Water softener, iron reducing bacteria (IRB)

[szil...@gmail.com]

Hello:

I have a gravel well which is around 5 years old. Over time we've
been experiencing a buildup of IRB (iron reducing bacteria) everywhere
in our plumbing, etc. My main concern is that we have a water
softener and I'm sure it's caked inside. Is there anything that is
non-toxic that I can put with the softener salt so that it will clean
out the resin tank with each regeneration cycle? I found a product
called "Boresaver Ultra C" but I don't know if it's safe for a water
softener. Somebody recommended "Iron Out", but I don't know if this
will work or if it's safe??

I really appreciate all of the feedback on this...

Thank you,
--
Chris

[Rod Speed]

Meat Plow <me...@petitmorte.net> wrote:

> No kind of chemical is safe for potable water.

Wrong. Plenty of chemicals are completely safe in
potable water and get included in bottled potable water.

[Oren]

Snipped from web site:

...A resin cleaning compound must be used regularly to protect the
resin. The most common resin cleaning compounds contain sodium
hydrosulfite or phosphoric acid. Some water softener salt contains a
resin cleaner...

Yes, I have used this company with outstanding results.

FAQ Link - (Iron)

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/faqs_iron_filters.html

[clams_casino]

Oren wrote:

> The most common resin cleaning compounds contain sodium
>hydrosulfite or phosphoric acid.
>

Sounds like a little Dr Pepper should be a solution :-)

[hchi...@hotmail.com]

On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:20:58 -0500, Meat Plow <me...@petitmorte.net>
wrote:

>No kind of chemical is safe for potable water.

Not true. Chlorine is used to MAKE water potable.

A common method of sanitizing wells is to dump a bottle of bleach into
the well, let it sit for a day, then pump it through the system until
the bleach smell is gone. This reduces the number of bacteria to a
safer level. Municipal systems do much the same thing twice a year.

Some other general guidelines:
http://www.state.sd.us/DENR/DES/Drinking/disinfection.htm

As for removing iron from water, there are some filters that will do
this.
Try here:
http://www.purestfilters.com/whole_house_system.htm

For potable drinking water that you don't have to worry about, look
for a "Big Berkey" filter system. About the only thing that might
pass through the media is nitrates and nitrites, which pregnant women
should avoid. The up front price is a little steep, but it is a long
term purchase.

[szil...@gmail.com]

On Mar 5, 3:18 pm, Oren <O...@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> On Wed, 5 Mar 2008 10:59:33 -0800 (PST), szilag...@gmail.com wrote:
> >Hello:
>
> >I have a gravel well which is around 5 years old. Over time we've

> >been experiencing a buildup ofIRB(iron reducing bacteria) everywhere

> >in our plumbing, etc. My main concern is that we have a water

> >softenerand I'm sure it's caked inside. Is there anything that is
> >non-toxic that I can put with thesoftenersalt so that it will clean

> >out the resin tank with each regeneration cycle? I found a product
> >called "Boresaver Ultra C" but I don't know if it's safe for a water
> >softener. Somebody recommended "Iron Out", but I don't know if this
> >will work or if it's safe??
>
> >I really appreciate all of the feedback on this...
>
> >Thank you,
>
> Snipped from web site:
>
> ...A resin cleaning compound must be used regularly to protect the
> resin. The most common resin cleaning compounds contain sodium

> hydrosulfite or phosphoric acid. Some watersoftenersalt contains a

> resin cleaner...
>
> Yes, I have used this company with outstanding results.
>
> FAQ Link - (Iron)
>
> http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/faqs_iron_filters.html

Thank you for the information. I will contact them as I am not sure
which one is actually non-toxic. I ended up also reading that citric
acid is non-toxic and supposedly works OK for this. Do you recommend
something as simple as lemon juice, or should I purchase a commercial
citric acid product? I am open for suggestions on the best non-toxic
alternative, yet I don't want to harm the resin either.

Thank you again,
--
Chris

[Gary Slusser]

Resin cleaners may not kill IRB. IRB is a large group of bacteria and
to get rid of it you must kill it. Shocking a well with chlorine is at
best a temporary fix because the bacteria live in the ground and
ground water and will come back in the water.

You should sanitize your softener with a couple cap fulls of non
scented regular house hold bleach, poured into a gallon of water and
down into the water in the salt tank. Then do a manual regeneration.
DO NOT mix with Iron Out or other products like it.

Gary Slusser
Quality Water Associates