Orange stains from well water, and the filter that fixes them
An iron filter clears the orange staining well water leaves on sinks, tubs and laundry. Which filter you need depends on the form. Dissolved iron draws clear and stains later. Particulate iron draws orange from the tap. Reddish slime is iron bacteria, a different fix. We test at your tap across all five counties.
GUARANTEE
WHAT THE STAINING IS
Why is my well water staining things orange?
Iron. EPA's secondary standard for iron is 0.3 mg/L. The effects it lists at that level are rusty color, sediment, metallic taste and orange staining. Secondary standards cover nuisance, not health. So this is a livability problem with a mechanical fix.
One thing worth saying before you read on. Iron staining isn't the common story on wells around Jacksonville. The lead-weighted median across our well dataset is 0.037 mg/L. About 5.9% of well households sit in block groups over the 0.3 mg/L staining threshold.
That works out to roughly 3,500 homes across the metro. If you have orange stains, you're in the minority here. We'd rather tell you that than sell iron filters to a metro that mostly doesn't need them.
THREE FORMS, THREE FIXES
Which kind of iron do you have?
Three forms, and the form decides the equipment. Get this wrong and you buy the wrong box.
-
Dissolved ferrous
Clear-water iron
- What you see
- Water draws clear from the tap. Stains show up later, once it's been sitting or run over a surface.
- What fixes it
- A properly sized softener at low levels. Above that, an oxidizing filter.
-
Particulate ferric
Red-water iron
- What you see
- Water draws orange or red. You can see the particles in the glass.
- What fixes it
- Filtration. An oxidizing filter, or sediment filtration sized to the particle load.
-
Iron bacteria
A different problem
- What you see
- Reddish slime in toilet tanks. Gelatinous buildup, sometimes with an odor.
- What fixes it
- Shock chlorination of the well first, then ongoing treatment.
The glass test you can run right now
Water high in iron can come out of the tap colorless. Then it stains orange-brown once air gets to it. So try this:
- Draw a glass of cold water and set it on the counter.
- Leave it twenty minutes and look again.
- Clear when poured, then cloudy or orange later? That's dissolved iron.
- Orange the moment it hits the glass? That's particulate.
- Slime in the toilet tank instead of color in the glass? That's bacteria.
It's not a lab result. It's enough to know which conversation you're having.
What fixes dissolved (clear-water) iron?
At low levels, a softener that's been sized for it. Ion exchange will carry some dissolved iron along with the hardness. That only holds if the sizing accounts for it.
Iron that reaches the resin unaccounted for fouls the bed and cuts the system's life short. That's the whole reason we measure iron before we size anything.
Above low levels, the job goes to an oxidizing filter. It turns the ferrous iron to ferric and traps it before the softener ever sees it.
We won't publish a mg/L ceiling for where "low" stops. The numbers in circulation come from equipment sellers and they don't agree with each other. Your test result and your hardness number set the answer together.
If hardness is the bigger half of your problem, start with what a water softener costs here.
What fixes particulate (red-water) iron?
Filtration, because the oxidation already happened. It took place somewhere between the aquifer and your tap. The iron is a solid now, so it can be caught.
That means an oxidizing filter, or sediment filtration sized to the particle load. Sizing is about how much and how fine. It isn't about which brand.
What about black staining?
That's usually manganese. It travels with iron and shows up as black to brown staining and a bitter metallic taste. EPA's secondary standard for manganese is 0.05 mg/L.
It treats the way iron does: oxidation, then filtration. So it rarely changes the shape of the system. It does change the sizing. The black staining is the tell, so mention it when you call.
THE ONE A FILTER WON'T FIX
What if it's iron bacteria?
Then the filter isn't the first move, and anyone who sells you one first is skipping a step. Iron bacteria live in the well itself. The fix starts with shock chlorination of the well. Then ongoing treatment for whatever the water still carries.
An oxidizing filter alone won't solve it. Gear inside your house doesn't control a bacterial population living outside it.
That's the paragraph that costs us a sale sometimes. It's also the reason we test before we quote.
If the slime comes with an odor, rotten-egg smell in well water covers what else that could be. If a lab result comes back positive, a UV stage joins the conversation, and we'll walk you through it.
HOW WE CONFIRM IT
How do we confirm which one you have?
Our in-home test reads hardness, iron, pH, TDS and chlorine. We run it on site, while you watch. That names the form and gives us the number to size against.
Bacteria goes to a certified lab. That matters more here than on most pages, since iron bacteria is one of the three answers. No dropper kit cultures coliform honestly. So we help you get the lab test rather than pretend we ran one.
Florida's health department asks well owners to test for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year, always at a state-certified lab. County health departments run the sampling for about $20 to $30 a sample.
More on how the visit runs: water testing in Jacksonville.
WHAT IT COSTS
What does it cost?
Well systems from $3,595. Answer six questions and see the one your water calls for.
Every price stands behind the Love Your Water Guarantee, 90 days.
After the system, care is a membership. Well plans cover the visits, the media checks and the parts that wear out on schedule. What your build costs depends on the form of iron, your hardness number and what else the test turns up. That's why the quiz asks before it answers.
For the full treatment train and the order the stages go in, start at well water treatment in Jacksonville. For the chemistry behind it, read how to get rid of iron in well water.
Where we test
Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau and Baker counties. If you're on a well in any of them, we'll test at your tap and tell you what your water needs.
Common questions about iron in well water
Is it safe to drink well water with iron in it?
Iron sits on EPA's secondary standards list at 0.3 mg/L, which covers aesthetic effects: rusty color, sediment, metallic taste and orange staining. Secondary means a nuisance threshold, not a health limit. The health questions on a private well are bacteria, nitrate and lead, and those go to a certified lab.
What are the symptoms of too much iron in well water?
EPA lists rusty color, sediment, metallic taste and reddish or orange staining. In a house that reads as orange rings in the toilet, stained tub surfaces, laundry coming out rust-tinged and a coppery taste in cold water. Black or brown staining points at manganese instead, which rides along with iron.
Can I shower in high iron water?
People do. Iron's a secondary standard, so the listed effects are aesthetic: color, taste, sediment and staining. What you'll notice is the tub and the grout, and laundry more than skin. If the water also comes with reddish slime, that's iron bacteria, and it's worth handling at the well.
Does iron in well water damage hair?
We won't claim more than the evidence carries. What's documented is what iron does to surfaces and fabric: rusty color, sediment, metallic taste and orange staining. On hair, our sources don't measure it, so we won't tell you either way. Taking the iron out at the point of entry ends the staining everywhere past it.
What is the cheapest way to remove iron from well water?
Name the form before you buy anything. Dissolved iron at low levels can ride through a properly sized softener you may already need for hardness. Particulate iron is a filtration job. Iron bacteria needs the well shock-chlorinated first, and a filter bought before that step is money spent twice.
Can too much iron in well water make you sick?
Iron is a secondary standard, which EPA sets for aesthetic effects rather than health: rusty color, sediment, metallic taste and staining. The contaminants that carry health limits on a private well are a different list. Florida's health department wants bacteria and nitrate tested yearly, through a state-certified lab.