Hi,

I have read through some questions in the forum and didn't see one like the scenario I am about to explain.

Some background.. We have well water with high iron. In May 2006, we had our well "redeveloped" to the tune of $2500. Basically, chemically cleaned, new well pump, tank, gauge etc.. We had no water softener at that time. I simply had a Campbell's 1PS-B Water Filter System and had to change that filter every 10-14 days as we would lose pressue due to the cartridge becoming full with iron. But the water was always clear and no real complaints other than the pain of having to crawl under the steps to get to the filter30 times a year.

In Dec 2007, We decided to have a Rustbuster Iron Out water Softener put in and the filter removed. Seems to be a $2600 mistake. It has yet to work properly as our water is now discolored most of the time- especially it seems after a backwashing cycle. The plumber who installed it- a nice, trustworthy guy and very helpful- has been out 2 or 3 times adjsuting the settings ( how often it backwashes, level of water in the salt tank) Still no clear water.

He noticed last time that when he was filling the washing machine and turned on 2-3 faucets at the same time, the well tank gauge dropped to 10psi. He indicated a drop below 25psi could cause the softener to break it's seal( I think that may have been the term he used) which would cause untreated iron water to make it into the plumbing. He feels the problem lies with the well equipment and not his softener.

HELP! I have spent $5,100 in the last 20months trying to better the water quality in our house only to no avail.

Any advice, help, previous experiences such as this one, any solutions.

Thank you somuch in advance for any help you can give.

...

Some more info. My plumber has ruled out any well pump issue or pressure issue. The pump is pulling 4-5 amps and he increased the pressure to a 58psi max.

The hot water shows no signs of iron. The cold water runs cloudy in intrevals, never gets completely clear. All pipes tested and traced and both hot and cold are running through the softener.

My plumber feels Every conceivable adjustment has been done.

Why is the cold water still cloudy with iron but the hot almost completely clear.

He may have a company rep come out since apparently this is something never before seen. This is the system. Hydoflo Rustbuster ATS - Aqua Treatment Service, Inc. (http://www.aquat.com/hydro.asp)

Anyone have any suggestions?

Now the thought is that possibly my well pump is sucking up sediment/mud. The softener seems to be in working order. He took it apart and checked everypart including the depth of the media in the housing.

He will be checking the depth of the pump to make sure it is not to deep. At this point, I am hoping it actually is sediment so at least I know what the problem is and how to solve it
I guess I am writing this for my own therapeutic results since no one has responded.

If your pressure is dropping to 10#, you would know it in the house as 10# is not much. Water would be more of a trickle than any real flow. Is that the case?

Hope it goes better for you. Wells can be a pain, an expensive pain. I have one and I can sympathize with you about the whole filtering business.

We have good pressure. I think it dropped because we had several faucets plus the washing machine filling up.
I still think the problem lies with the softener. The water will eventually clear up. But for example, if I turn the kitchen faucet on. It willrun clear then after 30 seconds or so, it will coud up and then it will clearback up. Turn the sink off , turn it on and same thing. Somehow untreated water is making it through the softener at intermiitent times.
So concludes my daily water blog for today.

We have good pressure. I think it dropped because we had several faucets plus the washing machine filling up.
I still think the problem lies with the softener. The water will eventually clear up. But for example, if I turn the kitchen faucet on. It willrun clear then after 30 seconds or so, it will coud up and then it will clearback up. Turn the sink off , turn it on and same thing. Somehow untreated water is making it through the softener at intermiitent times.
So concludes my daily water blog for today.


Check all of your bypass valves, and make sure none of them are open, which would allow untreated water into your plumbing. Another thing, make sure there is no chlorine being introduced into your water/well. Sometimes after installing a new well pump, they will chlorinate the well with chlorine pellets. Chlorine will oxidize dissolved iron, and cause to go from clear to red, which then causes staining and sludge buildup. Until the pellets are totally dissolved, they will continually release chlorine into your water ( in the well ), and you will continue to have this red iron fouled water. Check with the well pump installers and see it they did use chlorine pellets.

Another thing you should know about high iron water... For every part per million of iron, you should add 5 grains hardness to the softener's hardness setting in addition to the hardness of the water... with 2 or more parts per million, your softener should be recharging no less than every 5 or 6 days. This is to not allow the dissolved iron that is in the softener resin to oxidize, and then precipitate out of the resin. This is called iron bleed. By recharging the softener every 5 to 6 days, you don't allow the iron enough time to precipitate. It will naturally oxidize over time if left alone. A demand softener probably in many cases won't recharge often enough to keep the iron flushed out. I hope this helps.