Well Water

[CB on the run]

  Anyone with well water have issues with hard water and/or iron bacteria?  If so how do you combat these issues?  We have a new built approximately 5 years old now.  We purchased our second washer last April, the dishwasher is stained,  the hot water for the seond shower does work as the moen fixture is plugged.  We did use it for about 10 months after our children moved out and then had relatives from out of town attempt to use it.  I have to clean all the faucet fixtures every 3-4 months and our master bath shower head evry 1-2 months.  I have a salt softener system and an in-line whole house water filter that takes a cartridge about 10-12" long.  Anything else I should be doing?  My wife is starting to hint about moving.  I hate moving.  We have a lot of stuff.  I like living in a rural area, except for the gas I use to drive into the city.  Anyone have any experience with this electronic/magnet systems?

CB

[bad0351]

Just get an iron filter....about 13 hundred with no more prolems...mine uses potassiom permanganate

[VAHUNTER]

we have a lot of iron and black flakes they call black jack. i had a water softner from Ecotech installed. it has taken all the bad stuff out. great system , highly recommended

[shootumindaface]

We have High Iron.. Another tip would be to drain your hot water heater a couple times a year..

[BigGobbler]

Cheap and easy way : chlorinate it and then take the chlorine out with a carbon filter.

[doublegobble]

Makes a big difference on the type of water softener you use and you need to make sure it is sized correctly. Cheap brands and undersized softeners don't work as promised. I have extremely hard water at my house and put in a Kineteco softener in and it works awesome. It regenerates depending on how much water travels through the unit rather than just at a set schedule. I would look around, different companies offer different processes for iron removal. One that is easy is aeration (I believe kineteco offers that also). Chlorination and filtering is another great way to remove iron. You can also purchase a manganese/greensand iron filter to put inline with your softener. Your water softener itself will remove some dissolved iron but if you levels are  high I would add another process.

[VAHUNTER]

Makes a big difference on the type of water softener you use and you need to make sure it is sized correctly. Cheap brands and undersized softeners don't work as promised. I have extremely hard water at my house and put in a Kineteco softener in and it works awesome. It regenerates depending on how much water travels through the unit rather than just at a set schedule. I would look around, different companies offer different processes for iron removal. One that is easy is aeration (I believe kineteco offers that also). Chlorination and filtering is another great way to remove iron. You can also purchase a manganese/greensand iron filter to put inline with your softener. Your water softener itself will remove some dissolved iron but if you levels are  high I would add another process.

the Ecotech works in the same fashion. it starts off after recharge at a 100%. it will not recharge again until the %of water falls to a low level

[HogBiologist]

my uncle uses two horse troughs with sand to filter into a holding traugh.  Then sucks from there and uses a carbon filter.

[doublegobble]

The biggest problem with chlorination and aeration is it needs adequate contact time to make the exchange from soluble iron to form particles that can be filtered out. A sand filter itself will not remove soluble iron. I run a water treatment plant so pm me if you have any questions about processes you are considering if you would like some help. Most of the time you should be able to get help from water operators at a treatment plant close by. They can test your water for hardness before and after your softener to tell you how well that process is working. We normally do that for anyone that asks.

[BigGobbler]

Greensand would be the way to go, but you need to put in a hole house cartridge  filter after the main filter to catch the particles that puke by during backwash cycle.It happens to all brands, thats just one drawback that type system has plus you need to change the cartridge filter now and then also. Take a glass bottle with a sample of the water in  it to your county lab. They can tell you what your best options would be. They may charge you a fee but its worth it when it comes to knowing the water is safe or not.

[CB on the run]

  Thanks everyone.  I probably take you up on that PM Doublegobble.

CB