suspect birm filter medium getting into house water supply.

I have a Culligan Iron Cleer water filter system that was installed before I bought the house. I believe it has been in service for a max. of 3 years. I have been in the house for 1 1/2 years. my problem is increasingly unpleasant tasting water, ( no odor or color), and I am having particles showing up in a toilet tank valve causing it to not completely shut off, and I am finding small dark brown, rusty colored particles in my Rinnai on demand water heater inlet filter partially blocking the flow and causing intermittent operation. I have had to clean the filter twice in the past two months. I am just starting to educate myself about the filter operation and have not done any trouble shooting or checking it's programing yet. There is currently no water filter after the Culligan filters, and I am wondering if I need to install one, and if so, what kind. Is it possible for the birm medium in certain situations to escape from the filter housing? I guess it's possible that the particles are coming from old piping, but my experience in the past is that they have a different size and color from what I'm seeing. Any suggestions or ideas will be appreciated, Thanks

There are a limited number of causes for mineral escaping the tank. Most common is a cracked/broken distributor tube or bottom basket; or a top basket if there is one. If that is the cause, you really need to find and fix it because if it gets worse your plumbing and appliances could become totally blocked. I suggest you call Culligan for service unless your tank has an industry standard 2.5" 8 thread er inch opening. If so you can DIY by buying a new distributor tube and replacing the old one.

Another cause is a leaking o-ring in the bottom of the control valve where the distributor tube goes up into the control valve.

Thanks Gary, that gets me started. I checked out the filter system this morning. The air compressor works, and it is a manual timer not electronic.

Its in service for a max. of 3 years. It not that old but it has some age of it. So you check it again. I think Most commonly is a cracked/broken distributor tube or bottom basket; or a top basket. You should get it checked out asap coz it might get worst.