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bill7_gw

Another septic/well water question...

bill7
14 years ago

We have well water which has been tested (not all that hard, but iron is present). I am looking at some type of system to remove iron.

I am wondering if a water softener will do the trick, and if it will, will the salt and or whatever is discharged, affect the septic system/drain field. The other option is to drain it into the sump pit and pump it outside, but then the salt might kill the vegetation outside.

Any thoughts? I know I had posted a similar question before, about the iron deal. I did get the smell out, by bleaching the system, but the iron still makes a mess of the shower. We need to clean with CLR, whicch can't be good for the septic either.

Thanks

Comments (14)

  • pris
    14 years ago

    I'm no expert but to me a water softener adds something to the water, salt, but does not take anything out. I would think you need something like a reverse osmosis water purification system to take the iron out. You can probably search for definitions of each and what and how they work. I have extremely hard well water and tried the water softener but didn't like it. Didn't like the way it felt and the way my hair and skin felt after a shower.

  • gardendawgie
    14 years ago

    Go talk to a water specialist. You can find them in the phone book. or ask your health department they will tell you who the local person is.

    water problems are tricky. You need expert advice. Your water should be tested first to see what is in it and then decide how to get rid of it as cheaply as possible.

    I think some salty sludge is dumped separately. I have a water softener and septic system with no problems. But I do not drink the water and do not use the water in the garden. I collect rain water for the garden and buy bottled water to drink. Garden hose water is taken before it goes through the water softener. softened water is too salty for plants on the long haul at least on plants in pots.

  • dunwaukin
    14 years ago

    Our water has iron in it, as well as sulphur. The sulphur didn't actually start until a VERY small earthquake changed the fault lines. Our neighbours a 1/2 mile away had always had sulphur, after the earthquake (and it was one we couldn't even feel) so did we. Apparently changed the fault lines, so I was told.
    Our plumber's solution was an Air Pump, made by Air Pump water solutions. I'll try to do a link for you. Our tank looks just like the one on their home page. I honestly thought our plumber was nuts when he said that injecting air into the water would get rid of the iron and sulphur. But it works !!!!
    No chemicals. No maintenance. Been in here at least 5 years now. Just backflushing once a day, water goes out into our septic bed. (If you installed it yourself, you probably could send it to the garden, or lawn, or weeping bed, instead of the septic.)

    It used to be impossible to keep the shower stall and toilet looking reasonable. After the air pump, No more stains. I could be a salesperson for them, I'm so impressed.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Air Pump Water Solutions Inc

  • bill7
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    After doing a little research, I have determined that iron removal is somewhat complicated and can get expensive.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Iron in water

  • jason_reno
    14 years ago

    We installed a greensand filter to deal with a H2S problem rather than iron. Same system for iron though. The backflush from the filter goes out on the ground and supports a little grass swale amongst the sagebrush. I don't think a water softener would do as good a job on iron.

  • bill7
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the info. I read about the greensand filters. I'll stop in at the County, or call some extension service to see if there is any recommendation.

    Thanks again!

  • dunwaukin
    14 years ago

    I should have included that the back flushing is done automatically. So the Air Pump is NO maintennance, NO chemicals, and works for iron and sulphur, the two problems you have.
    My kids wouldn't drink the water before we got the Air Pump, now it's just fine.
    Did you check out their web site?

  • bill7
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    dunwaukin, jason reno,

    How much did your individual systems cost? The Air Pump system seems like it would be expensive! I am trying to figure out why, if my problem is somewhat common, that I haven't heard of it before. Just being skeptical, of course. Just like the metal roofing adds I see.

    Thanks for your information.

  • dunwaukin
    14 years ago

    Sorry I can't give you a cost on that. It was 5 - 6 years ago, and we were having other work done at the time. Wild guess, I would say 1500 -2000, but that was installed, and that's a total guess, and that includes getting it over the border in Canadian funds. SO, you'e have to contact them for a realistic price.

    That said, I would pay twice that for the system. My kids wouldn't even run the tap, the sulphur was so bad. And the shower was a mess. White clothes weren't white. Not no more.

  • presmudjo
    14 years ago

    We just installed a puronics system a couple months ago. Got rid of the salt based system which was Kinetico and worked great, but needed to get rid of salt for blood pressure. The new system is reverse osmosis and gets rid of a great deal of stuff, they cost, but then again I got pure and natural cleaning products with it. Seems they work great with pure water.

  • MindyD
    12 years ago

    Not sure if Kinetico knows what it's dealers are doing. The So Cal Kinetico dealer US Environmental charges 6K for a full system which should be 4K installed. Talk about being ripped off !

  • bulldinkie
    12 years ago

    To get rid of sulphur smell you can add air to the line,We have itbut wegot a system to take careof it.

  • luke_oh
    12 years ago

    Have you had the bacteria checked in your water? Certain bacterias in the water smell just like rotten eggs or sulfur. Poorly designed water supply design can harbor bacteria, and certain water filters can create perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. Then there's the well itself. Get the best water systems person that you can find, not just a salesperson.

  • OkDirtWorks
    9 years ago

    You might check out www.uswatersystems.com. They have a system to remove Iron from water. Whether you buy from them or not it might be worth giving them a call. They can answer questions and provide suggestions on what might solve your problems. I ordered a whole house carbon filter, salt water softener, UV system, and sediment filtration filters from them. I already knew what I wanted my system to do, they helped me to identify the particular products I need to meet my needs.

    Here is a link that might be useful: US Water Systems