Septic & Water Softener part II

Richard · Apr 15, 2005

If you have a lot of deposit accumulating in your water heater and you then add a softner to the system... Will the softened water help clear out the lines/tank "over time"??? I think I have calcium deposits... the white flakey stuff that collects then flakes off the heater rods.

I clean my tank out every now & then anyway but for any accumulations inside pipes/faucets or hot water tank that I can't get to... will the change help?

ByronBob · Apr 15, 2005

Man, I'm going to try not to make this long winded Rich so forgive me. First off as far as the septic system is concerned. Salt eats away at concrete. If you put a salt pellet on concrete it will eat at it. However the salt going into your tank isn't a pellet it's diluted.

Over time (I'm talking long time 30 yrs) the salt will weaken the concrete. By then so has everything else with a system so you can put it in there. But if you have another alternative I'd consider using it. For the record my system drains into the sump crock.

A softener has resin pellets in it. The sodium from salt clings to the resin. because salt is a positive charged ion. Here comes your hard water. Calcium is a negative charged ion. As the calcium comes into your resin field in the tank, it clings to the resin beads while the sodium ion gets released.

So your water going into the house will have a sodium (albeit) low salt content because the calcium has been removed.

The system during recharging is flushing salt water from your holding tank of salt through the beads of resin to flush the calcium ions out and replentish them with sodium ions so the system backflushes out the calcium and sodium. All of this goes into your septic tank.

As for your hot water heater. It doesn't matter where you are, you should flush the tank at least 1x per year. It won't clean itself up by itself. Another thing to consider is the anode rod in the tank. The rod is there to absorb particles which are positive charged so the don't attack the tank. You'll need to watch how fast the salt attacks the rod because once it's gone then your tank is next.

My anode rod is aluminum because my magnesium rod was reacting with my system giving me the rotten eggs smell back which I was trying to get rid of to begin with. Aluminum slows this down better.

A picture of my system is attached. Good luck

SPIKER · Apr 18, 2005

hey guys:

on to that hotwater tank anode rod: Mine is stinking bad, (hot awter roten egg smell that is) Also this is in my farm and I have the ater off most of the winter and tank drained (but smell was in there last fall too) I drained tank and cleaned it out in the fall. rinsed it well and left it off & empty of water as heat was off/low near freezing. there is no water softener in the system and well is 20+ yrs old with rusty caseing which is where most of the rust comes form I belive as when the well is used often the ater runs clean/clear from both hot & cold spigots. in mid summer after using the well keeping enough water folowing in/out the water is quite nice.

I need to change the anode rod, it is a richmond heater 50gal 220 electric one. I know lowes sells the heaters but I do not or have ont seen the rods there maybe need to ask? would an alum one be better than the mag or some other type??

also is there something to clean up the well casing of rust? I treated the well with a couple pool tabs to kill off anything, (last thursday) and drained several hundred gallons of water through into the roller & back yard this weekend and it did clear up some.

anyohw thanks for help & listeneing.

when I get out there perminatly I'll be using enough water to keep caseing rust down I htink and will be adding a softener of some type too... I don't know the hardness but I think it aws 50 grains or less back when I first bought it 4+ yrs now. ( though memory is not my strong suit... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

MarkM

anthonyk · Apr 19, 2005

A rotten egg smell is actually a bacterial problem.
It's caused by hydrogen sulfide gas.
That's usually caused by bacteria in the well.
Get a chlorinator kit from a water purification company.
That'll do 2 things: First, it'll get rid of the smell, and secondly, it will precipitate any iron you have in the water, out.

Good luck, Anthony

ByronBob · Apr 19, 2005

I went to A.O Smith web site and read about this and it recommended a different anode rod. I then called the plumber who did all my water system and he recommended something different than the magnesium rod.

You can buy an aluminum rod from a plumber who deals in your particular water heater and then cut the rod to the correct length. Cost was under $20.

Bacteria is the issue. I pour a cup of bleach into the tank through the anode rod opening. Let it sit overnight and then flush the following am. It works for about 3-4 weeks with no smell that way then I do it again.

My system is the best I can get for my water quality and really from what comes out of the ground to what I drink, I'm really happy with it. I look at the hot water quality the same way. For 15 min of inconvience I get good water for 3-4 weeks and it's the best it will be.

dholly · Apr 19, 2005

( I treated the well with a couple pool tabs to kill off anything, (last thursday) and drained several hundred gallons of water through into the roller & back yard this weekend and it did clear up some.)

Ok, I too have a slight sulphur smell at a cabin well I surely would like to eliminate. Dropping a couple of the 3" clorine tablets (the kind used in automatic pool chlorinators, right?) directly down the well casing sounds simple enough. But is there any downside to trying this, i.e., can I inadvertantly 'over-clorinate' and end up with unpotable water for a extended period of time? Don't want to make things worse, how do you estimate how many tabs is just right?

SPIKER · Apr 19, 2005

dholly:

I use the smaller tabs ones about 1" dia and maybe 1/2" thick not the BIG ones as they MAY dislodge and or get stuck going down... there is also a water strainer which can be fitted inlinbe that theses tabs drop into nicely and that releases it as water flows past but if it sets a while you get a blast of bleach smell OK for dishes bad for washing hair & cloths.

I have poured 1/2 gallon of bleach into the hot water heater and left it set for several days that way last fall to no avail. the well smell is good nothin noticeable out of the casing (well except the normal type ground smell.) I'll take a look at lowes next time I'm there and ask about new alum anode rod for the hot water heater...

MarkM

anthonyk · Apr 20, 2005

guys, I do NOT recommend dropping bleach or chlorine in your well. Chlorine (actually sodium hypochlorite) is a powerful oxidizing agent. If you've ever spilled some bleach on your jeans, you know what I mean. Dropping chlorine tablets into your well can cause problems on seals, the motor, etc.
Also, you need sufficient "contact" time for the chlorine to do it's job well. A chlorination system is not expensive. Including the holding tank, it should be less than a grand. When you use a chlorination system, it drips chlorine into the holding tank, at a very minute rate. The chlorine has more time to work, and it will precipitate iron, so that kills 2 problems. You'll use less chlorine, and won't damage any pump seals, piping, etc. You should also consider running the water through a LARGE carbon filter after it gets chlorinated. At least a cubic foot. Don't buy those small 10 inch filters. There's not enough carbon, you'll have to change them all the time because of fouling, and you WILL lose water pressure because of flow restrictions. Your carbon tank should look like a scuba tank. This way you don't have the chlorinated water smell. So basically, you pump the water, put it through the chlorinator, killing bacteria, and getting rid of iron, then de-chlorinate it before use.
good luck.

anthony

ByronBob · Apr 20, 2005

Anthony is correct. Have you ever seen what a chlorine tablet does to a pool bottom if it sits there for a few days. The chlorine can't sit at the bottom of your well because it will be too concentrated. (Experience talking here.....)

A half of a gallon of bleach in the hot water tank is too much also. A cup at most is plenty. If your water going into the tank isn't treated at all then it won't last long before the smell comes back.

My system (all 5 grand of it) injects bleach into the line then filters it through 3 units before it goes into the house. You need to do it right if your going to do it or it's like putting a band aid on something.

bczoom · Apr 20, 2005

( guys, I do NOT recommend dropping bleach or chlorine in your well.
anthony )

Anthony and/or ByronBob,

Historically, I've dumped a gallon of bleach in my well about once a year to kill bacteria. I dump it in, bypass all water conditioners and run faucets until I get a bleach smell. Let it sit for an hour or so then flush everything. In the flushing process, it appears that it's cleaned some pipes as well as I do get some black grit coming out.

What should we use in the well to kill bacteria?

Brian