Well Water Filtration Systems

Well water filtration systems matched to your test results

Every well is different. Tell us what's wrong with your water and we'll show you which system fixes it and in what order.

What's wrong with your water?

Check everything that applies.

Have lab numbers? Open the full matcher
Cross-section of a private well A drilled well passes through soil, clay and bedrock into an aquifer. Bacteria and nitrate enter near the surface, iron and manganese come from clay and rock, and hardness, sulfur and arsenic come from the bedrock aquifer. Bacteria, nitrateenter near the surface Iron, manganesefrom clay and rock Hardness, sulfurdissolved from bedrock Arsenic, uraniumnatural in some aquifers

How to fix well water without guessing

  1. Test

    A certified lab panel tells you iron, hardness, bacteria, pH and more. What to test.

  2. Match

    Each system has published limits. The matcher checks your numbers against them.

  3. Install in order

    Sediment, then pH, then iron, then softener, then UV. The wrong order ruins equipment.

Start with the problem you see

Orange stains, metallic taste

Iron

Cartridges under 3 ppm, air-injection filters up to 7 ppm.

Rotten-egg smell

Hydrogen sulfide

Check the water heater first, then treat the well.

Scale, spots, dry skin

Hard water

Size a softener by grains per gallon and household use.

Positive coliform test

Bacteria

What to do this week, and when UV is the permanent fix.

Black or brown stains

Manganese

A nuisance at 0.05 ppm, a health concern above 0.3 ppm.

Found only by testing

Arsenic

EPA's limit is 10 ppb. Reverse osmosis at the tap is the usual fix.

Near farms or septic

Nitrate

Above 10 mg/L, never use it for infant formula.

Tea-colored water

Tannins

Organic color that a tannin filter removes.

Blue-green stains, leaks

Low pH

Neutralize first, or iron filters won't work.

Sand, grit, cloudiness

Sediment

The first stage in every system.

Systems we recommend most often

Buying through our links can earn us a commission at no cost to you. How that works.

  1. Iron, sulfur and manganese in one tank

    SpringWell WS Well Water Filter

    Air injection oxidation: an air pocket at the top of the tank oxidizes dissolved iron, sulfur and manganese so a greensand bed can trap them. It backwashes itself on a timer, with no chemicals or salt.

    • Iron up to 7 ppm
    • Hydrogen sulfide up to 8 ppm
    • Manganese up to 1 ppm
    • WS1: 12 GPM, 1–4 baths
    • WS4: 20 GPM, 4+ baths
    • Lifetime warranty, 6-month money-back
    From about $1,600WS1 to WS4, before softener add-ons · checked October 2026 Check price at SpringWell

  2. Hard water

    SpringWell SS Salt-Based Water Softener

    Ion exchange: resin beads swap calcium and magnesium for sodium, then the tank regenerates with brine from the salt tank.

    • SS1: 32,000 grains, 11 GPM, 1–3 baths
    • SS4: 48,000 grains, 13 GPM, 4–6 baths
    • Bluetooth control head
    • 6-month money-back
    About $1,800SS1; SS4 costs more · checked October 2026 Check price at SpringWell

  3. Bacteria

    SpringWell UV Water Purification System

    Water passes a UV-C lamp that scrambles the DNA of bacteria and viruses so they can't reproduce. It adds nothing to the water and removes no minerals, so the water must be clear first.

    • Kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses (maker's claim)
    • 15 GPM, 1–7 baths
    • Needs hardness < 7 gpg, iron < 0.3 ppm
    • Turbidity < 1 NTU, tannins < 0.1 ppm
    • Lifetime warranty, 6-month money-back
    About $1,100lamp replacement about $119/year · checked October 2026 Check price at SpringWell

  4. Start here if you haven't tested

    Tap Score Essential Well Water Test

    You fill sample bottles at home and ship them on ice to a certified lab. Results come back as an online report with each number compared to health limits.

    • 54 analytes incl. coliform and E. coli
    • Heavy metals, nitrate, nitrite, hardness, pH
    • Certified partner labs
    • About 5 business days at the lab
    About $209includes return shipping to the lab · checked October 2026 Check price at Tap Score

Not sure which you need? Compare whole-house filters for well water or see what a system costs.

Why well owners need a different approach

More than 23 million US households drink from private wells, according to EPA. Nobody tests or treats that water for them. In a USGS study of about 2,100 private wells, roughly 23% had at least one contaminant at a level that could affect health, mostly from natural rock: radon, arsenic, uranium and manganese, plus nitrate from fertilizer and septic systems.

That's why every page here starts from a test result and an EPA benchmark, and why every system we recommend comes with its published limits. See how we pick.