Iron in Water - Laboratory Analysis

Iron in water

Sources of iron in water

Iron occurs naturally in soil, but its concentration in groundwater can vary depending on human activity: drilling, soil leaching, mineral dissolution, industrial discharges... or simply corrosion of metal pipes. You can recognize iron in water by its orange color and unpleasant taste.

Iron in your plumbing is also noticeable through rusty sludge and reduced water flow as the pipes become clogged. You may also detect a foul odor and slimy deposits. 

Standards for iron in water

There is no health-based guideline value for iron, but you should know that below a concentration of 0.3 mg/l, the taste of iron is generally not noticeable. Above this level, iron causes staining of laundry and faucets. *

Effects of iron on the body

At high concentrations, iron is harmful to the kidneys and liver. High iron levels also appear to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as promote the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

This paragraph is based in part on the WHO report “ Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality ”.

*A guideline value is a reference value provided by the WHO.

How can you have your water's iron level tested in a laboratory?

We offer laboratory analysis of your water to determine its exact iron level.

To do this, you must also order the basic laboratory analysis available here. This basic analysis includes a sampling kit and shipping it to our independent partner laboratory.

Please note, iron analysis is included in chemistry packages 2, 3, and 4. In that case, simply add one of those options to your cart. You do not need to add the product on this page to your cart.

Other methods for testing iron in water

If you would prefer to avoid the hassle of sending samples to a laboratory, or if you expect to perform this test several times, you can test your water's free chlorine level yourself!

You have two options: the standalone iron test, or the test with a photometer.