Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Egg Smelling Water from Iron Bacteria, is Culligan's suggestion correct?

I just bought a house with a rented Culligan system in place (Medalist Plus 40). The water has a sulfur (rotten egg) smell and I contacted local Culligan to come in and look. He tested the bypassed water and found that there was no sulfur in the water, but there is high amount of iron. He proceeded to checck the toilets and there is slimy buildup.

He now suggests that I (rent/buy) a Medalist softner and add on a drip chlorination system, which costs a lot of money both renting and buying (break even point is about 4 yrs for purchasing vs renting).

I am suspicious of this recommendation because the house is already running on a Medalist Plus 40, and we're getting the iron bacteria growing, what makes the chlorination system a guaranteed fix? I thought the Medalist Plus is already supposed to remove iron rom the water which should deprive the iron bacteria its source of energy. The guy didn't test whether there is bacteria existing in pre-filter (directly from well water) and/or post-filter.

How should I move forward from this point? Is the Culligan rep's recommendation valid, or should I spend time explore further to find the source of the iron bacteria and maybe use a less expensive solution based on where the iron bacteria is coming from?

Can people recommend the quality of Culligan's chlorination system? Any other recommendations of water treatment companies?

Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated from me--a first time home owner.

Can you give us a little more detyail on the chloriantion 'system' they are recommending especailly the type of pump (diaphram or peristaltic), do they offer any water rentention capacity, backwashing filter, etc? I have seen chlorination systems that were very inadequate and failed after a short time.

Bacterial iron cannot be removed simply by using a softener as you have seen.n In fact, it may have a negative effect on the softener over time, especailly for single-tank type softeners that backwash with hard water.

He didn't test for iron bacteria in the prefilter...? Does that mean he didn't take if off and look at it? Bacterial iron is organic and will pass through the resins which exchange inorganic minerals, salts and metals.

Have you considered chlorinating your well, first? You need to go through a specific sequence to make it work. It's no gaurantee but it is an economical first attempt to solve the problem.

Try calling a Kinetico oe Ecowater dealer.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

andyc, I dont want to hijack this thread but your comment about chlorinating the well and specific sequence piqued my interest.

If it is something this OP could utilize, I don't suppose it would be out of place to post things here. If not, then let me know and I will start my own thread so hopefully you can post the info there.

NAP,

Go ahead and start a new thread. State what issues you are facing and any other details and I would be happy to respond.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Can you give us a little more detyail on the chloriantion 'system' they are recommending especailly the type of pump (diaphram or peristaltic), do they offer any water rentention capacity, backwashing filter, etc? I have seen chlorination systems that were very inadequate and failed after a short time.

Bacterial iron cannot be removed simply by using a softener as you have seen.n In fact, it may have a negative effect on the softener over time, especailly for single-tank type softeners that backwash with hard water.

He didn't test for iron bacteria in the prefilter...? Does that mean he didn't take if off and look at it? Bacterial iron is organic and will pass through the resins which exchange inorganic minerals, salts and metals.

Have you considered chlorinating your well, first? You need to go through a specific sequence to make it work. It's no gaurantee but it is an economical first attempt to solve the problem.

Try calling a Kinetico oe Ecowater dealer.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Hi Andy, thanks for you reply. I dont' know what kind of pump th Culligan guy wants to install, but I know it drips bleach, has a 120 G retention tank, and a Carbon filter to dechlorinate. The chlorinating pump, tank, carbon filter, Medalist softener, salt tank, all add up to be $4700, or $100/month rental--the number seems really over priced...

I called the local Kinetico dealer, but there are few and far in between where I live (central ny). The closest person is 30 min away and the next closest is more than 1 hr away. I wonder what additional service call charges will be if I needed them to service the units. My friends and neighbors use a small company in Ithaca, but he installs greensand fitlers for everyone (including my current rental place that Im moving out of). My current rental place's greensand filter leaked at one point and stained a lot of stuff--I have very little confidence.

Does Kinetico have a chlorination system, or will it be a third party product? I think Culligan said their chlorination system is not their own product, either... He had no brochures or spec sheets for me for the chlorination system.

He didn't test for iron bacteria in the prefilter...? Does that mean he didn't take if off and look at it? Bacterial iron is organic and will pass through the resins which exchange inorganic minerals, salts and metals.

Have you considered chlorinating your well, first? You need to go through a specific sequence to make it work. It's no gaurantee but it is an economical first attempt to solve the problem.


The Culigan guy bypassed the water softener with a switch and the testes that water. i also ran my hose water (bypassed) for a while last night and the water smelled there too.

I will try chlorinating the well this weekend. Any specific things to watch for and how to do it exactly?

Can you give us a little more detyail on the chloriantion 'system' they are recommending especailly the type of pump (diaphram or peristaltic), do they offer any water rentention capacity, backwashing filter, etc? I have seen chlorination systems that were very inadequate and failed after a short time.
The Culligan guy said it's a Stenner pump

do a google search for shock treatment of wells. i can not remember which state i found the procedure in. but it works most of the time for iron bacteria.

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies.

I just throw a couple of those pool chlorine tablets down the well every now and then, not sure if it's doing anything but my water seems fine.