Iron Removal

[GONO2]

I purchased land and built a house on it about a year ago. Since turning on the water, toilets, sinks, washer, etc have been turning a reddish brown. Only way to remove it is with Lime-Away and a Pumise stick. Local plumbing supplier sent water sample off and got these results

hardness 6 gpg
iron 1.4 ppm
pH 7.0
manganese 0.2 ppm
total dissolved solids 95 ppm

they recommend a Water-Right Sanitizer Plus system to fix my problems.

What is the cheapest and easiest way to fix my problem? I see all types of iron filter systems on Ebay for $600 and up. It's going to cost me almost 2K for the Water-Right system. I want to do this the cheapest way that will work and not be a headache - but don't want to cut corners and end up with with something that doesn't work.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Stand by, we have water professionals on site.

Just a couple observations... 6 grains per gal is not very hard and shouldn't require treatment for softness.

Did you send a sample to a recognized lab to test for biologicals (living stuff in the water and stuff in the water that is bad for youir health and of sufficient quantity to indicate treating it? These are IMPORTANT health issues.

Iron is at least a nuisance and you obviously want to treat it BUT... at what expense? Here is where our professional water quality guys can give you some options.

Pat

[GONO2]

Hi Pat,

I have had the biological issues tested as well. All is OK there. The main issue is the 1.4 ppm iron. I just want an easy way to get it down to the point where it's not staining everything in the house.

I'm waiting on those professional water guys.

[Pat]

Thre is more to iron in your well water than I like to have to think about and luckily my well has no iron problem.

Treatment considerations for various forms of Iron
* Aeration: Introducing oxygen to the water source to convert soluble iron to its insoluble form.
* Filtration: Media used to entrap and screen out oxidized particles of iron. Usually requires backwashing to remove accumulated iron.
* Water Softener: Removal of soluble iron by ion exchange.
* Manganese Greensand: An ion exchange sand material which is capable of removing iron. Adsorbs dissolved iron and requires chemical regeneration.
* Catalytic Filtration "BIRM": A granular filter medium that enhances the reaction between oxygen and iron and then filters the insoluble iron.
* Ozonation: A specialized form of aeration using ozone to convert soluble iron.
* Ion Exchange: Substituting an acceptable ion (such as sodium) for soluble iron.
* Sequestering: Adding chemical agents to water to keep metals like iron in solution to prevent characteristic red stains.
* Chlorination: Chemical oxidizer used to convert soluble iron to an insoluble, filterable form.

There are important points to remember when considering an iron treatment system. When you choose a water treatment method or device, make sure you have answers to the following five questions:

1. What form of iron do I have in my water system? (Your probably clear iron, right?)
2. Will the water treatment unit remove the total iron concentration (determined by the water test) in my water supply? (Total iron refers to both soluble and insoluble iron combined).
3. Will the treatment unit treat the water at the flow rate required for my water system?
4. Considering the results of my water test, will this method effectively remove iron? (For example, pH may need to be adjusted before beginning a particular treatment). At least your pH isn't out of whack.
5. Would well construction or reconstruction be more cost effective than a long term iron removal treatment process? If you figure the cost of installation of the iron removal system, expected maint, service for the life of the system (whatever that is) and replacement after the expected life (lather rinse repeat) Would it be cheaper in the long run to try to tap a better water source? Sometimes it is.

So, say, which sort of iron do you have in your water? Clear, right?

I was hoping one of the water pro guys would chime in by now. There are lots of different approaches to taking care of excess iron in your water and from my previous cursory look at water filtration systems (and brief recent update) there seems to be quite a spread in pricing.

Historically water treatment has been one of the areas where less than honorable practices, especially high pressure salesmanship often accompanied by scare tactics has been employed. Not to indict all of the industry but there is a fair number of unscrupulous operators out there.

Part of the answer of cost to you is how easy you want your ongoing participation to be. If you don't mind a little hassle regenerating and back flushing you might save a few bucks over an automated system or throw away filters.

Pat

[GONO2]

Thanks Pat....

Mine is the clear iron type.

My well is new. It is 150 ft deep and I have a minimum of 20 gpm flow from it. Getting water out of the ground is definitely not a problem. We built here about 9 months ago. Most homes within a mile of me have this same problem with the iron. Everyone I have talked to though, just cleans up the mess it makes rather than fixing the problem.

From what I have read on a few other sites, I can see what you mean about some pushy salespeople. I wish I could find an expert that has installed all kinds and can recommend an or not recommend certain types. I like the idea of not changing filters unless they are very inexpensive.

[Pat]

Gono2, I'm sorry none of our resident experts have jumped in here.

You might want to talk to your county extension agent. That might be a lead to someone in your area you can get good info from, or a user with experience to share. There will likely be concern regarding getting involved in recommending a commercial service but they should be able to help you with generic info and maybe leads to users.

I would not be surprised to find they have someone on staff who can help you or at least recommend a contact at the college or university with which the extension service is connected.

The agricultural extension agencies are usually very helpful and if they haven't got someone on staff to help you they can usually direct you to where you can get good unbiased recommendations on most topics of interest to rural citizens.

Pat

[raykos]

Hi GONO2,

By no stretch of imagination am I a water expert, but when we first built our house we too had a problem with reddish brown residue in the commode, washer, sinks, etc. So, what I did was install a sediment cartridge filter in the main line feeding the house.
As I said, I'm no water expert, but the cartridge filter worked for us and in comparison to some of the other systems, it's really inexpensive. The only downside is having to periodically change it, which really isn't all that big a deal.

[Pat]

raycos, You had sediment, fine insoluble mineral material like clay dust, in your water and a mechanical filter could remove it. The OP has clear water iron. His problem material is in solution, i.e. dissolved and a mechanical filter such as worked for you and like the one I have won't help.

Some dissolved materials can be removed by reverse osmosis which is "sort of" a mechanical filtration process but I'm not so sure RO will help much with clear water iron.

Some of the methods of handling it react it to produce an insoluble precipitate and then filter that.

Pat

[stumpfield]

GONO2: Did you get a solution to your iron water problem? I'm having similar problem with my well. My iron content is much higher than yours. 18ppm and the color of my well water looks like very light tea. I hope water expert will respond. Thanks in advance.

[jimmyj]

We have 4ppm iron in our water (don't know what kind of iron though). After 12 years of living with it (and the related iron bacteria that grew inside the back of every toilet), we finally broke down and got a high quality system. I cannot say how happy we are with it after years of ruined stuff. The system is a greensand unit that backflushes with potassium permangenate once a week or so. Then the water goes through a water softener and finally through a UV filter. The water is AMAZING now. The price was painful, but I'll tell ya I wish we did it when we first moved here because I have now had to replace both showers, both toilets, all of the taps in the house, both bathroom sinks, our dishwasher and many many many items of clothing because they were so badly stained they would not clean anymore. We were using hydorchloric acid to clean the toilets for goodness sakes.

It cost over $2000 and we had to save up for a while for the system but in the long run it will be so very worth it.

Good luck.

P.S. We had tried just a greensand iron remover with the potassium permangenate and it worked pretty good so you maybe can use just that part. I'm not a trained water technician though by any means. Maybe get a second opinion.