Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - New house, OLD well...

Just starting the research phase of what to do with my well water. Will be taking a sample to the local well company for testing, as soon as I have something to carry the water in (without contaminating it).

My neighbor, and best friend growing up for the last 20 years, is literally less than two hundred yards away through the woods and across the fields. I always remembered his water being crystal clear, super cold, and there's no water stains in tub/toilet/sink (with no filtration of any kind). So, I was excited to be purchasing this home, assuming to be in the same water table he's in.

NOT.

The well here produces what is at first a slightly metallic smelling but otherwise crystal clear water. But if you fill a clear glass with this water and set it on the counter and watch it, you can watch the miracle unfold... It slowly... but surely... turns red/brown. There's red staining in everything (tub/toilet/sink/washer/waterhoses/etc.) But there's something new that I've never seen before except in old shallow ponds...

RED FILM. That same glass of water, that slowly turned red, if left on the counter for 24 hours, will develop a film. A shiny, presumably iron-related, film. Kinda grosses you out, eh? On a side note, the bath does the same magic act that the glass of water does, fills with clear water, but by the time you get in, it's started to turn. Oh, and certain detergents react with it, turning it black. Wow, huh?

So my guess is I have a serious water problem. duh. But does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I'd skip the whole 'lets try to filter it' idea and just have them poke me a new well in a better water table, but it's simply cost prohibitive. I think I'd be better off with a rain catch!

Your water is not unusual nor is the realization the one's water may be very different than one's neighbor's. Different depths, ages, pumping systems, can vary from very short distances. Never rely on your neighbors water quality or solutions to treat your water untested.

From your description, you have iron in the ferrous form (Fe++) which becomes ferric iron (Fe+++) by becoming insoluable---rust. This is a reaction to an oxident such as oxigen, chlorine, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, etc. At hat point it needs to be filtered. If you catch it before it becomes ferric, then a softener will be able to handle depending on the level of iron.

I wouldn't rely on rain catchment systems without quality and properly set equipment. Rain water that we treat is treated as surface water and can contain numerous contaminents that ground water doesn't have and vise-versa.

Surface water must be treated for more organics, synthetics, mircoorganisms, tannins, sediment, industrial and farming chemicals, roofing materials, and on and on. You find less hardness, salts and metal.

Don't trust the old, "it ain't killed me yet" 0r "the way God provides it" cliches.

It wasn't clear if you were stating that trying to improve your water with equipment was out of the question.

Safe rule of thumb is always be more serious than your water....

Andy Christensen, CWS

Ok, heading to town this morning. Stopping in at the County Health Department, they are reported to have/provide proper collection containers/procedures for water testing. I'll update when results are returned.

Oh, and the rain collection thing... that was meant as a joke.

Sounds like my water. As Andy said you have disolved iron in it. I put in a greensand filter and it elimated all my staining problems.

Turns out it was a combination effect. The water table the old well was tapped into did have iron and rust in it. It would have been considered acceptable, as it could have been removed by a filter, but that was not the only source. The well was over 30 years old, and was not PVC, but galvanized iron pipe. The pipe was the major contributor to the rust issue.

The measured rust/iron content in the water exceeded the maximum filterable amount. It could have been filtered, but the filter media that would normally last a year, would only last about a month. So the decision was made to have a new well installed.

The new well is 3"x2" PVC. It is 360' deep. The driller hit the first water table at 60', and noted that though the sand size and texture was good, the coal lignite was rather small, and there were noticable pieces of iron and rust in the sand, making the whole mix a light shade of orange. Directly below that water table, at about 80' down, the driller hit a bank of dense, grey clay. This clay bank continued for another 120' SOLID. The water table he stopped in was below this clay bank. Very large sand particles, heavy concentration of coal lignite (in some chunks the size of a BB), this was what he was looking for. This table continued well beyond the 360' mark where he placed the sand screens, though he noted that he only needed to be just so deep into the table.

The clay bank, as the driller explained, is VERY favorable, as it creates a definite barrier between the surface water, and the water table that we are now in, below this barrier. So there is no worry of contamination from seepage from the ground surface to the water below.

After allowing the well to flow free for about three days strait, all the small particles of clay, sand, etc., have been pulled through the screens, thus packing the larger particles of sand and lignite against the screens, effectively becoming a filter themselves. The coal lignite is supposed to act very much like the carbon you would put into a fish tank, furthering the filtration of the water.

We went with the Grundfos 3" all-stainless submersible pump. Pricey, but touted to be the last pump we will ever have to buy. It is producing a solid 15 gallons per minute (900gph). We went with a 120gal tank, steel with epoxy lining.

Our water is now perfectly clear. The water test shows zero rust/iron content, zero filterable solids content, and a ph of 6.5 (7 being perfect).

Total cost for completed well... 6500.00