"What is the best type of filter to remove flourine?"
To remove flourine, a catalyst carbon filter must be used. Catalyst carbon is a stronger carbon than what is normally used for chlorine removal and the cost is much more.

"What is the best type of filter to remove fecal coliform bacteria from our well water?
Ultra-violet light and automatic chlorination are the most common means of solving this problem. Treatment by ozone is also effective against bacterial contamination. We do not sell either of these types of systems due to potential liability.

"What are the specifications on your 'best' filter cartridge?"
The WLC cartridge contains compress-powdered carbon, which is highly effective at reducing certain organic chemicals, such as EDB, TCE, and THM's in addition to reducing chlorine. The cartridge is engineered to allow the water to enter through the entire bed of media before exiting through the top, ensuring maximum performance. This cartridge will even remove most lead and mercury as well as reducing VOC's and removing greater than 99.9% of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Cysts and sediment down to .5 micron (1/2 micron!).

"Someone told me about adding a backwashing system to my existing filter. Will this actually help?"
Backwashing filtering systems are available and are great for some applications (sediment filters, acid neutralizers, ion exchange systems, etc.). When used on a carbon system, it will remove the sediment buildup around the carbon, but does nothing to clean the actual carbon. Carbon absorbs chemicals like a sponge absorbs water. Once saturated, the carbon can no longer absorb any more chemicals and it must be disposed of. As of right now, we are not aware of any way in which the carbon can be cleaned and recycled.

"Lately I have noticed a sulfur smell in my water".
This usually comes from one of two sources:

If you notice the smell only in your hot water then most likely your water heater is the culprit. In many water heaters the anode rod is made of magnesium. As the anode rod breaks down (which is what it is designed to do), it can create hydrogen sulfide. A magnesium rod can be replaced with an aluminum rod to eliminate this problem. It can also be caused by sulphate-reducing bacteria which thrive in the warm environment present in a water heater. To reduce the bacteria, you may need to add hydrogen peroxide into the tank (approx. 1 pint/40 gallons of water), re-pressurize it, run 2-3 gallons of hot water at each fixture and then let it set for at least one hour, with overnight being better. This will help clean the tank and piping of bacteria. While the mixture is non-toxic at this strength, run a hot water tap the next day until it runs cold then wait an hour and drain the water heater. Last, check the temperature of the hot water as soon as the burner shuts off. If necessary, lower the temperature to 125 degrees. This limits the growth of odor-causing bacteria, limits the formation of scale, is safer for everyone using hot water, and it lowers your operating costs as well.

If you notice the smell in both your hot and cold water then it's probably due to well water. Hydrogen Sulfide is formed from decomposing underground deposits of organic matter like decaying plants. It can occur in deep or shallow wells and is the result of bacterial action that reduces sulfates in water to hydrogen sulfide. The simple solution for this is shock chlorination to the entire water system - starting from the well, all the way through the distribution lines. Chlorine should be kept in the system for several hours, preferably overnight. If the problem persists, then you may have to install an ion exchange system utilizing Maz® media (see the iron question below). If you have very high levels of hydrogen sulfide (over 5ppm) then you may need to utilize a combination of chlorine feed, aeration, and ion exchange.
Note: high levels of chlorine can cause damage to your pipes and is toxic in concentrated form.

"My water has an orange tint to it. What can I do?"
The first thing we would recommend would be to have it professionally tested. The orange tint is usually the result of a high iron content. If your test confirms this then see below.

"My water has a high iron content. How can I reduce this?"
We get more questions about iron than any other water problem. The method depends on how much iron is in your system and how fine the particles are. A test you can do yourself would be to fill a clear glass with water and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. If the iron settles to the bottom then a cartridge type filter (5 micron or smaller) should be able to remove the majority of the iron particles. If the particles remain suspended then a filter won't help.

For removal of very fine iron particles you will need either a water softener or an iron removal system. A water softener will remove up to 4ppm of iron, but if used this way the resin will need to be cleaned about once a month. If yours is higher than that then you will need an iron removal system with special media. Different media would be used for different mineral conditions. Sometimes aeration can be used. It's not necessarily better then ion resins, but you wouldn't need to regenerate the system with any chemicals. We highly recommend that you consult with a local expert before ordering any water treatment system.
In many cases, for a family of two we recommend at least one cubic foot of Maz® medium to take the iron out. Maz® can be chlorinated intermittently or continuously without damage to the medium.

This must be backwashed with some type of oxidizer. This can be hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, potassium permangamate, etc. (caution, some of these products can be hazardous in concentrated form). Of the above, hydrogen peroxide and potassium parmangamate will not lose their properties as fast as most of them.
To avoid having to backwash, you could use Birm® media. However some say this is the weakest of all iron media.