How to Remove Copper From Drinking Water

Copper most frequently enters a home's drinking water from corroded copper pipes or contaminated well water. Copper often enters water when it sits in old copper pipes for hours at a time. Well contamination may also be the source of the copper. Fertilizer, for instance, can contaminate well water and increase copper levels. Understanding the two possible sources of copper contamination are vital to eliminating the substance from drinking water. There are a few fairly simple methods to remove copper from drinking water.

Instructions

1. Hire a plumber to check your home for old copper piping. When older copper pipes degrade and corrode, copper enters the water. If necessary, have your copper pipes replaced.

2. If copper pipes cannot be immediately replaced, use a temporary solution to prevent health problems from copper ingestion. Run the cold tap for three full minutes prior to using the water for drinking or cooking. This will flush out the contaminated water that was sitting stagnant in the copper pipes.

3. If your home is served by a well, have the well water tested for copper. If copper is detected, a well technician may be able to provide insight about the source of the copper contamination.

4. Install a water-filtration system if your well is the source of copper contamination. Hire a well technician to install a filter outside of your home as an add-on component to the well pump or water softener; this is the ideal solution, as it will eliminate copper from all of the faucets in your home. Many faucet-mounted water filters also eliminate copper, but this solution is only partial, since faucet-mounted water filters are typically only available for kitchen faucets.

5. If you believe that you have been exposed to copper, seek assistance from a physician, particularly if you experience symptoms of copper exposure like diarrhea, cramps and nausea. Long-term exposure to high levels of copper can cause potentially serious organ damage.

Tips & Warnings

• Metals like copper cannot be removed from water by boiling, which will only evaporate water and concentrate the copper levels in the remaining fluid.

• Avoid using the hot water tap if copper is entering the drinking water from old copper pipes. Hot water tends to have higher levels of copper.

References

• Center for Disease Control's Fact Sheet on Copper in Water