High Iron content question

[baspinall]

Hello, first time here. I have well water at my home. I have to replace my hot water tank every 1 -2 years due to the cold water/in fitting rusting out. So far Whites has honored my warranty for 3 tanks. Don't think that will last forever. Plus I am tired of changing out tanks. I was told that I should put a Neutralizer in? Is that what I should use or can I get a whole house filter system (a lot cheaper). I do know my water is high in nitrates. When I purchased the home over ten years ago I had an RO system put in.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks - Brian

 

[AllAces777]

I would look into a whole house water filter, they do make certain types for certain situations and you can always put in multiple ones for a combined effect. You have 2 choices, call a service company that specializes in water treatment systems and get them to test your water or take samples of your water have them tested and look up information on each type of water treatment system specifically designed for the contents of your water.

 

[speedbump]

I don't know what you mean by a whole house system, since the big box stores call those little 10" things whole house filters. What a joke.

If you have high iron and low PH, you probably have a very shallow well. The nitrates is usually a dead giveaway for shallow wells too.

My advice is to drill a deep well and get out of that nasty water. To be honest with you, I wouldn't bathe in your water. I could tell you ways to clean up that iron and adjust the PH, but what else is in that water that you can't see. Water that has only drained down through a few feet of sand isn't very clean and is probably full of chemicals that can't be too good for you and your family.

 

[baspinall]

Speedbump - Don't think drilling a new well is the answer. My well is over 85 feet. "To be honest with you, I wouldn't bathe in your water" HUH? Why would you make a statement like that when you have no idea what my water has tested?

 

[speedbump]

Brian,

With what you have said so far, it sounds like your well is producing surface water. The well may be 80 some feet deep, but have a hole in the casing allowing the surface water to fill the well so your pump only gets the surface water. You mentioned a neutralizer. That almost always indicates a very low PH. You said you have nitrates, that is also a problem with surface water wells. The iron could be from anywhere.

I hear people all the time saying "We don't drink the water, we just use it for bathing etc." Read this:

Drinking Water and Health
Contaminants in drinking water are of concern to the public’s health because many people can be exposed to them, especially from large Community Water Systems. Contaminants in drinking water can be either natural or man-made. People can be exposed to contaminants in drinking water not only by drinking the water, but also by eating foods prepared with the water, breathing water droplets or chemicals released from the water while showering, or by absorbing chemicals through their skin while bathing.
Some drinking water contaminants of special interest are nitrates, disinfection by-products, arsenic and lead.

These chemicals and many more can be in your water if it's near the surface. Have your water checked for hardness. It it's more than a few grains hard, you may just have a nasty deep well, but if it's soft, it's almost certain to be surface water.

I'm not saying these things to be a smart A**, I'm just stating facts and trying to warn you about what may be in your water. And a whole house filter won't touch these things.

 

[Caduceus]

baspinall, just my 2 cents...speedbump has a good track record as our resident pump and well expert. The way that the text presented itself may have seemed a bit harsh, but I saw it as informative. He may have truly meant "To be honest with you, I wouldn't bathe in your water" because it is a health and safety issue. Nitrates can exist in water from organic decomposition and bacteria and can be present in water vapors while showering. Just like fish tank water when it isn't clean...see what I mean.
Though we are just volunteering on the forum, we are here to help those who ask for it, if we can. Maybe speedbump gave you the answer you were looking for, just not the good news that you wanted to hear.
Don't give up.

 

[baspinall]

No worries. I will get my water tested. I can do a PH test. Be back with those results shortly.

Thanks