Got Iron?

Iron isn't all bad, but it can get pretty ugly before you know it. I remember the first time I encountered iron in my well water. It was after I had some plumbing work done. It happened after I turned on our bathtub faucet. For a few seconds, it came out clear, and then a solid streak of... clay? I remember thinking, "how did my water get mud in it?" It cleared up after a few seconds, and it struck me as odd, but I shrugged it off and went on with life. One day, I noticed that the little white plastic detergent tray in our laundry machine had the same clay color on it. That's when I decided to have our water tested at Mountain Water Systems. The results? I had 0.5ppm of iron, a pH of 6.4, a hardness level of 1gpg, and TDS of 40ppm.

Even the smallest amount of iron can cause staining. I started noticing it in the back of the toilet, in the toilet bowl, and white laundry not being so white after a few washes. In my case, the iron wasn't horrible, but it doesn't take much to cause staining. Iron can also be sneaky. Just because you have iron, does not mean the best treatment is an "iron filter". There are a lot of people who discover they have iron in their water that will hire a plumber or well company to install filtration that is supposed to remove iron. However, it's very important to understand water chemistry in order to effectively treat iron. We recommend bringing a water sample (see our collection instructions) to our office to be tested (free) Monday-Thursday, 9am-3pm, Friday, 9am-1pm, or contact us and set up an appointment. Iron particles can also change, based on water conditions. You may have filtration in place that is supposed to be stopping the iron (EPA recommended <0.3ppm) that doesn't seem to be getting the job done. There can be several reasons why, but we recommend bringing us a fresh sample, either way!

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