Should I care if I have tannin in my water?

[Lazy Days]

A lab test of the water at my cottage indicates I have 0.6 mg/L tannic acid in my water. The lab tech seemed a little surprised. The norm appears to be none or a lot. I am guessing I have something in between.

Should I care? How much is too much? Dose this level of tannin gum up water softeners or iron filters? I ask because I am renewing my water conditioning equipment at my cottage and would like to know if tannin is anything other than an aesthetic issue.

My well is over 50 years old, made of round clay tiles and close to a river loaded with tannin. Not a big surprise that some tannin makes it into the well. My coliform was negative, so I guess the water is safe.

I want to avoid a new well like to couple of my neighbors have. They’re deep, 380 – 400 feet, the water taste salty, it stinks like rotten eggs, and turns everything black.

Opps, I am losing my dsl connection, time to fly, thanks

[Akpsdvan]

Not much can be done for tannin, been toying with some thing for years and there is not much that will work with out dropping about 18k to treat tannin.
It will slowly stain items in the house and make the tube water a little color like some one was there before you, but treatment wise there is not a whole lot that can be done.

[Andy CWS]

You can easily take care of that tannin at a very low cost. Just add about 2" of an anion resin to treat tannins on top of your softener resins. This should handle it very well. You won't need to remove the softener resins.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[Lazy Days]

Sorry for the slow response. My dsl goes out a couple times an hour, generally only for a minute or two, but sometimes for three or four days.

Tannin, manganese, or something is causing me problems in my cottage water. I have been reading everything I can on residential water treatment, but have no practical experience. From my reading, I am thinking my real problem may be, that it is a cottage, and sits vacant most of the time. Also posting questions about one element of my water at a time may be a poor approach as well.

I will repost with all the data I currently have on my cottage water.

Thanks akpsdvan and andy.

[TRT]

Andy, tell me more about anion resin. What is it and how does it get applied?

Thanks!

Tim

[Andy CWS]

Anion resin works in the opposite of cation resin. It removes negatively charged ions instead of positively charged ions. Anion resins for tannins are usually a whitish color roughly the same size in diameter. Fortunately, they regenerate with the same salt as cation resins so they can be added to a softener and still be effective.

Andy Christensen, CWS - II

[TRT]

Anion resin works in the opposite of cation resin. It removes negatively charged ions instead of positively charged ions. Anion resins for tannins are usually a whitish color roughly the same size in diameter. Fortunately, they regenerate with the same salt as cation resins so they can be added to a softener and still be effective.

Andy Christensen, CWS - II

Thanks , Andy,

Now where do I find the anion resin? Also, do I simply add it to the salt tank?

Tim

[Andy CWS]

These would probably be special ordered from a plumbing supply store or a water treatment dealer unless your area has this problem in common. No, you would add them to the softener tank by removing the valve. about 2" of anion resins may do the trick. What size is your softener tank, make, model if you can tell?

[TRT]

Softner make

Andy,

At this point were are searching for the right method of treatment. So, we have not purchased anything yet. Knowing that we have some tannins is reason to search harder for answers. Do you have any recommendations on softners?

This property is a seasonal cottage. We prefer to minimize expense, yet get the job done. Iron is high and we are concerned that the tannins will just carry the Fe through a filtration system.

Thanks for your help!

Tim

[Andy CWS]

Always get a complete and through water analysis before designing a system. Taking short cuts because it is a cottage can come 'round and bite you. Do you have freezing issues in the winter? Report your water test results especially iron, hardness, TDS and tannin count.