Tannins in Water - Reasons + How to Remove Tannin From Water?

Tannins in water cause water to look brownish, smell earthy and on top of that give a not-so-pleasant experience because of its tart aftertaste. 
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When you think of water, you imagine it crystal clear and odorless, but if you are one of the 42 million Americans who get water supply from well water.

What you might get is not similar to what you are imagining. 

Although being a very common problem, it is not discussed a lot.
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But not anymore, today through this article you will learn about everything related to it: 
How tannins come in your water, how they are formed and finally how to get rid of tannins. 


What are Tannins in Water?

Tannins are simply naturally occurring organic materials that are created when breakdown of vegetation happens.  It is present in tea leaves, grapes, peat, coal and many other such things. 

When water passes over these decayed organic materials (tannins) it takes on a yellowish color.  
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How is your water getting affected by Tannin?

As surface water moves downward to the aquifer that feeds your well, meanwhile it can pass through decaying material (tannins).

​That is why you are getting that yellowish/brownish colored water.

Tannins are usually found in shallow water supplies and shallow wells as these places have a lot of vegetation which keeps producing tannins over its breakdown.


How to Test For Tannins in Water? 

If you suspect you have tannin in your water, you can do a simple experiment. 

Just fill a glass with suspected water and leave it untouched for 5-6 hours. 

If the brownish color settles down at the bottom, you have a high amount of iron content, because of its heavier weight. 

On the other hand, if the discoloration is uniform even after 5-6 hours then you have tannins in water. 

Although it is best to get it tested by a professional because you never know what might be getting mixed in your water? 

We at Acme Water World provides free water testing in these area: Call us @ ​574-367-2407
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Are tannins in water harmful? What is an acceptable level of tannins in drinking water?

However gross the water affected by tannin looks, surprisingly it doesn’t cause any health hazards.

But it is quite an unpleasant experience to drink a brownish looking, earthy smelling water that leaves a tart aftertaste. 

Apart from this, if present in large quantities, tannins in water can start messing up your laundry and kitchenware by leaving stubborn stains.  

Your white laundry can have permanent damage due to stains caused by tannins as it works similar to dye.

How to Remove Tannins From Water? 

You surely don’t want to experience bitter tasting water that looks impure and disgusting. 

So what is the solution, how do you get rid of tannin in water? 

The solution is a tannin removal water filter. 

But the catch is before you pass your tannin affected water through this filter you have to first treat your water with a water softener system. 

Because the tannin removal filter works on anion exchange method that has trouble working with hard water. 

Let’s break it down to make it simpler for you. 

Tannins are negative in nature.

The tannin removal filter works on:

Anion exchange method that attracts negatively charged particles (tannins) and removes them.  

Although if the water you get is hard in nature it contains magnesium, calcium and other metals, which can have a negative impact on Tannin removal filters.

So, before passing it through the filter, you first need to pass the hard water through water softener and remove calcium and magnesium and make it soft in nature. 

And then only pass this soft water through the tannin removal filter. 

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Also, here is a tannin removal filter that you can consider buying. 




Conclusion:  

I hope this article has touched upon all the topics that you needed clarification on. 

And now understand what tannins are & how they get into your water system. 

Although they don’t pose any health risk, when it is about water, it should be clean and odorless. 

That’s when the real satisfaction comes. 

We also bottled water at home or office, so do check out our products and services page.