Impurity or Contaminant |
Symptom |
Cause |
Health Effects |
Solution |
Hard Water |
Soap curd, and scum in wash basins & bathtub Whitish scale deposits in pipes, water heater & tea kettle |
Calcium, limestone, and magnesium salts |
Aesthetic: Abnormal taste, appearance or smell |
Cation exchange water softener |
Grittiness |
Abrasive texture to water when washing or residual left in sink |
Excessively fine sand, silt in water |
Various -- sand could trap contaminants |
Sand trap ultra-filtration |
Odor |
Musty, earthy or wood smell |
Organic matter |
Aesthetic: Abnormal taste, appearance or smell |
Activated carbon filter |
Chlorine smell |
Excessive chlorination |
Could occur from formation of disinfection byproducts |
Activated carbon filter |
Rotten egg odor, tarnished silverware |
Dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas or presence of sulfate reducing bacteria in raw water
|
Various effects |
Manganese greensand filtration, constant chlorination, activated carbon filtration |
Hot water, rotten egg odor |
Action of magnesium rod in hot water heater |
Various Effects |
Problem with magnesium rod in heater |
Detergent odor, water foams when drawn |
Seepage of septic discharge into underground water supply |
Disease-causing microorganisms may be present |
Locate and eliminate source of seepage, heavily chlorinate well, activated carbon filtration |
Gasoline or oil smell |
Leak in fuel oil tank or gasoline tank seeping into water supply |
Fuel components may be toxic or carcinogenic |
No residential treatment Locate and eliminate seepage |
Methane gas |
Naturally occurring caused by decaying organics |
Various effects |
Aeration system and repump |
Chemical odor |
Industrial waste seeping into surface or ground water supplies |
Various. Note: Compounds may be carcinogenic. |
Activated carbon filtration, short term |
Taste |
Salty or brackish |
High sodium content |
Aesthetic: Abnormal taste, appearance or smell |
Deionization, reverse osmosis, home distillation system |
Alkali taste |
High dissolved mineral containing alkalinity (Stained aluminum cookware) |
Aesthetic: Abnormal taste, appearance or smell |
Reverse osmosis |
Metallic taste |
Very low pH water,
Heavy iron concentration, or leaching of lead and copper
|
Various. |
Calcite filtration |
Turbidity |
Dirt, salt, clay |
Suspended matter in surface water pond, stream or lake |
Turbid water may contain disease causing microorganisms |
"Calcite" or Neutralize (media) type filter - up to 50 ppm |
Sand grit, silt or clay substances |
Well sand from new well or defective well screen |
Turbid water may contain disease causing microorganisms |
Sand trap and/or new well screen |
Rust in water |
Acid water causing iron "pick-up" |
Turbid water may contain disease causing microorganisms |
Neutralizing calcite filter to correct low pH acidity and remove precipitated iron |
Gray string-like fiber |
Organic matter in raw water algae, etc |
Turbid water may contain disease causing microorganisms |
Constant chlorination followed by activated carbon filter to dechlorinate |
Acid water |
Green stains on sinks and silver, porcelain bathroom fixtures Blue-green cast to water |
Water which has high carbon dioxide content (pH below 68) reacting with brass and copper pipes and fittings |
Could lead to health effects if acid water causes leaching of lead and copper |
Neutralizing calcite filter down to pH of 55, or
Calcite/ Magnesia - oxide mix (5 to 1) for higher flow rate and to correct very low pH water
Soda ash chemical feed followed by filtration
|
Discolored water red, "Iron" water |
Brown-red stains on sinks and other porcelain bathroom fixtures Water turns brown-red in cooking or upon heating Clothing becomes discolored |
Dissolved iron in influent water appears clear when first drawn, causes staining |
Various effects |
Water softener, chlorination, filtration/ dechlorination |
Precipitate iron (water will not clear when drawn) |
Various effects |
Manganese greensand, non-hydrous aluminum silicate, or Calcite media filtration; Downflow water softener |
Brownish cast does not precipitate |
Iron pick-up from old pipe with water having a pH below 68 Organic (bacterial) iron |
Various effects |
Treat well to destroy iron bacteria with solution of hydrochloric acid then constant chlorination followed by activated carbon media filtration and dechlorination
Potassium permanganate chemical feed followed by filtration
|
Reddish color in water sample after standing 24 hours |
Colloidal iron |
Various effects |
Constant chlorination followed by activated carbon media filter dechlorination |
Yellow water |
Yellowish cast to water after softening and/or filtering |
Tannins (humic acids) in water from peaty soil and decaying vegetation |
Various effects |
Adsorption via special macro-porous Type I anion exchange resin regenerated with salt (NaCl) up to 30 ppm
Manganese greensand or manganese treated sodium alumino-silicate filtration under appropriate conditions
|
Milky water |
Cloudiness of water when drawn |
Some precipitant sludge created during heating of water
High degree of air in water from poorly functioning pump
Excessive coagulant-feed being carried through filter
|
Various effects
Aesthetic: Abnormal taste, appearance or smell
Various effects
|
Blow down domestic or commercial hot water heater tank periodically
Water will usually clear quickly upon standing
Reduce coagulant quantity being fed, service filters properly
|
Very high chloride content in water |
Blackening and pitting of stainless steel sinks and stainless ware in commercial dishwashers |
Excessive salt content
High temperature drying creates chloride concentration accelerating corrosion
|
Various effects |
Use other chloride resistant metals
Reduce total dissolved solids by reverse osmosis
|