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Brown stains starting to show up on your clothing? Perhaps you’re starting to notice red and orange streaks near faucets in the bathroom or kitchen. If you’re a native of the Indianapolis area, you may be surprised to learn about the notoriously high levels of iron in our area’s water supply – which is the cause of those brown and orange stains.
Sure, not every home in the area with a well has this problem. But if you do, it’s likely that your well water has a high concentration of iron. It’s very common in the area, as well as many parts of the country. There are several types of iron that can be in your well, so keep reading to learn more.
Alternatively, you can call us now at 765-561-2308 for a free consultation and estimate. In many cases, same day appointments are available.
Ferrous Iron (AKA “Clear Water Iron”)
If the different types of iron in your water were bad guys in a comic book, Ferrous Iron would be the invisible super villain. Ferrous iron is soluble in water, just like sugar, and can’t be seen or filtered out. Most homeowner’s only notice it because of the tell-tale red, orange, and brown stains left behind. The reason it can’t be seen in the water but still leaves these stains? The iron oxidizes once it hits the air.
In many homes, this problem is discovered when water is left to sit and stagnate, giving the iron time to oxidize and stain the surface. If you’ve noticed your toilets getting a brown stain below the water line, this is a good indicator that you have clear water iron, and a water softening system may be appropriate to treat it.
Ferric “Orange Water” Iron
This is the type of iron in your water that can be compared to a bull in a china shop. It’s orange, since the iron has already oxidized in your well. It must be filtered out, as it is a fine particulate (solid) substance. It also leaves very visible stains on white bathroom fixtures.
Colloidal Iron
Like the Riddler from Batman, this type of iron in your water may confuse you. It also looks orange, just like when ferric iron is present in your water. The difference? If you leave a glass of ferric iron water sit out over night the iron will settle out.
We won’t get into the technical specifics and jargon. Simply put, colloidal iron is the result of extremely microscopic particles being coated with iron. These particles are essentially so small that traditional filters can’t remove them. Special ultra and nano filters exist to treat colloidal iron.
Organic Iron (Iron Bacteria)
The last type of iron in your water that we’ll discuss is organic iron. It can be found in wells and can be of particular concern, because slime bacteria can feed on the iron. This can cause your home’s water to become contaminated with bacteria.
If you notice a murky tint when you hold a glass of water up to the light, this is a good sign of organic iron. You may also notice an orange slime building up in places like your toilet tank. If you have heavily stained clothes after using chlorine bleach in the laundry, this is another sign you may have organic iron in your well.
Organic iron is another type of iron found in wells. It is sometimes called bacterial iron since a type of slime bacteria feeds on the iron in the aquifers feeding the well. The well pump brings the iron and bacteria into home’s water distribution system. Organic iron untreated causes water to have a murky tint that can be seen by holding up a clear glass filled with tap water against a bright light. The tell-tale signs of organic iron can sometimes be seen in a quiet corner of the toilet tank where it appears as a glob of orange colored gelatin. Organic iron will heavily stain clothing if chlorine bleach is used in the laundry cycle.
Additional Tests
In addition to testing for these types of iron, we also test for manganese, tannin, and hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide causes a “rotten egg” odor, and can be treated with backwashing filters. We often test for this at the same time we’re testing for iron.
Occasionally, tannin may be present in the water at the same time as iron. You’ll need a separate filter to remove tannin. We test for tannin at the same time as iron to ensure that we’re going to actually treat the issue causing your discoloration. For instance, we don’t want to treat for iron if tannin is causing the what is actually causing the issue.
Call us today at 765-561-2308 if you need help with a well water treatment system in Arlington, IN.
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