Question

What advice would you give a homeowner that did not like the quality of their home tap water? This homeowner lives in a community of 70,000 people. The homeowner further states they had their water tested and it contained very high levels of dissolved iron. In addition the water had a metallic taste and smelled like rotten eggs. What home treatment water advice would you provide? Discuss.

Answer 1

The rotten egg smell of the water is caused due to the presense of Hydrogen sulfide gas in the water system. Hence removal or treatment requires eliminating both iron and hydragen sulfide. Water softeners are often used to remove the excess iron that is present in the water system , these softners work on the principle of ion exchange but they would remove any other ions such as sulfur. Chemical oxidation treatment by chlorination is an effective treatment that eliminates the hydrogen sulfide that is present in the water. When this chlorination is coupled with fine-retention sediment filter the excess iron in the water can also be effectively removed.