Arsenic Filters

Yes, but only specific technologies. Arsenic-selective ion exchange resin, certain adsorptive medias, and reverse osmosis all remove arsenic reliably. Ordinary carbon filters, pitcher filters, and fridge filters do not. One catch: resin removes arsenate (As V) only, so arsenite (As III) needs pre-oxidation upstream first. Look for a certified claim, not a marketing one.

At well water levels there usually are none. Arsenic has no taste, smell, or color, and chronic low-level exposure produces no immediate warning signs. The health risk is long-term: elevated rates of skin, bladder, and lung cancers, cardiovascular disease, and developmental effects in children. That is exactly why a certified lab test is the only way to know; you cannot wait for a symptom.

Our whole-house arsenic system is $3,495 with free shipping. It runs 2 cubic feet of WQA Gold Seal certified arsenic-selective ion exchange resin in a non-backwashing tank: no salt, no drain, no electricity, nothing to program. Ongoing cost is an annual arsenic test on the treated water, plus a resin rebed every 1 to 5 years (two boxes of ASM-10-HP). The $199 lab test sizes all of it.

Match the technology to the scope. For the whole house on a private well: an adsorptive or arsenic-selective ion exchange system at the point of entry, sized from your lab result. For drinking and cooking water only (small household or tight budget), a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is the most effective per-gallon method. Many homes with a confirmed result run both: whole-house removal plus RO polish at the tap.

No. Boiling concentrates arsenic. Water evaporates, arsenic stays behind, so the longer you boil the higher the concentration gets. Letting water sit, freezing it, water softeners, and standard carbon filters do not remove it either. Arsenic comes out of water three proven ways: arsenic-selective ion exchange, adsorptive media, and reverse osmosis.

It depends which system you want. Standard lab panels report total arsenic; a speciation test splits that number into arsenite (As III) and arsenate (As V). If you plan to run an arsenic-selective resin system, speciation matters because resin removes As V only, and As III would need to be oxidized first by chlorination or an oxidizing filter.

Most US well arsenic is already As V, but 'most' is not a number. Our certified speciation test kit ($519) splits your total arsenic into As III and As V, and if As III shows up, Aidan specs the oxidizing stage (chlorination or an oxidizing filter) that goes upstream of the resin, free.

Iron first, always. Iron above 0.3 ppm (or manganese above 0.05 ppm) coats arsenic media and kills its capacity. The fixed install order on a well: sediment, iron filter, acid neutralizer if pH is low, softener if hard, arsenic filter LAST, then UV if bacteria.

There is a useful bonus: Katalox Light iron filters co-precipitate trace arsenic with the iron at neutral pH. If your arsenic is barely over the limit and you have iron anyway, the iron filter sometimes finishes the whole job; a post-install retest tells you whether a dedicated arsenic stage is still needed. Send Aidan both numbers and he will sequence it for you.

Typically 1 to 5 years, depending on your raw arsenic level, total water use, and competing anions like sulfate. The 2 cubic foot bed carries roughly 1,000,000 gallons of capacity at moderate levels, and an annual treated-water arsenic test (about $30 at any state-certified lab) is how you track it: when the treated number starts creeping up, it is rebed time.

Unlike cheap adsorptive media, arsenic-selective hybrid resin never releases stored arsenic back into the water, even past capacity, so a late test is never a safety emergency. The rebed is two 1 cubic foot boxes of ASM-10-HP resin; the tank, head, and bypass stay in service.

Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the most effective per-gallon arsenic method and covers the main exposure route: drinking and cooking water. If your level is modest, your household is small, or budget is the constraint, an under-sink RO is a legitimate answer and we will tell you so.

Whole-house treatment is the right call when the level is meaningfully elevated, when kids fill cups at bathroom sinks, or when you want the problem gone everywhere including ice makers and pets' bowls. Many homes with a confirmed result run both: point-of-entry arsenic removal plus RO polish at the tap. Note that RO membranes reject As V much better than As III, one more reason speciation (or a both-forms system) matters.

No. A softener exchanges hardness minerals (calcium, magnesium) and does not touch arsenic. Standard carbon filters, pitcher filters, and fridge filters are designed for chlorine, taste, and odor; arsenic passes straight through them. Boiling makes it worse by concentrating the arsenic as water evaporates.

Arsenic comes out of water three proven ways: arsenic-selective ion exchange (As V), certified adsorptive media, and reverse osmosis at the tap. Anything else sold as an arsenic fix should show you a certified reduction claim before you believe it.

No. Spent arsenic-selective resin passes the EPA's TCLP leachability test, which means it is classified as non-hazardous solid waste and goes out with regular household trash in all 50 states. That applies to the resin in our system and the ASM-10-HP rebed boxes.

This also means nothing goes down your drain: the system has no regeneration cycle, no backwash, and no discharge, so it adds zero load to a septic system. The arsenic leaves your house as a solid inside the spent resin, not as a liquid down the drain.