Hello,
My well water has a chloride level of 941.5 mg/L. What is the best way to reduce or eliminate it?
David
Colorado
Hi David,
It's good that you're looking into reducing the chloride level of your water: chlorides can cause serious damage when left untreated, not only to plumbing and appliances but also to people - especially those with heart problems like high blood pressure. The good news is that chlorides can easily be removed from water with either a reverse osmosis system or a distiller.
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| An under-sink RO system |
Reverse osmosis works by passing water through a semi-permeable membrane that separates pure water into one stream and salt water into another stream. In regular osmosis water flows from a lower concentration of salts to higher concentrations; in reverse osmosis the application of pressure greater than the osmotic pressure reverses the water flow from higher concentrations to much lower concentrations, producing pure water. With this method, about 50% of water can be recovered as pure water, while about 50% becomes salty wastewater. (If you'd like, you can read the reverse osmosis FAQ on our website for more info.)
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| Waterwise Distiller w/ 1 Gallon Tank |
Distillers, on the other hand, use evaporation and condensation to separate pure, fresh water from its contaminants. The prolonged boiling process kills virtually all types of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites. Microorganisms are not evaporated into the product water but remain in the boiling chamber as part of the residue. Distillers work very well, but use a lot of electricity.
Both methods can be utilized either at one sink (point-of-use) or for the whole home. For whole house systems, reverse osmosis water filtration systems are the most practical method to remove chloride, sodium,
and other inorganic salts from water.
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| A whole house RO system |
Whichever system you decide to use, let us know how it goes!
And readers, don't forget you can e-mail us at
support@cleanwaterstore.com, contact us on Facebook, or use our online contact form for help with any problems regarding your water or water treatment systems.
