How to Filter Iron From a Water Hose

While iron in water does not pose a danger to those who drink it, it does have a strong taste that many people find unpleasant. (Well water is particularly prone to have an iron-y taste.) Particularly high levels of iron can also cause discoloration, which is problematic if water is being used for cleaning. Filtering water from an outdoor hose is a relatively simple matter, and can be done in several ways.

Buy an attachable water filter for your hose. These filters contain ingredients (such as charcoal) that chemically or magnetically attract the substances being filtered. A removable filter is an especially good option if you use your hose for plant watering and would like to leave the water unfiltered at times. (Soluble forms of iron are good for plants.)

These attachable water filters can be purchased online. One company that sells them is Pure Water Products, Llc. (See the link in Resources.)

Build your own homemade water filter. The easiest way to do this is with coffee filters and granules of activated coal. (Do not use grilling charcoal, as this is toxic. Activated coal, also known as activated carbon, can be purchased at pet stores for use in fish tanks.) Simply wrap two filters over the mouth of the house, placing granules of charcoal between them and holding the apparatus in place with a rubber band.

Please note: this filter will not stand up to a high-pressure spraying attachment, as this is likely to destroy the coffee filters.

You can make a more permanent and thorough filter if you don't need to spray directly from the hose. Cut the bottom off a 2-liter pop bottle and replace it with a non-disposable coffee filter (sturdier than disposable, but not as flexible). Fill the bottle with alternating layers of clean sand and activated charcoal. Place the hose at the mouth of the bottle and allow water to filter through the sand and charcoal.

Treat your water at the well itself. You can buy a whole-house water filter--or, for a cheaper whole-house treatment, you can affect the iron via a polyphosphate treatment. A polyphosphate treatment is not actually a filtration system, but it will keep iron from being able to stain by reacting with it on a molecular level. This treatment involves feeding polyphosphates into the water system through an injection process, and will not affect the water's drinkability.