I have well water and I just changed the filter today. The last time I changed it was about 2 to 3 weeks ago. When I took out the filter it was black with a very mildewy, oily smell. Can oil make the filter black with a mildew smell?
I wish I had some really usefull information to give you. I have a well too. Our water is so laddend with rust and iron that it is the color and texture of ketchup! Thank the good lord for water softeners!
Everyone has well water unless it’s from a lake or river, or bottled. Difference is municipal, or rural. Probably sulphur. Either way, I’m thinking there are better places than “trains.com” to get your water questions answered. Not trying to be a jerk.
What toastmaster said.
That said - find somebody to test your water. You can probably find a lab listed in the Yellow Pages.
Concur with what toastmaster649 and tree68 said above.
Further, I have a little experience with this kind of thing, and I’m skeptical that it’s petroleum oil contamination - that wouldn’t normally produce a mildewy smell in such a short time in an anaerobic ( = without air) environment like a water filter. Also, unless your well was inadvertently drilled into an oil field - think The Beverly Hillbillies TV show from back in the 1960s - oil is usually more of an amber color. Does it smell more like gas, diesel, or kerosene ?
I’m inclined to suspect more of a biological contamination of some kind. The basic water test should identify that - cost in the range of $50 to $150. As fast as that occurred to your filter, you should have it tested ASAP. If it is biological, an ultraviolet light system may take care of the symptoms for you - won’t cure or eliminate the source, but usually makes the water safe to drink - which it may not be right now, just to get that out on the table for your information.
UV light will cost from $500 to $1,000, but that’s a whole lot cheaper than drilling a new well - mine last summer cost me about $8,000 for 380 ft. or so deep of 6-inch diam., with 80 ft. steel casing, and I still had to put in the UV light to pass the biological test. For what it’s worth . . .
- Paul North.
The only reliable way to establish the quality of your well water is to have it tested at a laboratory that performs that service for a fee. There are simple tests and more comprehensive tests, with the latter costing upwards of $180.
I have a five step filtration process, with the last two being a reverse-osmosis membrane filter followed by the second of two charcoal filters in the system. The first, primary sediment, filter looks quite black within four or five weeks of being newly installed. We don’t drink our well water unless it is run through the four stage drinking water filter system with the RO membrane. RO water is very safe to drink.