# Questions about iron in my water filter



## wahoowad (Aug 6, 2014)

I have a basic 'whole house' water filter like this. I installed it because my small neighborhood water system has lots of silt, and apparently lots of iron. The water is tested regularly by the firm that manages the system although we probably don't have a lot of state of the art equipment. 

Anyway...after a year my clear bowl has turned a deep red inside. I rinsed it with clean water and scrubbed it with a sponge but it did not come out. I'd like to get it clear again as it is helpful for monitoring how dirty my filter is becoming.  Any ideas on how to get the iron silt/stain out?


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## BrotherBart (Aug 6, 2014)

Don't know. I used the same one for years and just went by the water pressure to know when to change the thing. With our iron content that was around once a week or so. I changed it out five years ago for a Big Blue. That you can't see into anyway but with the larger filter it lasts over a month and saves overall on filter costs.


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## wahoowad (Aug 6, 2014)

My plan was to do like you do - wait until I notice the water pressure drop and change the filter. But I'm able to go 4 months and still no drop in pressure yet the filter looks nasty. So I change it when looks nasty. I'd still like to clear out the red stain.

I have a bottle of Lime Away but the warnings suggest to test it on tile so it could mar the plastic easier. The water guy said the iron appears because it initially goes soluble when they add chlorine, so I was wondering if a chlorine based cleaner would dissolve it. I still despise my chemistry teacher so am not going to think too hard about it.


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## BrotherBart (Aug 6, 2014)

I think I am the only guy that managed to graduate from our high school, that required chemistry class, without ever taking it. 

A new toilet brush and pretty much any cleaner should take the stuff out of the housing. The red mud all rinses out of mine with just clean water. But be sure you rinse well. You don't want whatever you use ending up in your ice trays or scotch and water.


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## heat seeker (Aug 6, 2014)

I do believe that those clear housings are supposed to be changed every 5 years or so. 

I rely on the pressure drop to tell me when to change my filter. Recently I discovered that my tank had lost its pressure, so I pressurized it, and must have loosed a lot of slimy crap in there. My filter was plugging every couple of days for a week or ten days. It was gross, but the bacteria test showed no harmful bacteria. We still didn't drink the water for a couple of weeks, though. Everything is okay now, the current filter is about a month old. I think I'll change it just on principle.


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## BrotherBart (Aug 6, 2014)

Yeah I have really expensive carbon filters on the kitchen sink and the lavatories behind  the rust/sediment whole house filter. When the pressure tank does something weird it gets real expensive changing those carbon filters when they get blasted with gunk.


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## begreen (Aug 6, 2014)

wahoowad. We had that exact filter holder style on our main supply in our basement utility pit. Woke up one morning to the sound of water running, but nothing was turned on. Opened the basement door and saw 2 ft of water in the pit. The water filter had blown itself apart right where it necks down. It's a bad design. Furnace, hot water heater were part under water. I will never use that style filter again. The one BB has shown is much safer. You can get them with a clear filter holder if desired.


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## bioman (Aug 7, 2014)

You might google Oxy Blast & research it. It is a hydrogen peroxide injection system that works perfect for me & I had really bad water. very easy system to install & very inexpensive to maintain. hope this helps. H202 is a very powerful oxidizer.


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## heat seeker (Aug 7, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Yeah I have really expensive carbon filters on the kitchen sink and the lavatories behind  the rust/sediment whole house filter. When the pressure tank does something weird it gets real expensive changing those carbon filters when they get blasted with gunk.



Have you had happen that which I have had - reddish slime clogging the filter after recharging the air? Or something different that I should probably watch for…
Our tank is about 8 years old, so waiting for it to fail.


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## BrotherBart (Aug 7, 2014)

My tank is 29 years old. Never had to recharge it. Upsets just occur when the power has been off and the tank is drained down. When the power comes back on the inrush of water stirs the crud up.


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## heat seeker (Aug 7, 2014)

I see. Thank you!


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## Highbeam (Aug 7, 2014)

wahoowad said:


> I'd still like to clear out the red stain.
> 
> The water guy said the iron appears because it initially goes soluble when they add chlorine, so I was wondering if a chlorine based cleaner would dissolve it. I still despise my chemistry teacher so am not going to think too hard about it.


 
Your water guy is wrong or there was a misunderstanding. The chlorine is an oxidizer and chlorine will cause the dissolved iron to fall out of solution and stain things or even precipitate out into particles or rust that you can see. You can't redissolve it with more oxidizer.

Iron stains things like your toilets, dishwasher, shower, etc. Just look in your toilet tank and you will see the same stain.

I appreciate your desire to see the filter. It is fun to see the junk but as has been said, the clear shells are far more likely to crack and burst over time. They are brittle compared to the milky plastics. So you can change the shell out for a new shell, easy. Or, you can find a toilet cleaning chemical used for cleaning iron stains and give it a go. You don't want to use an abrasive as that will make the clear plastic cloudy.

I know that there are some very effective chemical iron stain removers that my wife has used on the acrylic shower stall and it was not an abrasive. Walk down that isle and buy something. Worst case, you buy a nice new clear filter bowl.


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## CaptSpiff (Aug 10, 2014)

Highbeam said:


> I appreciate your desire to see the filter. It is fun to see the junk but as has been said, the clear shells are far more likely to crack and burst over time. They are brittle compared to the milky plastics. So you can change the shell out for a new shell, easy. Or, you can find a toilet cleaning chemical used for cleaning iron stains and give it a go. You don't want to use an abrasive as that will make the clear plastic cloudy.
> 
> I know that there are some very effective chemical iron stain removers that my wife has used on the acrylic shower stall and it was not an abrasive. Walk down that isle and buy something. Worst case, you buy a nice new clear filter bowl.



I'd be cautious about any caustic cleaner which could em-brittle the clear plastic and cause it to fail (as mentioned by BeGreen).
I'd second HighBeam and get a replacement bowl.


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## arbutus (Aug 12, 2014)

I have a Honeywell Braukmann filter that does not need to be removed to be cleaned.  Self flushing, self cleaning, just turn the valve on the bottom when there is a pressure drop, or whenever you feel like it.
http://www.supplyhouse.com/pex/control/search/~SEARCH_STRING=honeywell braukmann filter


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## Highbeam (Aug 12, 2014)

arbutus said:


> I have a Honeywell Braukmann filter that does not need to be removed to be cleaned.  Self flushing, self cleaning, just turn the valve on the bottom when there is a pressure drop, or whenever you feel like it.
> http://www.supplyhouse.com/pex/control/search/~SEARCH_STRING=honeywell braukmann filter


 
I too have a "self" cleaning coarse filter ahead of the main systems. Mine is a Lakos twist-2-clean. I had some problems with it leaking out of the twist mechanism but it was a bad batch and I got a new one under warranty that so far is watertight.

The self cleaning feature just blows the junk out of the filter but can't possibly clean the iron scuzz from the filter shell.


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## arbutus (Aug 12, 2014)

Interesting.  The screen in mine clouds up with very fine rust colored particulate "scuzz".  Water pressure is actually doing the backflushing, and spinning the scrubber, and most everything washes away when activated.

ETA, so far (one year) I don't have any film to speak of on the inside of the filter housing.


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## Highbeam (Aug 12, 2014)

Surely, water quality will have a direct effect on the amount and persistence of the scuzz. I suggest that if you don't have any scuzz or staining on the filter or shell then you don't have an iron issue like the OP or I do. You might just have dirt.


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## Chimney Smoke (Aug 21, 2014)

There's a couple different types of iron.  The actual hard iron is the stuff you can't really see but stains everything orange.  The more common orange slime is actually an iron bacteria.  Simple chlorination will kill the iron bacteria.  Every couple years it's good to chlorinate your well to kill off any bacteria.  If you have any of the orange slime though you'll definitely have to do a full house system flush after the well is disinfected in order to get all the rust sediment out of the water.


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## Highbeam (Aug 21, 2014)

Actually there is only one iron, it's an element. It can be dissolved in water so you don't see it until it oxidizes and falls out of solution either creating particles or scale/stain on fixtures. Then in some waters it is already in particles so looks like muddy water. Sometimes the two are referred to as clear water iron and red water iron. A whole seperate issue is iron bacteria which will feed on either form. There is also manganese bacteria and sulfur bacteria. You'll never rid yourself of the bacteria once you have it, you can only reduce the population.


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