Iron bacteria

[Xcessiv]

Hey guys,

Just bought a new house, built in 2005. I did a pre-purchase water analysis which discovered:
- arsenic (0.013 mg/l)
- baryum (1.44 mg/l)
- lots of total dissolved solid (872 mg/l)
- lots of iron (0.486 mg/l)

Other than that, just for your info:
- pH of 7.93
- conductivity of 1230

The old setup in place was a greensand filter regenerated during backwash with potassium permanganate; nothing else. There was nothing really wrong with it, with no sign of iron bacteria, but it was 12 years old and had never been maintained so I decided to install a totally new setup that would address everything include the arsenic.

I went with the local professional that had the best reputation in the area. They came up with this solution:
- air injection iron filter to address the iron issues
- metsorb to address the arsenic
- classical salt filter

All went fine for the first 2 weeks or so, except some issues with the air injection itself. The air bubbles in the water intermittently clogged my Brita filter and my Nespresso machine.

After 2 weeks, we started noticing smell of rot or decay with the cold water line. I contacted the installer, which generated some back and forth for another 2 weeks, and the smell got worse. What I don't understand is the fluctuations. Sometimes it barely smells, sometimes we can't stand it.

They came over and confirmed the presence of iron bacteria.

They are coming over next Thursday to convert the air injection filter into a greensand filter. According to them, since iron bacteria was not an issue before installing the air injection, concentration is low enough to not require a chloration/filtration system.

What do you think?

My concerns:
- will the greensand really take care of these low concentrations
- since we've been using the current setup for 1 month, did the iron bacteria screw up the metsorb and salt filters. If so, do we have to replace the media or if backwashes will bring them back to life?
- the water lines are made of Pex. Since iron bacteria is now present in the entire house (cold water line, toilet, etc), should I threat the system or if the bacteria will go away once we resolve it at the source?

And finally, is the installer responsible for this mess? Given that the neighborhood is known for iron bacteria, should they double check before installing air injection? Or if I have to pay to get everything fixed up?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Mikey]

Chlorine.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[LLigetfa]

If there was no IRB from day 1 it is possible the bacteria was introduced into your house plumbing through unsanitary work and that it is not coming from the well.

 

[ditttohead]

Air injection works in many applications but iron bacteria is a pain. A quick sanitization of the plumbing and the medias should help. What media was used for the air injection? The system may be able to be converted to pot perm regen with ease. Can you post a picture?

 

[Xcessiv]

Thanks for the info! It's a Ecowater ETF2300.

 

[ditttohead]

https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/282-283

Sanitizing the plumbing would be highly recommended.

 

[LLigetfa]

Sanitizing the plumbing would be highly recommended.

I have an air injection system and while I don't have IRB in the well, I have through unsanitary work managed to get IRB in my house plumbing. Sanitized it years ago and have not had it return.

I just don't think you should write off the water treatment system just yet.

 

[Reach4]

http://www.terrylove.com/forums/ind...izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my sanitizing write-up. It is more intense. I believe in overkill for this. Literally.

If you were paying your installer to do a really strong procedure, it would cost a lot because it would take a lot of time.

 

[SuperGreg]

I've just installed a chlorine injection system to treat iron bacteria in the house. I'm unsure about trying to treat the well itself - everywhere I look, people say it's almost impossible to rid the well of iron bacteria, and it will keep coming back unless you do the treatment 2 or 3 times per year. Is it even worth it to try?

 

[Reach4]

I've just installed a chlorine injection system to treat iron bacteria in the house. I'm unsure about trying to treat the well itself - everywhere I look, people say it's almost impossible to rid the well of iron bacteria, and it will keep coming back unless you do the treatment 2 or 3 times per year. Is it even worth it to try?

I think so, but I am not a pro. I am sure things vary from place to place. I think big flooding volume, pH, exposure time, and chlorine levels are key.

Yet I cannot even be sure I had IRB. To me, testing for it seemed like a waste when I could just presume it was there. Besides, SRB and unknowns were targets too. I roughly figure maybe to sanitize every 2 years, but I may stretch that longer. I don't know anybody who sanitizes twice per year, but I have very limited experience.

I know somebody who dumps a gallon of bleach down the well, runs each faucet until he smells chlorine, waits for a period, and is done. I don't think he does it more than once per year. He had his WH anode replaced with a plug. Different methods.

Regarding chlorine injection in a deep home well, usually the main reason is for treating iron and H2S and more.

 

[ditttohead]

Treating the well is hit and miss and can cause some serious problems that can be very expensive. Just stick with chlorine injection, contact time, and a proper removal method and you will be fine.

 

[SuperGreg]

Treating the well is hit and miss and can cause some serious problems that can be very expensive. Just stick with chlorine injection, contact time, and a proper removal method and you will be fine.

OK that's what I was leaning toward, thanks for the reply.

 

[Nolan]

Treating the well is hit and miss and can cause some serious problems that can be very expensive. Just stick with chlorine injection, contact time, and a proper removal method and you will be fine.

Out of curiosity what serious problems could be caused by sanitizing the well?

 

[ditttohead]

Constantly sanitizing a well... typically involves dropping chlorine pellets (automatically) down the well. Chlorine is an oxidant and reacts with most metals and causes corrosion. Chlorine and stainless don't mix. If the chlorine is perfectly controlled a well drop pellet system can be very successful. I prefer to wait until the water is out of the well and use external components that are easily repaired/replaced. he cost of replacing a well pump can be extremely expensive and anything you can do to minimize that potential is highly recommended. Here is a good picture of a stainless sink, rusted out due to bleach.