Elliott
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Hello Everyone, this is my first post here.
I built a new house that has a private well and moved in about 6 months ago. Right after moving in I noticed the water heater was making sizzling noises kind of like water being boiled. I was surprised at how loud the noise was. The water heater is an 80 gallon Rheem "self cleaning" electric.
Recently the plumbing in the house has been getting clogged with calcium particles. A while ago I started noticing a decrease in water pressure and found the screens were getting clogged with whitish particles that break down when rubbed between my fingers. Over time the frequency of the clogs increased to the point where they would get clogged within 30 seconds after cleaning. At this point I installed a whole house filter on the output of the water heater. That has pretty much solved the problem with the calcium particles fouling the fixtures. I'm still concerned about the amount of scaling that is occuring in the water heater.
I've had the water tested on several occasions by water specialists in the field and 2 independent water labs. I also had the particles microscopically examined which confirmed they were calcium. The field test indicated total hardness of 3-4 gpg and the two water labs were 47 and 66 mg/l. Everyone I have talked to has said my water is only slightly hard and I should not be seeing this level of calcium buildup. I'm in the Seattle area where hard water is not particurlaly common.
An iron filter was recommended and installed after some field tests indicated iron was present in the water. The filter is a Water-Right backflushing model with Calcite/MC-10 media in it. It also has a retention tank and aerator. Recent water lab tests found iron levels to be <0.3 mg/l. The sample was taken before the iron filter. When I told my water specialist who installed the iron filter about the lack of iron in the water he said he was sure there was some when he tested it. This was based on the color of the water and field test of the water.
I'm suspicous that the iron filter has something to do with this calcium problem and I'm wondering if I still need the iron filter at all.
I had another water specialist out who ran some field tests and while he can't explain why I'm seeing so much calcuim buildup is recommending a water softener to solve the calcium problem. His field test also showed a slight amount of iron which he said would be enough to stain fixtures over time.
At this point I'm not sure how to proceed.
Thanks,
Elliott
I built a new house that has a private well and moved in about 6 months ago. Right after moving in I noticed the water heater was making sizzling noises kind of like water being boiled. I was surprised at how loud the noise was. The water heater is an 80 gallon Rheem "self cleaning" electric.
Recently the plumbing in the house has been getting clogged with calcium particles. A while ago I started noticing a decrease in water pressure and found the screens were getting clogged with whitish particles that break down when rubbed between my fingers. Over time the frequency of the clogs increased to the point where they would get clogged within 30 seconds after cleaning. At this point I installed a whole house filter on the output of the water heater. That has pretty much solved the problem with the calcium particles fouling the fixtures. I'm still concerned about the amount of scaling that is occuring in the water heater.
I've had the water tested on several occasions by water specialists in the field and 2 independent water labs. I also had the particles microscopically examined which confirmed they were calcium. The field test indicated total hardness of 3-4 gpg and the two water labs were 47 and 66 mg/l. Everyone I have talked to has said my water is only slightly hard and I should not be seeing this level of calcium buildup. I'm in the Seattle area where hard water is not particurlaly common.
An iron filter was recommended and installed after some field tests indicated iron was present in the water. The filter is a Water-Right backflushing model with Calcite/MC-10 media in it. It also has a retention tank and aerator. Recent water lab tests found iron levels to be <0.3 mg/l. The sample was taken before the iron filter. When I told my water specialist who installed the iron filter about the lack of iron in the water he said he was sure there was some when he tested it. This was based on the color of the water and field test of the water.
I'm suspicous that the iron filter has something to do with this calcium problem and I'm wondering if I still need the iron filter at all.
I had another water specialist out who ran some field tests and while he can't explain why I'm seeing so much calcuim buildup is recommending a water softener to solve the calcium problem. His field test also showed a slight amount of iron which he said would be enough to stain fixtures over time.
At this point I'm not sure how to proceed.
Thanks,
Elliott