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How To Remove Arsenic From Your Drinking Water

Thanks to crime novelists like Agatha Christie, arsenic is a well known as a poison. As the symptoms of arsenic poisoning are similar to the ones in patients with Cholera,  it was often misdiagnosed in former times.

What is Arsenic?

Arsenic is also chemical element and present in groundwater all over the world. Especially in deeper levels. And well owners should be aware of this problem.

Does your tap water contain arsenic?

Very likely.

Although, municipal water suppliers in the U.S. have the legal obligation to remove excessive amounts of arsenic before they deliver it to their customers.

But is that enough?

Recent studies show, that even small amounts consumed over a long period of time do pose a health risk.

How to find out if my water contains arsenic?

Arsenic is tasteless, colorless, and odorless. To find out if, and how much arsenic is in your water, you need to test it.

Or call your water supplier.

Another way would be to take a look at the Environmental Working Group's database.

For those of you who want to test yourself, arsenic water test kits exist.

Is arsenic regulated?

EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)10 ppb)10 μg/LEWG Health Guideline)0.004 ppb)0.004 μg/LWHO Recommended Limit in drinking-water)10 ppb)10 μg/Lppb = parts per billion

μg/L = Microgram/liter

The higher EPA MCL seems to be a compromise between health risk and economic concerns. If the legal limit were lower, water treatment plants would have to shoulder significantly higher costs.

Arsenic Health Effects - How dangerous is it?

Arsenic has some quite serious effect on your health. Especially when consumed over a long period of time or in higher concentration.

It can cause cancer, harm the brain and your central nervous system, damages skin and increases the risk diabetes. Arsenic is also known to change blood vessels and the heart, leading to a higher risk of heart disease or stroke. Small amounts also may harm your lung.

What are the Symptom of Arsenic Poisoning?

Overexposure to arsenic leads to common symptoms like stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting.

Not so common effects are numbness in hand and feet, paralysis and blindness as arsenic effects the nervous system.

Additionally the skin may be discolored and is thickening.

How to remove Arsenic from Drinking Water?

If you are worried about arsenic in your drinking water, home water filters can help.

The caveat is that you first need to find out which type of arsenic hides in your water. The most common types are arsenic III and arsenic V.

Unfortunately, each one requires a different approach to remove it from water.

How to remove Pentavalent Arsenic (also known as Arsenic (As) V or Arsenat)?

Recommended treatment technologies for arsenic V are

Reverse Osmosis (see our list of certified systems) and

Anionic exchange

Reverse osmosis systems are available as under-sink or countertop units. Whole house systems also exist, but they are expensive to maintain.

Anionic exchange systems are typically whole house systems only. You need to add salt regularly or your system may fail and release all arsenic from the raisin at once. Without knowing, you would suddenly have a very high concentration of arsenic in your water.

How to remove Trivalent Arsenic (also known as Arsenic (As) III or Arsenite)?

First the bad news. Trivalent arsenic is very difficult to remove from water. And even water filters certified by NSF to reduce arsenic, usually only reduce arsenic V.

So, what should you do?

A common solution is to add chlorine to the water. It will react with arsenic III and turn it into arsenic V.

This is a feasible solution for well owners, but not if you get your water from a public water supplier.

Why, they usually add chlorine, don‘t they?

Yes, but ...

Many water suppliers use a combined form of chlorine called chloramines. And chloramines are not as effective as pure chlorine. Same is true for chlorine dioxide, UV and monochloramine.

Simply put, chloramines do not turn all arsenic III into arsenic V 3..

Best course of action is to call your water supplier and ask what they use.

Alternative ways to turn As III into As V are the use of permanganate, ozone and manganese-oxide-based solid media. Maybe they use one of these alternatives, so you can use a reverse osmosis system.

A word of caution, the presence of Fe II, Mn II and sulfide and other reductants will reduce or slow down the oxidization of As III into As V.3.

So, what works on trivalent arsenic?

Your best choice are Iron Oxide Filters2.

Public water suppliers use iron oxide filter systems for a long time. Now the same technique is also available in small filters for home use.

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Too much Chloride in your water - Is it a problem?

Too much chloride is bad for your body, we all know that. But what if it is already in your water? How to get it out?

Find out more

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You Too Can Drink Healthier Water With The Brita Everyday Water Filter

The bestselling pitcher with filter from a well known brand comes with relatively low priced replacements. How does it compare to other pitchers?

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How to find the perfect water filter for your needs

Generally, finding the best filter for your home is easy, the devil is in the details. That’s why I wrote this  text. In just 3 easy steps you can come to the right decision. Everything you need to know in one place. If you plan to buy your first water filter, head over here before you waste any money:

https://www.waterfiltershq.com/best-water-filter-home/

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Control what you drink

There is a lot of confusing information about drinking water. Do you really know what is healthy and what is not?

If you get your water from a public supplier, chances are that it is treated with chemicals, you do not want to inhibit on a regular basis.

Chlorine is great to kill bacteria that could otherwise make you sick. On the other hand, the taste and smell  is nothing I like in my drinking water.

Another quite common additive is fluoride. There is a huge debate around the pros and cons of water fluoridation, and I really do not want to get into that.

To make it short - while I don‘t have a problem with fluoride in my toothpaste, I do not want it in my water.

I decided to filter my drinking water. As long as I maintain the filter, I have control over the quality of the water my family and I drink.

How about you?