How do you remove rust (iron) from your water?
A WATER SOFTENER CAN REDUCE IRON TO BELOW THE THRESHOLD OF STAINING, BUT IT CAN NOT TOTALLY REMOVE IT!
Under some circumstances, a water softener will work for a while, but the resin bed will gradually become fouled with iron over months or years, decreasing its efficiency at removing the iron.
To totally remove iron, one must utilize the following: (1) Oxidation and filtration; or (2) Sequestration using polyphosphates.
POLYPHOSPHATES - We will discuss sequestration of iron with polyphosphates first. Sequestration of iron with polyphosphates does not remove it from the water supply, but keeps the iron in solution, so that it does not produce stains. This is often used when individuals or businesses want to keep the iron from staining in irrigation systems. It is accomplished by injecting a small amount of polyphosphate into the water, typically with a chemical injection pump and a solution tank containing a supply of polyphosphate.
However, it is not perfect in removing iron, as evaporation of the water can still leave an iron residue and the iron often precipitates when the water is heated. Results may very dramatically with sequestration, depending upon a variety of factors, not the least of which is water chemistry.
OXIDATION - Almost any concentration of iron can be oxidized by feeding an oxidizer such as chlorine, ozone, pottasium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide or even oxygen into the water supply. The oxidizer reduces the iron to a small particle (precipitate), which is then mechanically filtered from the water, typically by a backwashing filter with a dense media containing carbon or materials.
In my thirty-plus years of experience, I have personally tried every method known to man to remove iron. Today, I primarily use hydrogen peroxide, as it is a much better oxidizer of iron than either chlorine or potassium permanganate and does not leave excess air in the water like oxygen systems. Unlike chlorine, hydrogen peroxide is simply hydrogen and oxygen and produces no harmful chlorination byproducts.
A hydrogen peroxide system consists of a chemical injection pump, solution tank, in-line static mixer, and a backwashing filter to remove the oxidized iron. I prefer the hydrogen peroxide system because it completely removes iron and sulfur with totally predictable results. It is my opinion that other methods are not as predictable or reliable in function. A hydrogen peroxide system will remove 100% of the iron. PERIOD!
For homebuilders that build large custom homes with irrigation systems on iron-bearing waters, the hydrogen peroxide system will totally eliminate any staining in irrigation systems, and throughout the home, for that matter. Additionally, a water softener will not have to work nearly as hard once the iron is completely removed. This is not to say that other methods can't work. I am just stating my opinion based upon my extensive experience in treating problem water.
99 Comments
Neikl, Where do you live? That will make a difference as to what I recommend.
Mark I Iive in southeastern Michigan, Monroe county thanx Neil
Neil, I would still recommend the OXi system.
Mark, My well has a maximum flow rate of about 12gpm.Does this mean I need the oxi-3 system capable of handleing up to 13gpm. Thanx Neil
YES
I have a well water iron level of 4.5 ppm, with a .7 ppm iron after softening. With my family of 2-4, what would the typical yearly usage of H2O2 in 7% be in gallons? I am wishing to determine roughly the operating costs for the OXI system. Do you have comments on other methods such as the iron curtain style/air oxidation systems? Thank you for your informative site!
I apologise if this question is in teh wrong place. I have a well, with a rust remover and water softner in front of it. The water softner and rust remover are about 20’ away from the main drain. This 20’ 4" pipe seems to be getting clogged by the runoff from these two systems to the point that when they regerate that now overflows. I have had the pipe rodded several times, first every year then every 6 months now every three months. Is there a way to clear out this pipe without having it totally torn out and replaced? Is there a way to stop this build up of what looks like rust in this pipe? It is a clay pipe.
Steve wrote: I have a well water iron level of 4.5 ppm, with a .7 ppm iron after softening. With my family of 2-4, what would the typical yearly usage of H2O2 in 7% be in gallons? I am wishing to determine roughly the operating costs for the OXI system. Do you have comments on other methods such as the iron curtain style/air oxidation systems? Thank you for your informative site! Steve, 1. Of course you would put the Oxi system AHEAD of the softener, so it would be removing 4.5 ppm iron, but the softener could be “dialed back” on salt as it would not be taking the iron out. 2. Our “average” customer uses 50-60 gallons of H202 per year. This is the only “drawback” to the system – you have an annual H2O2 bill! 3. Air is free, but the systems that use “air” are unpredictable – It’s hard (maybe impossible) to always get the right amount of air into the water. So, you usually end up with air bubbles in your water, which makes it appear cloudy, and you sometimes get too little, and the iron is not oxidized properly. You frequently get “spiting and sputtering” when you first open a faucet. They end up working about 90% of the time and during that time, you generally have cloudy water. With H2O2, we can always predict that it will work and you have none of the above issues.
Dan wrote: I have a well, with a rust remover and water softner in front of it. The water softner and rust remover are about 20? away from the main drain. This 20? 4? pipe seems to be getting clogged by the runoff from these two systems to the point that when they regerate that now overflows. I have had the pipe rodded several times, first every year then every 6 months now every three months. Is there a way to clear out this pipe without having it totally torn out and replaced? Is there a way to stop this build up of what looks like rust in this pipe? It is a clay pipe. Dan, It sounds like you have an obstruction somewhere, which causes water to stand in the pipe. There’s no way a 4" pipe should plug that quick.
Mark, After installing the US Water Systems OxiGen Iron & Sulfur Eradication System do I need to insatll a Salt Based Conditioner as well. Thanks for the info.
Thank you so much for the information you have shared. We have been trying to figure out our iron problem for years! I do not recall the ppm of iron from our previous report but I think you can answer my questions without that info. We do have a softener and now I understand that is not sufficient to remove the iron. When our water sits sometimes an orange film develops in the bottom of the container. I notice this the most in the dog’s water dish and the toilets. We recently had a leak in the copper pipe that connects our pressure tank to the water softener. The pipe looked corroded. When my husband took things apart to fix the pipe, the pipe was full of that orange film, more like slick mud. He also replaced other joints in the area the were corroding. Is the orange slim in that pipe from the iron dissipating out over time or do we have another problem here? The house is 10 years old and is in the Piedmont of NC (lots of orange clay soil.) You recommend water testing from US water systems. Which do you recommend the Field Test or the NTL water check test? Can the OxiGen system be installed by a lay person? My husband is not a plumber but has always fixed all our plumbing problems. He did not install the water softener though. Can the GreenWave be installed by a lay person? Also how has the WaterDog system continued to do? I like the idea of a all-in-one type of system with very little maintenance! Rhonda
Mark Wallace asked: After installing the US Water Systems OxiGen Iron & Sulfur Eradication System do I need to insatll a Salt Based Conditioner as well. Mark, If your water is over 10 grains of hardness, I would suggest that or a salt-free conditioner.
Rhonda, I would recommend the NTL test – it is much more comprehensive. The WaterDog is very expensive and seems to work OK, but I would not install it unless you had a dealer closeby. The Oxi system works exceptionally well on water like that and is easy to install and maintain, as is the GreenWave.
Greetings Mark I am planning to have a irrigation system put in this year and don’t want the iron staining the house, sidewalk and driveway. I had my well water analyzed and it has 1ppm iron. Based on the tag on the pressure tank, I have a submersible pump at a depth of 140ft, with a capacity of 20 gpm with a horsepower of 1.5 My questions are: based on the submersible pump, would I need the OXI-5 (max flow rate at 20gpm) if I had a zone or zones running at or near 20 gpm? How many gallons can run through the Oxi Backwashing Filter before it needs to get backwashed? How many gallons of water is needed to backwash the Oxi Filter? I appreciated and look forward to your response. Thanks.
we have very bad rust and smell in our water. the softner worked ok by it self for 8yrs or so .before that we used a clorinie system form culligan i will never use asystem from them again!!! i hated it ,i was replaceing bolts , plastic pieces all the time from the clorine eating it. in the last month are softner has not benn getting the job done. looking at the h202 system but dont want to get into the whole replaceing parts thing. thanks matt