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Q&As since 1989
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Is our sulfur well water safe?
Q. Me & my mom just moved to a house that has black sulfur [affil links] water. Is it safe? It is well water. Is there anything we can do or put in the well? Is it safe for our dog & cat to drink?
Rhonda [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Melrose, Ohio
2002
A. I suggest you get it analyzed by your Public Health Inspector before you start drinking it or giving it to your dearest pets. It would be a very dangerous thing to confirm over the internet if something like well water was safe to drink unless it has been professionally analyzed and the results are known.
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2002
Q. I live off of my well water.I just bought a place in the country and have had the well water tested for animal and pesticide contaminants.Which all came up negative. So I put a nail in a glass of well water for three days and its getting brighter then new. What gives? Am I drinking contaminated water?
Dennis HandySculptor - Ferndale, California
January 8, 2009
A. Hi, Dennis. Sorry, I've never heard of a method of determining the purity or safety of water by putting a nail in it. Would you feel more confident of its purity if the water had rapidly attacked and corroded the nail?
Nails last decades, sometimes centuries; I wouldn't worry that it didn't rust in 3 days. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 10, 2009
Q. My well has high pH and Arsenic. I inject bleach
[adv: bleach/sodium hypochlorite in bulk on
eBay or
Amazon]
, then ferric chloride [on
eBay or
Amazon] to remove the arsenic with a filter, but I'm told the pH (8.1) is too high for this to be very effective.
I know muriatic acid
[affil links] will lower the pH, but I'm really concerned about injecting acid, followed by bleach, as the warning labels say 'don't do it'. Injecting less than 10 ppm of either seems safe, as the levels are so low, provided I don't mix them directly together.
Any comments?
none - Lummi Island, Washington
June 5, 2009
A. Hi, Mike. I think if you are sure the mixing is good, this would not be much of a problem. And not very different from people adding chlorine to a swimming pool on one occasion and muriatic acid on another occasion. But concentrated chlorine plus concentrated muriatic acid will definitely release clouds of chlorine gas.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
July , 2009
January 12, 2020
Your Q, A, or Comment: I noticed someone said something about testing their water by putting a nail in it and letting it sit for a few days. The PE respondent kind of brushed off the person's question because I don't believe he was aware of the science involved.
The nail test changing color in water is looking for iron reactions in this instance by confirming anti-oxidization. There is clearly a chemical reaction occurring here, and the original poster's question is quite valid. There are studies that show elements such as certain organic sulfurs, can cause anemia in felines. in this particular case, I'm quite intrigued by the poster's question, and quite surprised it was blown off trivially, for the sake of both science, and the well being of animals.
I'm still looking for an answer to whether or not my well water (which has some sort of sulfur contaminant, is harmful for my cats to drink. Because I am not sure, I've decided to use spring water by the gallon purchased at a local store for less than a dollar a gallon. It's worth the money for the piece of mind, I think. I would truly love to know if my concerns are scientifically valid or not.
- Greenbackville, Virginia, USA
Hi Daron. You're right that I've never heard of this test; please further explain the science involved as you understand it.
Please feel free to disagree with anyone or anything you see here; but please try your best to offer facts, opinions, anecdotes, humor, comments -- but not ad hominems :-)
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 2020
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