Free installation + 2-year warranty on every purifier · Installation and service across Mangaluru, Bengaluru and nearby towns · Book a lab test
Acidic borewell water treatment
Many borewells around Mangaluru draw acidic water from laterite rock: 20 of 60 city wards tested between pH 4.4 and 5.9 in a 2023 study. Acidic water eats copper and GI pipes, leaves blue-green stains and carries extra dissolved iron. We correct it with a soda ash dosing pump that runs with your borewell pump, aiming for pH 7.0 to 7.5, then take out the iron and hardness that are left.
- pH and iron on a lab report, before and after
- Dose set by a jar test on your water
- Dosing pump wired to the borewell pump
- Iron remover and softener after it, when needed
- Retest after installation
- Homes and businesses
Where acidic borewell water sits
- Target
- pH 7.0 to 7.5 after dosing
- Method
- Soda ash solution, digital dosing pump
- Control
- Runs only when the borewell pump runs
- Set by
- A jar test on your own water
The order matters. Catalytic iron media stop working well below about pH 6, so on acidic water the pH correction always comes first.
What are the signs of acidic water?
Acidic water attacks metal. Look for blue-green stains, leaking copper or GI fittings, a sour or metallic taste and, very often, yellow iron water as well.
Blue-green stains
Turquoise marks under taps and on basins. That is copper coming out of your pipes.
Pinhole leaks and corroded fittings
GI pipes rust through, brass fittings turn pink or crumble, geyser elements fail early.
Sour or metallic taste
Water tastes sharp or of metal, even when it looks clear.
Yellow water as well
Acidic water dissolves more iron from the rock, so iron often comes with it.
A pH test settles it in minutes
We test pH, iron, hardness and TDS at your borewell for free. If the reading is very low we send a sample to a lab in Surathkal to confirm it before we design anything.
How acidic is too acidic?
Drinking water should sit between pH 6.5 and 8.5 under IS 10500. Every step down the scale is ten times more acidic: pH 4.5 is a hundred times more acidic than pH 6.5.
Sources: IS 10500:2012; Nitte University Journal of Health Science 2023 survey of 60 Mangaluru City Corporation wards; Puryn site test with a lab report from a testing laboratory in Surathkal, 22 October 2026 (customer details withheld).
How we treat acidic borewell water
Up to four stages, in this order. The first two do most of the work; the last two depend on your test.
pH correction
A digital dosing pump adds soda ash solution to the borewell line, only while the pump runs. Target pH 7.0 to 7.5.
Automatic iron remover
With the pH corrected, the catalytic media can take out the iron the acid carried. 5-year unconditional warranty.
Water softener
Raising the pH can make hard water scale. Where hardness is high, a softener follows the iron remover.
Purifier for drinking
An RO purifier on the kitchen line for drinking and cooking water.
Acidic water
pH below 6.5Blue-green stains, corroded fittings
Nothing else in the test
Acidic water
pH below 6.5Corrosion
Iron
0.3+ mg/LYellow water, orange stains
Acidic + iron
pH below 6.5, iron 0.3+Corrosion and stains
Hard water
Hardness 200+ mg/LScale on taps
Why we jar-test before we set the dose
Soda ash (sodium carbonate) neutralises the acid in the water. Too little leaves it corrosive. Too much pushes the pH high and makes hard water scale before it reaches the softener. So we work the dose out on a sample of your own water first.
Jar test
We dose measured amounts of soda ash into samples of your borewell water and read the pH, to find the dose that lands at 7.0 to 7.5.
Dosing pump set to your flow
A digital dosing pump is set to match your borewell flow. It is wired to the pump starter, so it never doses into a still line.
Retest and tune
After installation we test the treated water again and fine-tune the dose. You top up the solution tank; we show you how and how often.
Acidic water and RO purifiers
An RO purifier alone does not fix acidic borewell water. The pipes, taps and geyser before it still corrode, and the iron still stains. Correct the pH at the borewell, then purify only the drinking water.
What it needs at your site
The dosing set is small: a solution tank and a pump on the wall near your borewell line.
What to have ready
- A power socket near the borewell starterThe dosing pump is wired so it runs only with the borewell pump.
- Wall or floor space by the pump lineFor the solution tank and the dosing pump, out of direct sun and rain.
- A drain pointFor the iron remover backwash that follows the dosing.
- Your test report, if you have oneOtherwise we test on site.
What our technicians do
- Test pH, iron and hardness at the borewell, and send a sample to the lab if the reading is very low.
- Jar-test the water to set the soda ash dose.
- Fit the dosing point on the borewell line and wire the pump to the borewell starter.
- Install the iron remover after the dosing point, and a softener if your hardness needs one.
- Retest the treated water and tune the dose.
- Show you how to mix and top up the solution.
Very low pH readings, like the 2.81 we measured in October 2026, are rare. We always confirm them with a lab before we design the system.
Send us your water test
WhatsApp a photo of your lab report. A person from our water team reads the pH, iron and hardness together and tells you which stages you need.
Send your report
A photo or PDF, or tell us what you see: blue-green stains, leaks, yellow water.
We read it
pH, iron, hardness and TDS read together, by a person.
Get the stages and the order
Then a lab test of your water before any quote.
Book a lab test.
We test pH, iron, hardness and TDS at your borewell and tell you which stages your water needs. Both lab reports are included in your price.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my borewell water is acidic?
Blue-green stains under taps, pinhole leaks in copper or GI pipes and a sour or metallic taste are the usual signs. A pH test confirms it: below 6.5 is acidic under IS 10500. A lab report confirms it.
Is acidic water harmful?
It is outside the IS 10500 range of 6.5 to 8.5 for drinking water. The bigger problem is what it does on the way: it dissolves metal from pipes and fittings and carries extra iron. Correct it at the source and purify the drinking water separately.
How do you correct the pH?
With soda ash (sodium carbonate) solution, fed by a digital dosing pump that runs only when the borewell pump runs. We set the dose with a jar test on your water and aim for pH 7.0 to 7.5.
Will soda ash make my water hard?
Soda ash does not add hardness, but raising the pH makes existing hardness more likely to scale. That is why a softener follows the iron remover when your hardness is high, and why we avoid overdosing.
Can an RO purifier fix acidic water?
Not on its own. The RO treats only the kitchen line, while the rest of the plumbing keeps corroding and the iron keeps staining. Correct the pH at the borewell first.
Why does the pH come before the iron remover?
Catalytic iron media work poorly below about pH 6. On acidic water, the iron remover only does its job once the pH has been corrected.
How often do I refill the solution tank?
It depends on how acidic the water is and how much you pump. We work it out at installation and show you how to mix and top it up.
How does the lab test work?
You get two lab reports: a pre-treatment report before we recommend anything and a post-treatment report after installation. Both, worth ₹2,000, are included in the price of your system. You pay ₹1,000 when we take the first sample, and it is adjusted when you order. For example, on a ₹65,000 system you pay the remaining ₹64,000.
Guides and related pages
Blue-green stains or leaking pipes?
Book a lab test. We check your water and tell you exactly which stages it needs.
