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Water Contaminants Guide

Whether your home receives water from a municipal center or private well, there is no guarantee it's safe to drink. Learn about common contaminants and how to protect your family.

Hard Water

You know you have hard water when you still feel the presence of something on your skin after you shower or wash your hands. The feeling has been described as slimy, sticky and scaly.

Hard water feels this way because of its high mineral count. Before reaching your city's water treatment center, water naturally absorbs calcium and magnesium as it travels.

Leftover residue collects in your shower and other water-using appliances
Scale buildup on faucets and drains
Duller clothes and laundry that feels crunchy and worn
Higher energy bills due to scale in pipes

Get Water Tested

Calcium

Chlorine & Chloramines

Chlorine has a very distinct smell. If you have ever gone swimming in a public pool or sat in a hot tub, the water has a notable smell because of the presence of chlorine.

The Environmental Protection Agency allows certain levels of chlorine in water at city treatment centers so when the water reaches your home, it's bacteria-free. However, too much can make your water smell and taste unappealing and irritate your eyes and skin.

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Chlorine

Iron

Iron is everywhere and makes up 5 percent of the earth's crust. But it shouldn't be in your water. You can tell it's there if it has a metallic taste and smell. If you notice rust-like stains on your drains and water-using appliances, iron is most likely the culprit.

Your water can contain ferrous iron (clear at first, turns red/brown) or ferric iron (yellowish-red immediately, also known as "red water iron").

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Iron

Manganese

Manganese is one of the culprits behind hard water. It's an essential mineral that occurs naturally in soils and rocks, but high volumes can be unhealthy.

If manganese is higher than 0.5 ppm, your water may start tasting metallic and leaving behind brownish stains around your home's sinks. Private well concentrations could be as high as 3 ppm.

Test Your Water

Manganese

Hydrogen Sulfide

Smell rotten eggs in your water? Hydrogen sulfide has infiltrated your water. This pungent gas arises from naturally decaying organic matter, like the remains of dead plants or animals and their waste products.

If your home's hot water smells like sulfur, it's an obvious sign you need to service your water heater. If it's in your cold water too, the hydrogen sulfide is coming from corroding pipes.

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Sulfur

Arsenic

Arsenic water contamination is dangerous for a variety of reasons. This chemical is odorless and tasteless. It's also a human carcinogen and can be lethal.

Arsenic appears naturally in soil, air, and plants. It's also used in metals, drugs, semiconductors and cleaning products. Most industrial arsenic is found in wood preservative. Levels are closely managed at water treatment centers, but private wells may not be monitored.

Protect Your Family

Arsenic

Lead

Homes built before the 1920s were constructed with lead piping. Some builders still used lead piping until 1986, when lead pipes were banned by national plumbing safety codes.

Lead is a toxic metal that slows childhood development and attacks the immune system. Health risks include loss of appetite, insomnia, hearing loss, neurological damage, and organ failure.

Lead may add a metallic taste to your water, although it can still be present without you knowing.

Schedule Testing

Lead

Nitrates

Nitrates are vital for our food supply as they appear in fertilizers. But these same nitrates that help soil recover are toxic when they directly enter the food chain through water contamination.

Nitrate contamination occurs more often in towns next to expansive farmlands. Irrigated water containing fertilizer is usually the driver, with ailments including organ failure, delayed development in children, and reproductive system issues.

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Nitrogen