Well water - clogged screens on faucets and hot water heater

[T Dew]

The drop in filters I am using are rated at 8GPM, and I do not really notice any pressure loss when they are clean. I do have my filter installed after the line for my outside spigots, since I was more worried about a pressure loss there than I was clean water there. Since most of the inside faucets are the silly low-flow type it's not an issue.

On an unrelated note, I'm a bit envious of Wayne's sweating ability. I have tried and tried, but it still does not look like that when I'm finished. I have decided it is like ironing and something I will never be able to do. I'm still a bit envious though.

 

[bcp]

Had that happen with an old deep well pump. Bearings wear, then the impeller rubs the housing, making a fine particle or thread. New pump fixed it.

Bruce

 

[skipmarcy]

A 10" Big Blue filter housing isn't very expensive and you can shop around for whatever type of filter you want to use. I use a 2 micron washable pleated poly filter that I change twice a year. I have two of them, keep one clean & ready so the water is only down in the house for a couple of minutes while I wash the bowl out and swap filters. The pleated poly filter is then washed in a bucket of bleach & water and rinsed and dried good and wrapped in saran wrap until needed again. I have no pressure or flow loss, even when the filter is getting dirty - mine gets just a little sediment but does get the clear water iron muck (red algae looking stuff) starting to build at the 6 month mark. The bleach water cleaning gets the filters clean as brand new though. About a week before I'm to change filters I'll shock the well with a couple gallons of bleach too. I got the filter housing at Lowe's 7 years ago and I bought the 2 filters online at filtersfast.com for about $12 each.

 

[gwdixon]

If you don't want to change filters, clean screens, or service water filtration devices then try a sand filter. It also filters out dirt and debris.

They are not cheap but I put one on my well with a new pump that was pumping sand and dirt.

Here is a link. All that has to be done is open a valve at the bottom occasionally, like once a month (or more often during heavy pump use), and say bye-bye to the garbage that once reached your house. It is a permanent fix.

Lakos filtration products - sand separators - from FAMOUS PLUMBING SUPPLY

 

[wstr75]

It could be your well casing has a rusted-through hole. My well was drilled in 1980 and back then here in central NC the well drillers were using galvanized well casing pipe. I know of several folks who have had this problem. It was corrected by pulling out the pump, inserting PVC pipe with a rubber ring "snubber" on the O.D. down to almost the end of the pipe casing and then pouring concrete between the PVC pipe and the metal well casing. The pump then is slipped back into the well through the PVC pipe stem and no more dirt/grit/junk in the water.
Bill in NC

 

[Xfaxman]

The last few years it seems all the faucets are getting plugged up and the inlet screen on the tankless water heater gets clogged up in just 3 or 4 weeks and I am constantly having to clean them. The washing machine gets to where no water will flow into it. I have to pull the hoses off and clean the input screens quite often. What I clean out of the filters is white, almost like cotton or cotton thread. The water is pretty soft and otherwise is fine.

I really don't want the expense of a whole house filter, but would like some kind of pre screen for the whole house, so all I have to do is clean that out and not everything else in the house. I see where you can get #140 mesh inline filters with 1.5" inlets for only about $60 and they claim anywere from 25 to 60 gpm. I am willing to invest more than that for a whole house solution, but really don't need the filter to take out microbles or anything really small.

Any ideas?

I have the same problem, haven't solved it yet. It is a bacteria that grows in moving water. I don't know if there is a filter that will keep the bacteria trapped in the filter.

Google, "biofilm slime"

Biofilm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wipe out the 10 worst germ hot spots - Health - Infectious diseases | NBC News

This is what it looks like after it dries out. The round plastic filter was removed from the cold water inlet on the washing machine after I added a second hose screen.

 

[Alan L.]

Here is an iPhone pic of my water heater screen. That white stuff is what I am talking about.

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep, that is what mine looks like when it is wet.

 

[Coyote machine]

My wife worked for a water treatment company for many years. When we moved to our current home of 27 years there was such a high mineral and iron content that the dishwasher was baking iron into our china in the drying cycle! So the then owner of the same company my wife ended up working for years later came out and ran tests on our well water. We ended up installing a Kinetico water treatment (salt) system, which works on volume of water used. This was set based on grains of hardness of the water, and the salt and the 'medium' through which the water flows prior to reaching the points of use. There was already a sediment filter, which used sand to filter out some of the iron particles, but it did not work particularly well, and we later replaced it with spun sediment filters. Later on we added a reverse osmosis drinking water system to provide for the cleanest drinking water. Most recently we added a oxygen tank system which oxygenates the water to remove any sulfur smell, which often occurs several times a year, due to the earth's axis and rotational factors. We had put up with it for years and sought a once and done solution. This eliminated the problem completely.
So here's what I suggest people do. If there is a concern about bacteria or other things that can adversely affect one's health- consult with a water treatment specialist to at the very least find out what your water contains. It's worth the minimal costs to know what's in your water, especially if one has a well. Much of the most harmful stuff is invisible, and some things in water need ultraviolet light to kill the pathogens.
You can still do much of the basic fixes yourself, UNLESS there are serious health risks posed by something like certain bacteria or radiologicals present it the water. A laboratory test can determine the water content and then it's a question of treating it properly.

 

[T Dew]

Coyote is right, get the water tested. There are also companies that have partnered with labs that will offer advice on fixes and/or filtration after they test the water.

If it is a bacteria you would certainly want to know what you are drinking, but I would want to know that anyway. At the farm we use a basic sediment filter for the whole house followed by a reverse osmosis on the drinking water. At the other place on municipal water we also have a reverse osmosis filter on the drinking water. We know that our water is pure as can be, it tastes better, and I actually find myself drinking more water.