I finally hooked up my pressure tank and have running water at my place. :D When I first ran the pump the water was very red. I wasn't surprised because the well sat unused for two years. I think my static depth extends up into my well casing which probably created much of the rusty water. I ran the water for about 8 hours to really flush the system good and the water cleared up. I sent my water samples into a lab to have it tested. I'm pleased with the results: Not hard, good Ph, no arsenic, etc but the iron level is at .74 mg/L (.3 is the EPA limit). It's not a health concern - more aesthetic (taste, stained plumbing fixtures...). I'm wondering if I flushed my system good enough.
Does anyone know how long a new well should be flushed before an accurate test can be done? Probably depends on many factors.
Does anyone on here have any experience with so-called "red-water" (insoluble) iron in their water? What kind of filter do you use?
Only cure that I know of is to put in a sand filter.
They work really well for 'irony' water.
Make sure the top seals tight enough to keep out the insects.
Arky
Had the same problem in my home. plumber wanted to do a $1,000 filter solution to fix.
Omni filter (at HD or on line) did it for 50 bucks.
I used a whole house filter and a 5 micron filter right at where the water line came into the house.
Filter ($10) lasted about two weeks until I got a noticeable flow decrease. That is a pain to change so often. !0 microns was OK but still some sediment. But lasted a long time.
I then put two filters in series...a 10 micron up front and then a 5 micron. that extended filter change cycle to about 3-4 months.
Worked great.
Thanks for the excellent advice!!! :D
I may have misstated the size of the filter elements....
But EZ to experiment and the cartrides are not expensive.. May have been a bit more coarse..like 10 and 25, not the 5 and 10 that I mentioned. I think some of that depends on the size of you sediment. I had a LOT.
I recall reading that a good "general use" whole house filter is around 20 I think. I'll have to play around with it to get it appropriate for my water, and it's good to hear how two filters worked for your situation - not sure I would have thought of that on my own.
You may even get by with one. I had a ton of sediment and rust...more than most I suspect. In any case, you could try one and add another up line if it clogs quickly. I put a bypass valve around the first one, so I could use just the smaller filter downline as the first one clogged much quicker with the big particle.
I recall the whole unit costs 50 bucks, so for 100 you have a system.
I lived with this problem for years and it ate my copper pipes up...had tons of pinpoint leaks and then found out this is what caused them.
Men (or post-menopausal women) shouldn't drink water with high iron; it is bad for your heart. At my office, we use a cheap canister filter upstream from our 5 stage filter bed and it catches a tremendous amount of iron. The filter is usually red after about one month. We change it out every 3-6 months but our water pressure is good. I can't recall the particulate size but we buy our filters at HD or Lowe's.
You may want to consider migrating your wardrobe to non-white clothing. Iron is why bloodstains are so hard to remove. :-\
I had heavy iron sediment (orange) in my well water in Oregon. There was a large filtration system that back flushed itself every day. I ended up adding 2 in-line cartridge filters as well. My work clothes that had to be white ended up being done by the dry clean/laundry service.
It tasted ok, after going through a Brita filter as well.