Bacteria/smells in water

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Ben22

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Our issues started in November, 2020 after installing a whole house filtration system. The system had GAC and KDF 55. We also have a water softener and under sink RO. We are on city water.

Toilets started to smell and we had our water tested which showed 18,000 bacteria.

We removed the whole house filtration system. We retested the water which now showed counts lower, but we still had bacteria in our water. We had iron stains in our toilets too.

We then replaced our softener thinking it may have been contaminated or was consuming the chlorine and replaced it with a Pentair 64k softener that we were told does not have carbon and does not consume chlorine. We also installed a big blue sediment filter due to getting a ton of sediment in our water (the filter clogs after 3-4 months). The counts decreased but bacteria were still there and the toilets still smell despite cleaning with everything imaginable including the tanks and we still have the iron stains.

We tested the chlorine levels and they are 0.8 at the entry to the home and <0.1 inside. If we bypass the water softener and the softener loop, they come back up to 0.3-0.5.

We also now disinfected our system and installed a UV light, but bacteria are still present. They are identified as acidovorax temperans, Acinetobacter haemolyticus, cupriavidus mettalidurans, novosphingobium species, sphingomonas species, and bacillus species. We had it on both the hot and cold sides and in many different water sources. The highest was 2500 CFU/ml. We tested the water coming into the home from the city and it does not have bacteria in it.

The water was negative for e. coli and coliform bacteria and legionella.

We are not sure where to go from here or even who to call for help. Can anyone help point us in the right direction?

Thanks, Ben
 

Reach4

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We also now disinfected our system and installed a UV light, but bacteria are still present. They are identified as acidovorax temperans, Acinetobacter haemolyticus, cupriavidus mettalidurans, novosphingobium species, sphingomonas species, and bacillus species. We had it on both the hot and cold sides and in many different water sources. The highest was 2500 CFU/ml. We tested the water coming into the home from the city and it does not have bacteria in it.
You are talking about bacteria after the carbon tank I presume. Carbon removes chlorine.. At a minimum, I would bypass the chlorine tank and get chlorine to each faucet. However you may not be able to detect low levels of chlorine.

You should draw a sketch that shows the order of chlorine injector if any, carbon tank, softener, UV light, cartridge filters, or whatever.


https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/well-sanitizing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my writeup for well and plumbing sanitizing. I would suggest you read through that for ideas. In particular, reducing the pH of the water makes the chlorine more effective. A utility pump could help you circulate sanitizing solution.
 

WorthFlorida

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What type of pipes and how old? Sometimes a new water softener, working far better than an old one, loosens up any crud and sediment inside the pipes.

Does the city water have high iron clear water content?
 
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