Water Softeners and Iron Removal: What You Need to Know
Can a water softener effectively remove iron from your home’s water supply? Let’s explore:
- The causes of troublesome iron contamination
- Specific risks associated with well water and high iron content
- How a state-of-the-art water softener offers an array of benefits
- Why investing in a water softener or filtration system is essential to ensuring your family’s health
- The causes of troublesome iron contamination
- Specific risks associated with well water and high iron content
- How a state-of-the-art water softener offers an array of benefits
- Why investing in a water softener or filtration system is essential to ensuring your family’s health
Are you tired of struggling with reddish or brown-stained fixtures, clogs, slimy orange residue, and yellowing teeth from smelly, yucky water? The experts at Angel Water are here to help!
Clean, pure hydration is the cornerstone of good health. Iron is one of the most common pollutants found in water sources, and if your city or well water is high in heavy metal and mineral content, your family and pets may be ingesting dangerous toxins.
Iron in your water supply can be an infuriating problem and could result in potentially costly damage to your plumbing system as well as serious health issues in children.
In this insightful guide, we’ll delve into why your water has too much iron, how water softeners remove iron, and the best solutions for ensuring your home’s water is safe, delicious, and iron-free.
The Common Causes of Iron Contamination
If you’ve noticed gross, hard-to-remove splotches on your sinks, toilets, or laundry along with bad taste and foul aromas, you’re likely dealing with an overabundance of iron in your water.
Iron is frequently found in northern Illinois and southeastern Florida water sources, particularly in areas that rely on wells instead of the municipal supply. It’s not just a cosmetic issue — excessive iron can damage appliances, clog plumbing, and dramatically affect the taste of what you drink and cook.
Why Your Water is Heavy in Iron
Iron enters the water supply in several ways, but it is most commonly associated with aquifers for groundwater and wells. Here’s how it happens:
- Natural sources: Iron is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust and a mineral that our bodies need, to a certain degree. When rain falls or snow melts through iron-rich soil and rock, it picks up iron particles that affect your drinking water.
- Corroded pipes: Aging or damaged iron pipes can leach iron into your plumbing system, especially in older homes or properties with outdated supply lines.
- Well contamination: Poorly maintained wells or well casings allow surface water, which may carry iron-rich sediment along with bacteria, heavy metals, and other pollutants, to seep into your groundwater source.
There are four main types of iron commonly found in water:
- Ferrous (clear-water iron): This type is dissolved in water and appears clear when issuing from your tap, but leaves behind unpleasant staining on sinks, tubs, and laundry.
- Ferric (red-water iron): Oxidized particles appear as small, rusty sediments with a reddish-brown to black coloring. Food cooked in this type of iron-rich water will be practically inedible.
- Bacterial: These microorganisms thrive in water sources such as springs, wells, and reservoirs and use iron as food. Decomposing iron bacteria creates an oily sheen and a tell-tale smelly biofilm.
- Organic iron and tannins: According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, when organic iron combines with naturally-occurring acids produced by vegetation, it creates tannins which leave a brown or black residue.
Thorough Testing is Crucial
Well water is particularly susceptible to contamination. While less common, iron can also be present in municipal water systems, especially if the source water comes from iron-rich areas.
Other elements, such as manganese, can cause similar color and taste issues and could be even more harmful — pregnant women and young children should have drinking water that is below the EPA’s health advisory (HA) level of 0.3 mg/L for manganese.
Understanding exactly what’s in your household water is critical for determining the best removal method.
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Can a Water Softener Remove Iron?
The short answer is yes – but it’s vital to ensure you have the right water conditioning system to handle the specific needs of your home. Every region’s water has different issues.
Standard water softeners can typically remove a moderate amount of iron through the same scientific principle they use to remove calcium and magnesium hardness minerals, usually up to 5-10 milligrams per liter (mg/L).
The effectiveness of a water softener for iron removal depends on factors like the type of iron present in the water, the concentration of iron, and the system’s design and capacity.
Watch our latest video on the Best Water Softeners of 2025!
How a Water Softener Works
Water softeners use an ion exchange (IX) process, where resin beads attract and trap positively charged ions, including calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Most systems operate with two compartments; the tank primarily responsible for softening the water is called the resin tank. The other tank, which helps keep the system working properly, is called the brine tank.
- Hard water containing iron, harmful minerals, and other particles passes through hundreds of tiny resin beads.
- These beads, charged with sodium ions, attract and capture these contaminants.
- Soft water, now containing sodium instead of calcium and magnesium, flows out of the system.
- The brine tank holds a saline solution that periodically cleans and refreshes the resin beads in a process known as regeneration.
- Control and timing of the regeneration process depends on the capacity and features of your water softener.
- All water treatment systems need regular maintenance to continue running correctly and prevent contamination.
For standard softeners to effectively remove iron, the iron concentration must be relatively low (typically less than 3 parts per million or ppm) and in its dissolved (ferrous) form.
However, Angel Water’s advanced water softening systems can handle 10-15ppm of iron.
Want Softer Water? Schedule an Appointment Now!
Find out how a water softener can help protect your home from hard water damage. Schedule an appointment with our water specialists today to explore the best solutions for your home.
