How To Remove Hydrogen Sulfide From Well Water

While most people go their drinking h2o from public water supplies, more 13 one thousand thousand households in the United States rely on private wells for their drinking h2o. Well h2o can absorb many different compounds from the surrounding soil — and when levels of compounds like sulfur go too high, you'll need to filter information technology. If you're dealing with high levels of sulfur in your drinking supply, learn how to remove sulfur from well h2o.

Sulfur is a naturally occurring chemical compound. There are two sources of sulfur in well water – sulfates and hydrogen sulfide gas.

Sulfates are a type of salt that contains sulfur. They may be in the soil and rocks surrounding your well. As groundwater and rainwater seep through the soil and rocks, they can carry sulfates into your well water.
Hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) tin happen naturally when plants or other organic material decays. It can too exist related to pollution in the water. And when sulfur bacteria feed on sulfates in well h2o, they can create H2S. You'll demand to remove the H2S from your h2o and vent the gas from low-lying spaces around your well.

Is Sulfur Harmful?

It depends on the level of sulfates or hydrogen sulfide in the water. In pocket-sized amounts, these things don't cause a problem.

Also much sulfate tin cause diarrhea and aridity. It can also accept a bitter taste, clog your pipes with slime and stain your laundry.

Too much H2S causes a rotten egg smell in well water. In large amounts, it can be poisonous and lead to nausea and illness — but this is more probable to happen from breathing the gas than from drinking water. H2S can as well corrode pipes and stain your utensils.

How Tin I Tell If My Well Water Has Sulfur?

There are a few ways to tell if you lot have a sulfur problem:

Scent or taste — Sulfur has a distinctive olfactory property similar to rotten eggs, and sulfates tin give water a bitter gustation. If your well water has sulfur in information technology, you may notice an unpleasant smell or odd gustation.
Slime or stains — Sulfur bacteria can go out black stains or a white, gray, black or reddish-brown slime on silverware or plumbing.
Water tests — Go your well water tested every twelvemonth, even if y'all don't notice signs of sulfur or other problems. You can discover several different water testing kits online or in stores. But to ensure authentic results, find a state-certified laboratory to do the tests. And bank check with your local health department first, in example they provide these tests for free.

How Tin I Remove Sulfur From My Well Water?

At that place are many options for removing sulfur from your well water. The best option for y'all will depend on the source of the sulfur, how serious the problem is and how much y'all're able to spend. Options include:

Activated carbon filtration — Activated carbon filters employ small pieces of porous carbon (like charcoal) to attract chemicals in water and filter them out. You can install an activated carbon filtration system as a low-cost and depression maintenance solution to remove a low concentration of sulfur — but it won't handle high concentrations of sulfur.
Aeration handling — This is a depression-toll and safe solution that adds air to the water. This procedure may reduce the hydrogen sulfide to acceptable levels, just may not get rid of information technology completely. And information technology won't kill sulfur leaner.
Chlorine bleach — You can inject chlorine bleach into your water before filtration. This is a low-price solution that can effectively remove medium-to-high levels of hydrogen sulfide from your h2o. But this method isn't fast-acting, and it as well adds sodium to the water and tin can exit toxic residuum.
Potassium permanganate — You lot can employ potassium permanganate solution in combination with a special type of filter to remove sulfur particles. This process gets rid of several odors, but it tin can exist toxic and may go out your water looking pink.
Hydrogen peroxide — This is a fast and safe solution that leaves no chemic residuum and no taste in the water. Simply an annual supply of peroxide may exist expensive, so it's not as common in private home water systems.
Ozone gas — This is also a fast and safe solution that leaves no chemical balance. Simply ozone systems are expensive, and they add together gases to the water that you then demand to vent.

If you lot ain a private well, or are thinking of putting one in, check in with your local health department about maintenance procedures to make sure your h2o is safe for everyday use. Many wellness departments offer free water testing to check the levels of sulfur and other compounds — and they tin provide more detailed communication about the best filtration methods.

Resource Links

"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfur Bacteria in Well Water" via Minnesota Department of Wellness
"Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfate in Private Drinking H2o Wells" via University of Massachusetts Amherst
"Private Drinking Water Wells" via U.South. Environmental Protection Bureau

How To Remove Hydrogen Sulfide From Well Water,

Source: https://www.symptomfind.com/healthy-living/remove-sulfur-from-well-water?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740013%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex&ueid=605faae4-7cdc-4b96-8c3c-2eeb4440d735

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