How to remove iron from well water
 

We are looking at buying a place near the end of Janurary, that we really like. It runs off of well water though. The water looks clear when running, but when you put it in a glass, it kind of has a red tint to it. The camodes and the dishwasher are stained red. We think this is iron. My question is, can just a water softener remove this, or will we need to get something else? Does anybody have any experience with this?

I would get the water tested before buying the place. Here is a link to check out:

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/iron.htm

When we lived in MI we had alot of iron in the water. We had a settling sand tank on our water line from the well and the house water was fine. DEE

I will do a seach on one of these. We're trying to explore all options, including running lines and tapping with the local water user's association (big bucks). The well is there and working, people have been renting the place for the last year, and just using bottled water for drinking and cooking-- a rediculous expense if you ask me :rolleyes: but, since they were renting... anyway, my goal is to be able to get the well water cleaned up in some way, and the water user's thing as a last resort.

We had iron in our well water AND iron-eating bacteria and it was a mess. Even with two filters everything was stained and discolored. I didn't know well water could be so bad as we had several wells at other houses and they were wonderful. Our water would look clear but if left to sit overnight it was all rusty. That was one happy day when we were able to hook up to city water!

Sounds like rust algae to me. Had it once in our well The well guy came out and shocked the well with chlorine tablets. Once the algae was taken care of we put a clorinater on the system and no more rust!
Carol

A water softener can handle the rust problem but the treated water will probably be unsuitable for drinking due to the salt content. One way to solve this would be to install a small reverse osmosis system to be used for drinking and cooking only.

Do you mean one of those little under the sink things, that has its own little faucet by your normal sink faucet? Would that much salt in the water be bad for bathing, gardening or animals? I know its a lot of questions, but I'm trying to learn everything I can before we get into this.

We lived with the red in our water for a couple of years.

We then got a 400.00 water softner from Home depot and plumbed it in ourselves. Works great and all the red stains are gone.Only cost about 450.00
No salt in the water. Salt is used to clean the resin but is flushed before the new water starts going through the system.

Jill

Actually, if you have the type of softener that uses salt to regenerate the resin, it definitely increases the sodium in your water. In simple terms, the salt doesn't clean the resin. The resin "holds onto" the sodium when it's regenerated, then basically releases the sodium and captures the components that make your water hard. It won't taste salty, but it's there.

My well has plenty of iron and iron bacteria. It can be pretty easily treated with plain ole bleach, and if you do it regularly it won't be much of a problem. I sure wouldn't let it stop me from buying a piece of property I wanted.

I am not an expert on softners but this was some of the info I found.

"NOTE: Until recently, a major objection to water softeners was the sodium they added to the water.
Now, potassium chloride salt substitute is widely available. Instead of exchanging hardness for sodium
(which most people get too much of in their diets), it exchanges for more healthful POTASSIUM
(which most people don't get enough of). Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in potassium.
It also exchanges most naturally occurring sodium in your water for potassium. People trying to watch their sodium intake can now have the benefits of a water softener, and drink SODIUM-FREE soft water!"

Jill

My brother in law lives about 45 miles from us and has a terribly high iron content in his well. Ruined a lot of laundry, etc. They have a softner and some other system in place, which is the only way they can deal with the iron. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Something is wrong with about any property you look at, just weather you can live with the problems or not. Jan in Co

You might look into a iron filter to filter the iron out of the water, we live in a area here in Michigan where iron is a big problem. The iron filter is similar to a water softner but uses a different media to remove the iron or rust out of the water, We have installed both a water softner and a iron filter to help combat the problem. Only draw back to this system is the fact that the cost is double to purchase as well as it uses the salt tank of the softner to regenerate like the softner does so you use more salt. Works good and really does remove the rust without buying all those tiny filters that you have to change all the time. If you need more info I will find the name of the company that manufactures the system so you can check them out.I work for a mechanical contractor part time and we have installled a few of these for people with terrible rust and iron problems.

People love my red-gold hair color....if I fix the iron problem, I'd be just another ditzy blonde! Seriously, it changes even your hair color. The cat tries to "cover it up" if we forget and give him tap water instead of bottled water.

Our previous house had hard water in excess of 20 grains. We tried the potassium alternative by completely emptying the brine tank and refilling it with potassium chloride and the water was still undrinkable; it now had a strong metallic taste.
A water softener removes the iron ion (Fe+2) and replaces it with either a sodium ion (Na+2) or potassium ion (K+2); it's a simple ionic exchange. If the water started out full of iron after treatment with a softener it's going to full of something else depending on what you rinse the resin bed with. Reverse osmosis (R.O. for short) can be small enough to fit under the sink or large enough to handle the whole house. A whole house system runs $3000 and up and there will be yearly filter and membrane changes required. However, EVERYTHING comes out of the water. Around here farmers with shallow wells use them because of potential ground water contamination from the chemicals they apply to the fields. A small under the sink system is available at Home Cheapo for $300 or so. It's not a problem for bathing, in fact soft water is a good thing. Not a problem for animals either, think of the water as a "liquid salt block". As far a gardening, at my previous house I had the most productive garden in the area.
The first thing to do is acquire a couple of water samples and have the water tested. The answer will be in grains of hardness and will help determine which treatment will be cost effective.

Too Funny...LOL

Thanks for all of the information everyone-- I found out that I can take samples to Sears and they'll test it and tell us what they recommend-- then from there, I guess we can shop around for the best price :)

I'll swear it forever: There isn't a question I can ask Homesteading Todayers that an answer can't be found for! You guys are great
:bow:

Bacterial Iron will stain your stuff red and taste/smell like water at the local swimming hole. There is a test for this but the smell/taste + red buildup in the toilets, bathtubs, sinks, and dishwashers makes it readily identifiable.


This is the remedy I use:

Dilute a gallon of bleach in 5 gallons of water and dump it down the well pipe.
Run the water out the garden hose until you smell the bleach.
Run the water inside until you smell bleach at each faucet.
Flush the toilets a few times.
Put the garden hose in the top of the well pipe so that the pump is circulating the bleach water mix.
Let it run for 8 hours.
Pull the hose and water the flowers or garden or driveway for another 8 hours.
Run the faucets inside for a few hours.

Repeat as needed. With my well it is every 10 months. This is called a chlorine shock.

You can buy a chlorinator that will kill the iron bacteria and a charcoal filter that will take the chlorine out. Plumb the chlorinator in front of your existing pressure tank and the charcoal filter after the tank. You will have to size them according to the capacity of your pressure tank. Smaller tank = More chlorine = larger charcoal filter

Good luck.

A water softener WILL NOT help a bacterial iron problem. They only help hardness problems.

J

Do you know where I could find more info about one of these?

We have fine iron sediments in our water. We put in a cheap whole house filter system for about $50. We then went to a plumbing supply place and bought filter cartridges that filter to a MUCH smaller particle size. We've worked our way down from 25 microns to 10 microns and next we will try 5 microns. Smaller than that we will have to upgrade to something that can do smaller stuff but I doubt it will be a reverse osmosis system like some water stores want you to believe.

We did have a comprehensive well water test done too and the iron levels were not so high that it spiked their findings, it's just a matter of preserving our appliances. ;)

minnikin1 Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutti
When we lived in MI we had alot of iron in the water. We had a settling sand tank on our water line from the well and the house water was fine. DEE


Do you know where I could find more info about one of these?

There are many of these types of filters. They can be readly built or you can build them any size you want. If you PM me I will give you the specifications for building one.

So far the score is Iron sediments have claimed one dishwasher, two fausets. The kenitico guy want over 2000 plus grand. Like hoofin, we to are off the charts. We have learned to accept it and plan as money if found to do more with it. We did and do have the same filter thing in place like hoofin. but still the dishwasher has to be taken apart every 6 months to clean out the line and filter located in and elbow joint. I do worry about the washing machine and refuse to hook up the icemaker. The side arm off the boiler has to be drained and rinse each year. I am willing to try shocking the well. (now that I have learned about it in more detail)>

Note: Potassium chloride is radioactive, and its probably not a good idea to consume it continuously.

http://www.blackcatsystems.com/science/radprod.html
"As it turns out, approximately 0.01% of the Potassium found in nature is Potassium-40, a radioactive isotope with a half life of 1.28 billion years. It's a beta emitter, with an energy of 1.3 MeV (millions of electron volts)."

To clarify - our iron sediments are intermittent and seem to occur more frequently if we use our yard hydrant and then come in and use the house water. The comprehensive well test we had barely registered any at all so at that time we had basically nothing. The plumbing has not become clogged and we have lost no fixtures or appliances but to prevent an issue we used the cheap filter I mentioned (available at a home store). We are working down in microns until we eliminate any bit of iron showing up at the faucets or in the appliances in the house. So far the worst we've seen is a small rust-colored film on the inside of PEX where we've added valves or something, which is why we are still working down in micron sizes for filter cartidges. The filter does need to be changed at least every 90 days though or it will be just brown with collected sediment after a typical few months with heavy yard hydrant use.

arbutus is right, if it is an iron problem, a water softener will not help. What you need is an iron filter. The old one we had looked similar to a small water softener (what you would keep in your basement, kinda looks like an upright helium tank).

Our situation: we moved into our new (but old) house last year. Everything such as the white shower stall and toilets, would get orangey deposits on them, and the water was very hard to boot. There was an old iron filter---probably a good 25 years old---downstairs that was barely working. As for the hard water, our dishes after a few months (with a dishwasher) were so hazy and cloudy looking, I had to keep a separate set of glasses for when visitors came over. That's how horrible they looked. I was sure they were ruined.

I finally splurged on a water softener/iron filter combo (this looks like two helium tanks with a water tank salt container attached) and goes in the basement. Within a month of using it, all my dishes, including those ruined glasses, were sparkling clear. My silverware is shiny shiny! I really was amazed. My toilet, etc, stays normal looking now (well, as close as one can get with two boys who have bad aim!;)) I really wished I hadn't waited for almost a year to get one, but I honestly didn't think it would make that much difference.

What did I pay for this? Just under $2,000. But keep in mind this is Canadian prices, and I could have went with a somewhat cheaper guy, but I stuck with a well-known company that had a good long-term rep. You CAN also get refurbished models, which are cheaper. I would say if you have a choice between buying and renting, go for the buying. It's cheaper in the long run, as new ones can last for 20+ years (if you rent, they give you a refurbished model).

Both of the guys I had initially come from different companies to get an estimate told me that it is a misconception that the salt ends up in the water. Going from memory here, but I believe the salt is like a neutralizer for when the softener 'purges'. Probably someone else here knows more about that. You can always have them test for it if it is a concern.

DD

If the guys told you that the salt (sodium) doesn't go into the water using a water softener, they need to find another line of work. Of course, that has nothing to do with the fact that your softener works well for you and that's the important thing. The only issue with the sodium usually is if someone in your household is on a sodium restricted diet. Here's a link that gives a very detailed description of how a water softener works, and also includes health concerns. Of course, there's health concerns with coffee too, but if I can't have my morning coffee, I believe I'd just as soon croak. :coffee:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...s/1275126.html

Dixydoodle, I have an orange shower due to iron in my well water. After I fix the iron problem how can I get my shower to be white again? I tried CLR and vinegar, also scrubbing with Comet/Ajax and that seemed to work but the manufacturer of my shower doesn't recommend that-too abrasive on the plastic.
What did you use?

I've used CLR and Lime Away before. Now I clean it with something called Kaboom. They are all for deposit stains. I don't get the stains anymore, but the Kaboom is also a good all-round bath cleaner.

As for the salt, perhaps some of the older models dumped salt into the water? Argh, I wish I could remember exactly what the techs said about that, what the salt is actually for. I will try to contact them next week to get the goods on it. All I remember is that he said if you are on a salt-reduced diet, it would not affect it.

I recall many years ago when my BIL got one, he was concerned about the "salt" and had it so the softener was hooked up to all but the kitchen faucet---the one they drank from.

Try a stain eraser on the stains: Mr. Clean makes some. I have never tried it on rust stains but it takes off most OTHER things without scratching.

I had a lot and I mean lots of iron in my water and I had to have 2 iron tanks put in from a water conditioning company. those tanks contained Potassium Permaganite. And even at that only took out about 90% of the iron. As my well contained Iron Forming Bacteria. But I lived with it it was safe to drink and all but sure made a mess of some colors of clothes.
Those conditioning tanks flushed once a week and I would even Flush out the pressure tank once a month and that was much much iron in it that it would look almost like coffee when at the bottom of the tank.
Should have gone down deeper with the well it was way too shallow and stopped in the wrong depth.