Iron- brownish red water stains in and on fixtures

[flashover821]

Ok here it goes. I have a 5 year old well. The back of the toilets are rust colored now. This started about 6 months ago. Stains in the bath tubes and the shower are orange/rust colored, this started 4 months ago. Had the water tested twice. Not sure what to do at this point. What will remove the color? The water is starting to have a iron taste and smell to it. I'm getting about 6gpm-if I did it right. Here are the results from the water test.

Hardness 1
pH 6.53
Iron 1.45
TDS 41
Chlorides 2
Turbidity 18
Sulphates 0.36

Any thoughts on what would work?
Thank for any help.

[Akpsdvan]

Does the water come out clear with NO color?
With the ph at 6.53 it would help to correct the ph either with calcite of soda ash injection and bring the ph to above 7.1..
If calcite was used it might help in removing some of the iron.

If the water had no challenges for the first 4 years and now it does , what if any thing has changed in your area?
There are any number of things that can get a well to change.

If you are getting 6gpm that is good, limits some systems or the size of them.. but that can be worked around.
Number of bathrooms and people in the home? numbers needed to help you size equipment for the treatment.

[flashover821]

The water has a yellowish haze to it. It's just me and the wife right now but maybe one on the way. 2 bathrooms. How do you check to see if there is enough gpm for back flushing?

[Akpsdvan]

With a well there is a well log. It has how deep the well is, the out put that the driller was able to do, the well recovery rate, and the size of pump that is in the well and how deep the pump is .
Now if the water has a haze to it, does any thing settle out if the water was to set for 6+ hours?

[Gary Slusser]

Looking at the test data, the TDS should be much higher or the pH much much lower.

Who did the test and how old was the sample?

Was there air left above the water in the sample or was the container filled to overflowing with no air in it?

You said two tests, they didn't both have the same figures, so what did the other test show?

Where were the samples collected from?

Do you know if there was a buffer to prevent iron interference used before the pH test was done?

Is there any slime in the toilet tanks, especially at the water line below? It can be clear to black, snotty slippery.

Any odor in hot or cold?

[flashover821]

Sorry guys, I'm working a 48 hour shift. When I get home I'll try to answer all the questions. The water is never crystal clear like in the beggining, sometime it is worst than others though. I do know the well is 385' with the static water level @25'. Only one of the test had TDS results. The water was sent off to two diffenent companies that sell water systems. Not sure of the companies names, will post tomorrow after work. Air was left in the bottles sent for sampling. The samples were taken from the well (faucet from the top of the casing nonfiltered). I have no idea about the buffer to prevent iron interference. No slime that I have seen or felt in the tanks, but it has a solid rust color, as I can rub the side of the tank and make the water totally rust colored. Odor is with both hot and cold, iron odor, with an iron taste too. I will check further on the well stats and the other water test tomorrow. Thanks for any help. By the way, Do you all think I need a new test done and if so by whom?

[Akpsdvan]

Not a problem, know many that do 24 on 24 off or 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off...

Has water usage dropped off at your place?
If water usage has slowed down then the turn over of the well has slowed and that could be a challenge with 300' of water..

There are a number of people that have summer cabins here, and in the spring when the well gets turned back on if it is not run hard for 12+ hours at 6gpm+ it will not clear up for the summer... it needs to have that build up cleared out.. so if usage has slowed that could be a reason for the color coming out of the well.. because the iron that is the water is getting a chance to oxidize or fall out of the water ,, like in the back of the toilet.


Iron buffer to test the ph? first that I have heard of that..

[flashover821]

I'll try that this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks

[Gary Slusser]

Iron buffer to test the ph? first that I have heard of that..

Since 1987 or so I always used Hach Co test kits and followed their instructions; yes there's a buffer so iron doesn't interfere with pH test results.

http://www.hach.com

BTW, with a 300' well, and a submersible at like 275' and a static water level of 25', you don't get water from the top of the water column unless you pull the static level down to the pump. And his test was done on a sample from a faucet at the well; which I wouldn't have done without first running the water full bore for about 5 minutes and the faucet plumbing may be galvanized pipe and why his iron is so high.

[flashover821]

I ran the water fom about 4 hours, that's when I pulled the water down below the pump, alittle scary. The water did clear up and then went right back to cloudy. To the comment above, all the pipe it pvc not galvanized.

[Gary Slusser]

Then you should have a new test done including pH, and sample after you've been using water like for a shower.