Do people use Iron Out to manage iron level?

[Young]

Is using Iron Out recommended to manage iron level in water? I haven't done iron level test yet but I do see orange stain in places like shower. I use Fleck 5600. I recently replaced resin because we had serious water flow issue. This was after ~7 years of service. Water flow issue is gone now.

Also, does Iron Out dissolved in brine get washed out during regen? Wonder if it will get into service water.

Thanks!
Young

 

[Bannerman]

Iron Out and similar resin cleaners, are mild acids which are utilized in conjunction with salt brine, to breakdown and dissolve iron that has accumulated on the resin beads outer surface, which helps to restore the resin's ability to remove hardness.

A resin cleaner added into the resin tank, will be transferred to the media tank along with the liquid brine, usually within the 1st 15-20 minutes of a typical 60-minute Brine Draw cycle. Slow Rinse flow will continue during the remaining 40-45 minutes, which will cause the cleaner and brine to be pushed downward through the resin bed. As Slow Rinse utilizes fresh water, the cleaner, hardness minerals, Chloride, excess sodium and the loosened iron deposits are rinsed from the resin and flushed to drain, meaning they should be eliminated before the control valve returns to the Service position to restore soft water delivery to the home's fixtures.

I recently replaced resin because we had serious water flow issue.

Reduced water flow through the resin bed, will most often be caused by resin that has been damaged over time due to constant chlorine exposure. Is you water supply municipal or a private well?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

Do you use glandular salt, salt pellets or a salt block? Most salt pellets do have some iron out in the pellet for constant maintenance.

 

[LLigetfa]

I would not use Iron Out on a regular basis. AFAIK, frequent use of Iron Out is detrimental to softener beads. Anytime I used it in the past, it left a smell and taste in the treated water which suggests that it does not get completely rinsed out during regen. After the regen, the residue can also liberate some iron that has built up in the plumbing and water heater.

I use Morton Clean and Protect Plus Rust Defense softener salt with citric acid to maintain my softener.

 

[Young]

Iron Out and similar resin cleaners, are mild acids which are utilized in conjunction with salt brine, to breakdown and dissolve iron that has accumulated on the resin beads outer surface, which helps to restore the resin's ability to remove hardness.

A resin cleaner added into the resin tank, will be transferred to the media tank along with the liquid brine, usually within the 1st 15-20 minutes of a typical 60-minute Brine Draw cycle. Slow Rinse flow will continue during the remaining 40-45 minutes, which will cause the cleaner and brine to be pushed downward through the resin bed. As Slow Rinse utilizes fresh water, the cleaner, hardness minerals, Chloride, excess sodium and the loosened iron deposits are rinsed from the resin and flushed to drain, meaning they should be eliminated before the control valve returns to the Service position to restore soft water delivery to the home's fixtures.


Reduced water flow through the resin bed, will most often be caused by resin that has been damaged over time due to constant chlorine exposure. Is you water supply municipal or a private well?

So hopefully everything gets rinsed away. It's city water. And resin in Fleck lasted ~7 years.

Do you use glandular salt, salt pellets or a salt block? Most salt pellets do have some iron out in the pellet for constant maintenance.

We use Morton Clean and Protect pallets. https://www.mortonsalt.com/home-product/morton-clean-and-protect-pellets/ I am not able to find anything else from hardware stores around me.

 

[MaxBlack]

I looked-up the SDS for Morton Clean & Protect plus Rust Defense and the only two ingredients are Sodium Chloride (98.5-98.9%) and "Citrates" (a miniscule 0.33-0.55%). Makes me wonder how "worth it" for the additional cost.

Iron-Out comes in many formulations:

The powder form of Iron OUT contains the following ingredients:

• Citric acid (1.0-5.0%)
• Sodium carbonate (10.0-30.0%)
• Sodium hydrosulfite
• Sodium metabisulfite
• Sodium sulfite (1.0-5.0%)
  https://www.whatsinproducts.com/typ...T Rust Stain Remover Powderspan style="color:
  The liquid form of Iron OUT contains:
• Oxalic acid
• 1,2-Propanediol
  https://www.mindat.org/mesg-416220.html
  It's important to note that the exact concentrations of some ingredients are not specified in the sources. Also, different versions of the product (like "Super Iron Out" or "Outdoor") may contain additional ingredients, such as Ethanedioic acid, dihydrate

I don't know which of the above might be harmful to resin? Anyone know?

 

[LuckyNo21]

I would not use Iron Out on a regular basis. AFAIK, frequent use of Iron Out is detrimental to softener beads. Anytime I used it in the past, it left a smell and taste in the treated water which suggests that it does not get completely rinsed out during regen. After the regen, the residue can also liberate some iron that has built up in the plumbing and water heater.

I use Morton Clean and Protect Plus Rust Defense softener salt with citric acid to maintain my softener.

I used iron out in my tank for the first time last night, added as 1/4 cup per 40lb bag of salt. I did this to try to save money as it's far cheaper buying the regular salt without iron fighter. Today my water tastes so strong of chemicals (whole house uses softened water). I only took a sip of it to swallow a pill, and I can't get the taste out of my mouth. I don't know what to do as we use our water for drinking. The iron out is clearly in our water. I'm a bit freaked out after reading the label and thinking about calling poison control.

Cant you just add 0.4% citric acid to the brine tank, since that's the active ingredient in iron fighter salt? At least it's not toxic like iron out.

 

[LLigetfa]

Cant you just add 0.4% citric acid to the brine tank, since that's the active ingredient in iron fighter salt? At least it's not toxic like iron out.

Sure you can but you need to layer it so it doesn't dose all at once. Then you have to factor how high the water level gets during brining. When it is incorporated into the iron fighter salt pellets, it doses gradually.

 

[Reach4]

I used iron out in my tank for the first time last night, added as 1/4 cup per 40lb bag of salt. I did this to try to save money as it's far cheaper buying the regular salt without iron fighter. Today my water tastes so strong of chemicals (whole house uses softened water). I only took a sip of it to swallow a pill, and I can't get the taste out of my mouth. I don't know what to do as we use our water for drinking. The iron out is clearly in our water. I'm a bit freaked out after reading the label and thinking about calling poison control.

Cant you just add 0.4% citric acid to the brine tank, since that's the active ingredient in iron fighter salt? At least it's not toxic like iron out.

You can add citric acid yourself.

 

[Jon82567]

Is using Iron Out recommended to manage iron level in water? I haven't done iron level test yet but I do see orange stain in places like shower. I use Fleck 5600. I recently replaced resin because we had serious water flow issue. This was after ~7 years of service. Water flow issue is gone now.

Also, does Iron Out dissolved in brine get washed out during regen? Wonder if it will get into service water.

Thanks!
Young

Is using Iron Out recommended to manage iron level in water? I haven't done iron level test yet but I do see orange stain in places like shower. I use Fleck 5600. I recently replaced resin because we had serious water flow issue. This was after ~7 years of service. Water flow issue is gone now.

Also, does Iron Out dissolved in brine get washed out during regen? Wonder if it will get into service water.

Thanks!
Young

The Fleck head is amazing make sure you lubricant it. The Iron Out only removes rust from your resin beads, iron sticks to them and doesn’t wash off with the brine water during regeneration. Iron makes your softener not work and clogs it. The iron out will definitely restore resin under 7 year old or resin that was ran low on salt. You mix like a cup in a gallon of water pour it in that pvc tube and run a recycle. 1000% do not run water in your house during this regen. Other tips: make sure none of your toilets run and no faucets leak if there is even the slightest water flow during a regen then your softener is slowly getting clogged again. Another tip is turn the water off to your ice maker when the trey is full they are bad about messing up your regen. The final tip is set a time when no one will use the water and make it a household rule no water usage during that hour (no flushing toilets or washing hands 3-4am)

Salt care TOPPING OFF YOUR SALT ALL THE TIME IS TERRIBLE FOR IT AND CAN CAUSE BRIDGING (a hard salt skin you have to smack with a hammer) then if your pvc tube in the salt tank does not have lines grab a tape and sharpie measure 7 equal lines and label them 1-7. Don’t fill the salt until it’s like 3 or 4 only use salt pellets.


If you want rid of the iron that you taste in your water and smell you need to test your water. Free steps first. Step 1A get 2 clear drinking glasses fill half way and put them in a cabinet (keeps dust out) wait 24 hours if there is sediment at the bottom it can be filtered with a canister/sediment filter picking the correct size so your water pressure doesn’t get destroyed or having to change the filter too often can be a pain. If you can swing 1,000.00 or so for a back washing filter it will look like your softener NO CARBON MEDIEA IT CAN GO BAD IN AS LITTLE AS A YEAR what ever you chose the sediment filter goes after pressure tank before water softener, if you put it before your pressure tank you can kiss your pump goodbye. Step 1 B, if there’s no sediment at the bottom you have “expensive rust” or iron bacteria. To test this without a kit run the cold water for a few minutes and smell it. Next run run the water a few minutes after it hot. If you have iron both water temps will smell the same a metallic or sulfur smell. If cold smells fine and hot has the Odor you have iron bacteria and your wallet could hurt hurt hurt it’s hard to get rid of. If you’re lucky your well shaft cases don’t need relined. How to get rid of the bacteria (cases are good) 1. Check the seals at your well look for any holes or openings this is one way for contaminants to get in, don’t fix it yet…. Bypass your water softener and hook up as may garden hoses to your house as possible VERY IMPORTANT MAKE SURE THEY ARE NOT GOING TO POUR OVER YOUR SEPTIC TANK, also it will probably kill your grass too. Pop the top on your well and shock it while running the water it will come out very nasty red and WILL stain any concrete or asphalt…. Run it till the water is clear…. VERY IMPORTANT NOT TO BURN UP YOUR PUMP GIVE IT BREAKS TO COOL DOWN. Step 3. Removing the clear rust: you will need to spend 1,000-1,500 on a backwashing air injection filter WITH a Fleck 5600 head (don’t cheap on the head) the air injection filter goes before your softener DON’T get carbon media you already know the pain of repacking the tube you don’t need the carbon at this stage and repacking every few years sucks sand or sediment resin works fine for this step a brite side is this filter also removes sediment from your water and backwash’s it so no more canister changes should last around 10 years before a repack (unless you get carbon that’s little as a year). The air injection filter runs the water over the air turning your “clear” rust into a powder and filters it out. If you’d like carbon too put one either after the softener for whole house or sacrifice half your under kitchen sink for drinking and cooking water.

The tests above are your quick at home, I’d still get a complete water test kit they are around 30.00. The bacteria test takes like 48 hours and will pick up non-rust bacteria.