Call Us Toll Free: 1-888-577-8088
| SYMPTOM | PROBLEM | CAUSE | Treatment | Solution |
| Soap scum; white deposits in pipes, water heater, kettles | Hard Water |
Calcium and magnesium in water | Cation-exchange water softener |  |
| Abrasive water, residual grit left in sink | Grittiness |
Fine sand or silt | Activated carbon filter, chlorination |
|
| Fishy, musty or earthy smell |
Odor |
Organic matter, algae | Activated carbon filter, chlorination |
|
| Chlorine smell | Chlorination in public or private well | Activated carbon filter on shor |
|
|
| Rotten egg, sulfurous smell | Dissolved hydrogen sulfide | Greensand filter |
|
|
| Sulfur or iron bacteria | Sulfur start filter |
|
||
| Gasoline smell | Leaking underground storage tanks; fuel spills on surface | Activated carbon filter on short-term basis; seek new water supply |
|
|
| Chemical odor | Industrial wastes | Activated carbon filter on short-term basis; seek new water supply |
|
|
| Green stains on sinks; blue-green cast to water | Acid Water |
Acid or carbon dioxide in water reacting with copper pipes | Install pH neutralizer or filter; make well deeper |
|
| Salty or brackish flavor | Taste |
High chloride or magnesium content | Reverse osmosis; distillation; water softener |
|
| Metallic taste | Low pH or high metal concentration in water | pH neutralizer; filters |
|
|
| Yellowish cast to water; Yellow stains on washable clothes and bathroom fixtures | Yellow Water |
Tannins created from water passing through decaying vegetation | Anion-exchange water softener; activated carbon filter |
|
| Brown-red stains on fixtures, dishes and laundry; water turns red when heated, darkens coffee, tea and other beverages | Red Water, Iron Water |
Dissolved iron; water appears clear when first drawn at faucet | Water softener; iron filter |
|
| Reddish colored water with particles settling to bottom of a glass | Precipitated iron; water not clear when first drawn at faucet | Greensand filter; water softener |
|
|
| Brownish cast to water, no settling of particles; slime in toilet | Iron bacteria | Disinfect well and plumbing with bleach |
|
|
| Black stains on fixtures and laundry | Black Water |
Interaction of carbon dioxide or organic matter with manganese | Conditioner |
|