Well water question

[greenmule]

Well,those disposable filters sure do remove iron,about every 6-7 weeks I change mine [its the best one they sell at lowes,or most expensive anyways],filter housing has about 2 tablespoons of particals that appear to be made out of iron shale rock,and white filter is brown most of way through thickness. Plus after you change filters[for a day or two anyways] water right out of tap,tastes as good as the brita filtered water.

So,yeah,those disposable cartridge whole house filters do work.

Bet you could get it about right with just them,if you had two or maybe three hooked up in a series[course,medium,and carbon kind last for taste].

 

[GaryQWA]

Ferrous soluble clear water iron is dissolved in the water and goes right through any sediment filter except for the little bit that is oxidized by the DO (dissolved oxygen) trapped in the filter cartridge and in the water.

Sediment cartridges do not remove anything that is dissolved into the water. The man said he has what, 18 ppm of iron? He doesn't mean ferric iron which makes water rusty, his water is clear when drawn.

 

[greenmule]

mines clear to. I got one whole house filter. It helps alot[like I said].

It doesn't get rid of all iron and smell,but it really helps.

You can taste the iron after 6-8 weeks of not changing filter,when filter is new,you don't get that taste.

 

[ByronBob]

Drilled a new deep well last year. Water was great for the first 2 months, then came the H2S... smell was barely noticible at first, then got progressivly worse. Took the plumbers advise and shocked the well with about 2 gallons of ultra bleach and let it sit over night in all the pipes and well. Flushed the well for about half a day and everything was good (except for the slight odor or the bleach in the water). Well that lasted about 2 weeks and the smell came back about 10x as bad! Its to the point now where if someone showers the entire house stinks like a rotton egg. Even if the dishwasher is going. Anyway I find myself dumping a gallon of bleach in the well per month and I end up running the pump about 5 times as much as it should be ran due to the fact that I need to flush the well after shocking. Plus I have to let sit for so long etc. a real inconvience...

Did the rod removal already. The smell is the same for hot/cold water.

Believe me when I say ANY help is greatly appreciated.

My house is the worst. I have high iron (around 7 also), calcium hard water around 80 grains hard and sulfur.

I knew this before I built so I budgeted for it. $5,000 later this is what I have.

1) Water comes into the house from the ground. First thing that happens is bleach is injected into the line

2) Bleached water goes through an 120 gallon retention tank. The mixed water helps the chemical reaction take hold.

3) Water filters through an iron removal tank. Has sand in it and recycles 2x a week.

4) Water filters through a charcoal media tank to remove the bleach. Recycles 2x a week

5) Water goes through a salt softener to soften the water and remove the calcium hardness. Recycles by volume.

I drink the water out of the tap. Have the kids drink bottled water to keep the sodium level down.

I know my system works. How the filters work is a mystery but you need to treat all the conditions or the water will be bad.

Remember another thing. When the water table rises and falls with the amount of water in the ground the sulfur smell will rise and fall accordingly. I was always told to make your system work for the 85% of the time the water is constant. If not you'd adjust the system weekly.

Another idea I've heard of is people putting chlorine tablets down their well casing. You know the type you put in a pool. Kinda look like a salt tablet. That helps with the smell but then drinking the water is an issue.

 

[GaryQWA]

No one should use swimming pool chlorine tablets in their well.

It has all types of extras in it that USDA approved for potable water use chlorine pellets do not have.

It can be a serious problem and if one lands on a submersible pump, it can eat a hole through it, yes really, as any chlorine pellet can. Power cables and metal casing also can be damaged.

The added sodium by a water softner is 7.85 mg/l (roughly a quart) times the compensated gpg of hardness. I. E. 20*7.85=157 mg of added sodium, if you regenerate with sodium chloride (salt). If you look at a can of Pepsi, you'll see 30 mg per can. A slice of white bread, usually 120-160 mg per slice. V8, 530-560 per 8 oz glass, skim milk, 500-530 per glass. And snack foods, much much higher.

 

[jimmyj]

Dag nabbit, my post disappeared so I hope I don't post 2x.

We moved to our current home 12 years ago and we too have a lot of iron in the water. We also have moderate hardness but really the iron was the problem.

We tried all sorts of disposable filters and in finally last year we got fed up and insalled a proper system. We had 3 quotes and for sure 2 of the guys were pressure salesman and then we got a reference on a really honest local plumber guy. He put in a system as follows:
- pre filter screen
- iron remover (greensand and potassium permangenate)
- water softener
- another sediment filter
- uv sterilizer
The whole thing was about $3000 installed.

This system is nothing short of awesome. I wish dearly we had bit the $ bullet years ago because in hindsight the iron and harness ruined so much stuff.

For example, now that we have amazing water we have:
-thrown out hundreds of dollars in stained clothing and sheets
-thrown out our orange stained dishes
-replaced all the sinks and taps in the house
-replaced the hot water heater
-replaced all the toilets in the house
-replaced all the tubs and showers

This was at least as expensive as the darned system so my advice is get a good system right off. You won't regret it if you can afford to do so.

 

[SLOBuds]

Water treatment is as interesting as it is frustrating. As seen in this tread, you end up getting advice all over the board. The problem with this advice is that almost no one is unbiased. Almost everyone that has an opinion (all backed by 'science') has something to sell.

At end of day it's best to start with a lab test. A PAID lab test. The test printout will show you things about the water from an object perspective and you will then go about choosing components needed for the system.

There are subjective parts of your analysis. Some people don't actually like the feel of soft water, as an example. So let's say your water is hard - which you can tell from the PAID water analysis - but you don't like the feel of softened water. If you do nothing at all to the water treatment, you will end up with the problems associated with hard water and maybe you think you can live with those. This is one example of a subjective decision you will come up against.

My own personal experience involved this subjective factor. I did like the feel of soft water, which is good because my water was very hard and therefore causing problems to my plumbing. However, eventually I found out and finally admitted that I did not like the subjective flavor coming out of the softened water. Flavor added by way of the softening process. What I DO like is spring water. So I finally opted for a reverse osmosis system which gives me heavenly tasting spring water, and as much as I want, and with no more excessive use of plastic bottles which is on everyone's mind right now.

If you do not mind the taste of softened water I recommend that you let Gary's analysis sink in. This is a tiny tiny amount of salt added to that water and a tiny tiny fraction of the salt which we all consume in MUCH greater quantity from other foods, every day. You would need to be on an unbelievably restrictive non-salt diet to want that small amount removed from your diet. But ... maybe that's the case, and you should consider it.

All of the water treatment technology is well within the capabilities of a DIY person. There are many web sites that sell everything, and you will notice that most of the products come from the same small number of suppliers. So if you are open to the DIY route, you will find price competition alive and well.

 

[stumpfield]

I just want to update everyone with my water solution. I got recommendations from doing nothing and live with the iron stain to $5000+ complicated filter system the water experts trying to sell me. After extensive research and talking to neighbors and other owners with systems that didn't really work. I end up with a Birm filter and Clark control valve. The main reason was low maintenance and no chemical required. I bought this system:

Iron Removal, iron filter systems, iron filters, birm filter

My total cost was about $500 plus the cost of regular plumbing stuff I got from the local hardware store. The system works great. I bought an iron test kit and tested my water regularly. The problem is solved. The iron level in my water is down to normal.

 

[Egon]

Congratulations on the due diligence required for a solution to your problem.

 

[impdaddy]

that looks aloy like a system from budgetwater .com ( or something like that. Do you now drink the water? use plastic bottles? good job.