Choosing an arsenic removal system that matches your test result

Advertised prices, verified

From lab report to working arsenic treatment

1. Get a speciated arsenic test. Ask a certified lab to report arsenic III and arsenic V separately, not just a total. Arsenic V binds readily to adsorption media and reverse osmosis handles it well; arsenic III is far harder to capture and usually needs oxidation first. The split decides the system.
2. Choose point of use or whole house. Drinking and cooking water is the exposure that matters most, so an under sink reverse osmosis or adsorption cartridge at the kitchen tap is the common first move. Whole house treatment makes sense at higher concentrations or where the household wants every tap covered.
3. Match the media to the chemistry. Iron-based adsorption media handle arsenic V across a wide range of conditions and need periodic media replacement rather than regeneration. RO removes both forms once arsenic III is oxidized upstream. Competing ions such as silica and phosphate shorten media life, which is why the full lab panel matters.
4. Verify with a follow-up test. Arsenic treatment is never fit-and-forget: sample the treated water after installation and then on a routine schedule, because media exhausts silently and gives no taste warning. Budget for verification sampling as part of the system cost in the table above.

Why arsenic shows up and who should test

Most residential arsenic comes from natural geology dissolving into groundwater, which makes private wells the main concern. Private wells are not federally regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, so no authority tests them for you; a USGS study of 2,100 private wells found about one in five carried at least one contaminant above a human-health benchmark, and arsenic is among the contaminants that pattern covers.

If neighbors have found arsenic, your county flags it, or your well has simply never had a full panel, order one from a certified lab before shopping. Our water testing facility near me page covers finding a lab and ordering the right panel without paying for tests you do not need.

The realistic treatment options

Under sink reverse osmosis is the workhorse for drinking water arsenic: proven, compact and self-contained, with the caveat that arsenic III should be oxidized ahead of the membrane for dependable results. Adsorption cartridges using iron-based media are the plumbing-free alternative at a single tap.

Whole house options are adsorption tanks sized to the supply, or oxidation followed by filtration where iron and arsenic occur together, a common and convenient pairing since the iron treatment helps carry arsenic out with it. Vendors listed in the table publish capacity and replacement schedules on their own pages, which is what the prices there reflect.

Common questions

Can I remove arsenic by boiling or with a pitcher filter?

Boiling concentrates arsenic rather than removing it, and ordinary pitcher carbon does little. Only reverse osmosis, iron-based adsorption media or specialized ion exchange address it, and each depends on knowing which arsenic form you have.

Do I need whole house arsenic treatment or just the kitchen tap?

Ingestion is the primary exposure route, so a point of use system covering drinking and cooking water addresses most of the risk. Whole house treatment is the conservative choice at higher levels or in households that want every tap protected.

What does an arsenic removal system cost?

The table on this page lists current prices from 9 vendors' own pages, and the median sits at $1,531. Add the recurring cost of media or membrane replacement and periodic lab verification, both published on the vendor pages.

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