Nothing is more alarming than starting dinner and turning on the tap to fill a pot for pasta night, then to find dark, coffee colored water falling out and abruptly ending your pasta dreams. The open jar of sauce on your counter now looks forward to a week of cold in the back of the fridge. But why does your water look like it should have a dash of creamer and a sprinkle of cinnamon? And what can you do to bring back the crystal-clear waters that you took for granted?
Contaminants
If your well water is brown, it’s nearly certainly from some form of contaminants. For brown water specifically, it’s likely from rust, iron, silt, or tannins, or some combination of them. In most cases though iron is your culprit. This problem usually arises after heavy rainfall, when the rain makes it easier for contaminants to find their way into your water supply.
What Are They?
The only way to know for sure which contaminant is actually there is to get your water tested. But, let’s introduce you to our most common brown water contaminants.
Rust
Usually if there’s high levels of rust in your water, you’ll know it. The water is an unmistakable rust color that’s fairly dark. Rust also affects your hair, skin and nails, making things itchy and dry.
Iron
Iron, our most common culprit, comes in three different forms of contaminants: Ferrous, Ferric, and Bacteria. Iron affects the taste, smell, and look of your water, turning it brown, and can cause staining.
Silt
Silt is sediment particles, and them finding their way into your water system is definitely not something you’d want. Silt can cause damage to your pipes and water system, and can make your water cloudy, gray, or brown. Silt also usually means that other contaminants like total or fecal coliform, or E.Coli have found their way into your water.
Tannins
Tannins are an organic material found in decaying leaves and natural materials. Tannins turn your water a light brown or yellow, and are usually not dangerous- just annoying.
What to Do
To get rid of your brown water, there’s many different options to choose from. What you choose to do should be based off of the kind of contaminant you have hiding in your water, your budget, and your preference. You could use different filtration options, reverse osmosis, air injection filters, or ion exchange. If your contaminant is rust from rusty pipes specifically, then unfortunately your only option would be to replace the old piping system.
Brown water isn’t the end of the world. Until you know exactly what is in your water you should avoid using it, but in most cases your water isn’t dangerous, just kinda gross looking. But after water testing, and choosing your preferred method of getting your water back, you’ll be back to cooking pasta in no time!
At Faulstick Plumbing, we specialize in installs, repairs, and inspections for all of your well, water, and plumbing needs. Our family-owned and operated business has built a reputation as the best-doing things the right way with the customer in mind, every time. Give us a call at 570-992-0447 to discuss your needs today!
