rate will help in compensating for the effects of sediment accumulation.
NSF Certification
As a homeowner, it can be challenging to determine if the claims set forth by a manufacturer about their product are accurate. For instance, how can you tell if a well water treatment system provides the level of filtration it claims?
Fortunately for you, the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) makes a point of testing out various water treatment and filtration systems to ensure that they can perform as claimed. Hence, before purchasing any well water treatment system, you should make sure it is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation.
For more information about well water treatment systems, contact a local company, like Cuttings Water Works.
