Yes, you can use well water with a water ionizer, but you will need to use a pre-filter configured to treat your water. To find out what kind of pre-filtration you need, you need to get some basic information about your water:
- pH – Potential Hydrogen – Measurement to find out if the water is alkaline or acidic
- TDS – Total Dissolved Solids – The amount of dissolved solids in the water
- Contaminants – Are there any known toxins in the water?
How to select the right pre-filter for a water ionizer
Hard Well Water
If the pH is greater than 7, and the TDS is between 250 – 500 ppm (parts per million) the water is hard water. You would use a pre-filter designed to bring the TDS down. The water’s ORP, pH and TDS are used together to adjust the water ionizer’s power. A water ionizer with properly configured pre-filter and power settings will produce alkaline water with a high negative ORP.
Acidic Well Water
Acidic water presents a special problem, its corrosive. If you have well water with a pH of less than 6.5, you must neutralize the water’s pH to avoid damaging your home’s plumbing! Acidic water is neutralized by adding an alkali to it such as lime. Neutralizing acidic water with an alkali will raise its TDS. The water ionizer would need a pre-filter designed to reduce the TDS of the water.
Contaminated Well Water
If the well water has any known toxins, they should be treated at the pre-filter. If you are unsure if your well water has toxins in it, have it tested. If severe contamination is present, reverse osmosis filtration may be the only option. Well water filtered by reverse osmosis must be re-mineralized before it can be used with a water ionizer. For health reasons, you should always re-mineralize water filtered by reverse osmosis before drinking it.
For more information, call us today at (888) 688-8889. Our water quality experts can help you find out:
- What kind of pre-filter you need
- What’s the best water ionizer for your water
- What pH and ORP levels you can expect