At what levels of iron and/or manganese does one need to utilize specialty filters or resin units. I understand regular ion exchange softeners will remove some levels of iron/manganese. Is there a cartridge unit for iron/manganese removal?

Answer: This is a difficult questions to answer precisely; it really depends on the specific water chemistry, type of iron present, and overall design of the water softener.  However, a standard water softener can remove up to 2 approximately 2 mg/l iron, assuming the iron is present only in ferrous (dissolved, clear-water) form.  Again, depending on water chemistry and specific design (like up-flow, twin tank, or softeners equipped with a turbulator), higher levels of iron can be removed using a water softener.  We generally recommend using a fine mesh resin, and adding a resin cleaning feeder to the softener when levels of iron are present that exceed 2 mg/l.  You can take a look at our Iron Eliminator add-on package that features this design.  When iron is present as both ferrous & ferric (particulate, “red water”) iron, iron removal efficiency is significantly reduced, and the softener should be designed correctly for the specific application.

Regarding manganese removal, one of the best methods for removing manganese is with use of a water softener, however, pH must be above 7.0 units.  In addition, a resin cleaner like Res-Up or Pro-Res must be used for effective removal of the accumulated manganese, or resin bed failure may result.

If you have the specifics of your application that includes a complete water analysis, number of residents in the home, and pipe diameter, we can help you further.  If you need a water analysis, we will provide one at no charge to you.  By the way, there are cartridges available that will remove iron & manganese – but these are generally not used for whole-house application.

I need a manual for a EcoWater 3000r20 Plus water refiner. I have moved and the manual was misplaced. I have had the system installed and I need to know what the settings should be. I would greatly appreciate any help that you could give. Thanks in advance, James

Answer: We don’t have any manuals for the EcoWater systems, but you should be able to obtain a copy from EcoWater directly – their telephone number is 651-739-5330 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM CST – sorry!

I get a slimy brown build up in the toilet tank.  Is there any way to stop it?

Answer: Sounds very much like you may have an iron bacteria problem – iron bacteria is not a health hazard – just a nuisance, that can cause staining and clogging of fixtures and water treatment equipment.  To check for the presence of iron bacteria, open any toilet tank that has been in service for at least a few months.  If you have iron bacteria present, this material can sometimes be found as a black or dark red material “growing” on the inside of the tank.  If you find this material, take a small amount of it, and leave it to dry on a porcelain sink.  If it remains “sticky” after some time, then it may be iron bacteria – if it dries to a powder, then it is most likely a normal iron deposit.

If you feel iron bacteria may be present, then chlorine injection is the best solution.  The chlorine first kills the bacteria present on the outside of the iron particle, and then with the bacteria destroyed, the chlorine oxidizes the iron into an insoluble precipitate.  If you need to go this route, should also install a backwashing carbon filter downstream of the chlorine injection system.  The carbon filter will remove the chlorine from your water, and also filter out any iron precipitate formed during the chlorine oxidation process.

You can take a look at a system we offer to resolve this problem; it uses liquid chlorination injection system to meter chlorine right into your water supply.  This system is composed of a chemical feed pump, static mixer, solution storage tank and retention tank.  When your well pump comes on, the chemical feed pump adds chlorine solution into the static mixer (which aids in the uniform mixing process) and enters the retention tank where the disinfection/oxidation process occurs.
 
Chemical injection system
a. Stenner 15 gallon STS solution storage & chemical feed pump system
b. 80 gallon retention tank
c. In-line static mixer
 
You typically use a starting mix of 1/2 gallon household chlorine bleach to the 15 gallon chemical solution tank to start.  You then vary the pump feed rate until you obtain the desired residual chlorine concentration (about 0.5 ppm free chlorine) – typically a setting of 50% works well.  You can obtain a chlorine test kit locally from most plumbing supply stores (and many pool supplies) – they are very inexpensive.  Let us know if your problem seems not to be due to iron bacteria, and we can suggest other solutions.

Looking for a quote for the attached specified water softener system.

Answer:  We don’t see the attachment to your post – but if you would like our company to provide a quotation for your application, just send an email to info@caitechnologies, and we will get right back to you.

Hello, I have just recently started to get blue/green stains in my shower.  We installed a water softer and iron reducing system in 2005.  I had my water tested and the hardness is at 23, pH is 6.2, and there is no iron indicated.  I was told that the staining is from corrosion of our copper pipes because of the acidic pH.  I was also told that I would have to purchase yet another system for regulating my pH.  We have our system set to regenerate every six days.  If I were to reset the regeneration to go off maybe every 10 days instead would this increase the hardness and thus increase my pH level?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as the whole corrosion thing has me concerned about pipes leaking in the house.  Oh..we also have a hot water heater that has copper coils. Thanks in advance. Kelly

Answer:   Hi Kelly – Yes, the staining you are seeing is due to corrosion of your piping and fixtures from the low pH.  Unfortunately, there is nothing that you can do to your water softener or iron filter system to correct your pH – higher levels of hardness really has no effect on pH – correcting pH will require the addition of another unit.

Selecting the correct method to correct pH really depends on a few considerations.  The first method used to correct pH (and most economical) is with use of an automatic backwashing pH neutralizer.  These are media tanks filled with a sacrificial material called calcite (calcium carbonate) that dissolves into your water over time to correct the low pH.  Well designed systems come with automatic control valves and a media tank with a dome hole.  The dome hole is a small port on the top side of the tank that allows for easier refilling of the calcite media (you can see a picture of this port on our site). The other way is with use of a chemical injection system.  While this is slightly more expensive equipment, it will correct pH regardless of the TDS level (see below).

A good neutral pH range is between 7 and 7.8, and your pH should be corrected to protect your piping and fixtures from acid attack.  You have two ways to proceed here, and the best way depends on your level of “total dissolved solids” (TDS).  With a relatively low TDS the most common way to correct pH is with a calcite based automatic backwashing neutralizer.  If you TDS is very high, a standard calcite based pH neutralizer will not work in this application.  This is because the way in which a calcite neutralizer works is that the media (calcium carbonate) slowly dissolves into your water over time.  With a high amount of material already dissolved into your water, the neutralization process will not work effectively using this technology.  So in the case of high TDS, you need to use a chemical feeder system to correct pH.  If you know your TDS level, just let us know, and we will be pleased to point you in the right direction.  If this value is not available, you can send our lab a sample of your water for our free analysis.  You can take a look at some of the chemical injection systems and pH neutralizers we have available  online at http://www.caitechnologies.com – enter the Water Treatment Systems area, and click on the “Chemical Feed Systems” or “Filters & pH Neutralizers” drop-down under the Online Store section.  You can also visit our sister site at http://www.ewateronline.net.

I had my water tested at a local pool dealer and was told that I have 153 Gr. hardness, very low iron and perfect PH. My faucets appear to get a slight white crusty buildup and toilet tank water builds up a brownish film. Will filtering take care of these problems? If so what kind? If not, what type of softener is best? (Prefer salt free).

Answer:  Our guess is that your pool dealer measured your water hardness at 153 mg/l – while 153 grains of hardness is not unheard of – it’s an extremely high value.  153 mg/l would be equal to ~9 grains per gallon, and a much more typical hardness value, and also falls more in line with the slight white buildup that you mention.  Basically, all you need is a water softener.  The brownish film is likely due to the low level of iron that was measured.  One thing to check is to be sure you do not have an iron bacteria problem.  To check for this, just remove the back of the toilet tank, and see if you notice any slimy brown to red buildup on the sides of the tank and float assembly (you may also see a oily sheen to on the surface of the water is iron bacteria is present).  Let us know if you find this material, and we can advise you on how to correct for this problem.

To recommend the correct sized water softener for your application, we would need to know the number of household residents, pipe diameter (normally ¾”, 1” or 1 ¼”), and the iron value as measured.  By the way, the only practical method of softening water in a residential application is with use of a salt based water softener.  You might want to avoid the so called “salt free” water softeners.  Take a look at the December 8th, 2007 post regarding this issue for more information.   Let us know if you have any other questions.

An Associated Press investigation recently found trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water supplied to more than 40 million Americans.  Drugs found include antibiotics, anti-seizure, mood stabilizers, hormones, and a wide range of over-the-counter medications. The concentrations found are extremely low, but there is some concern in the scientific community about long-term effects to human health.  There is not yet a good understanding of the potential risks from long-term exposure to low levels of pharmaceutical drugs in water. But recent studies have found startling effects on human cells and wildlife.  In their 5-month investigation, the AP discovered that drugs have been found in drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas, and locations in the states of Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A Water Quality Association press release reviews this issue, and describes some of the potential methods of remediation. Click here to read the complete article.

This is an on-going investigation, and it’s important not to be alarmed by these findings until the effects on your health are known. However, it may be a good safety precaution to consider a point-of-use Reverse Osmosis drinking water treatment system to remove many of these contaminants from your drinking and cooking water. Our company (and many others) offer a number of Reverse Osmosis treatment systems. Just visit our online store, and click on the Reverse Osmosis page to see a number of high quality systems – when evaluating a reverse osmosis system, be sure that it’s certified to NSF 58 certification or WQA Gold standards – most good quality units are.

When I go to add salt to my water softner lately it seems to be running 24/7.  What would cause this?

Answer: This probably means that it’s not functioning correctly.  When you say it ‘seems to be running’, do you mean that there is always water exiting to drain?  If this is the case, then the unit is stuck in a regeneration cycle, and not returning to conditioned water (service) position.  We would recommend that you by-pass the unit to conserve water, and contact your service technician.  If you do not have a company that services the unit, or would perhaps like to service it yourself, we would need to know the type of water softener you have to assist you further.  If the water softener is not a major brand, but you can identify the control valve used, this should be sufficient.  You can always take a look at the units on our CAI Technologies site, and see if any of them look like yours.  If you are still not able to identify the unit, just take a digital picture of the control and email it to us at info@caitechnologies.com.

We purchased this home Sept 07, and I have had very little residential water treatment experience. However I understand it for the most part. I am now ripping my hair out with the current contractor I have working on the system. Contractor has been out 4 times to no avail. Here are the issues; very LOW Ph 4.8, some iron, shallow well 50-60 ft with a Culligan Mark 89 water softener that is approx 25-30 yrs old. Contractor installed a chem feed before bladder tank neutralizing agent “Neutra-7″, Big Blue carbon filter for sulfur smell. Ph will not go above 5.4, Big Blue carbon filter restricts water flow after about 1-3 weeks. I found sediment in bottom of big blue canister so I installed a sediment pre-filter before the big blue to help lengthen life, along with sediment, filters clog up with a tan colored slime (could this be resin breaking down?), After spending countless hours of research mainly on your site I need some direction. I am thinking of replacing the water softener with a twin tank system using potassium chloride and using sodium hydroxide to raise PH,  HELP!! I am also going to be sending you a sample of the water.

Answer: A few things.  First, a water sample will help us to determine exactly what problems you need to address.  In the short term, your contractor got some things right – maybe just not exactly right – hard to say without the analysis.  But a good guess is that while you have a low pH, the sulfur odor is probably due to the presence of sulfur (or iron) bacteria.  A sulfur odor can be detected when this material is present, as hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of bacterial action/decomposition.  This is a slimy sometimes brown or reddish material, and sounds a lot like what you mention you’re finding on your filter cartridge.  Open the a toilet tank cover in any bathroom, and see if you note any build-up of this material on the sides of the tank.  You might also see a slight “oil-like” sheen on the top of the water.  If you see this present, you probably have an iron or sulfur bacteria issue.  Thankfully, this is not a health issue, and easy to correct.

First pH.  Neutra-7 is a sodium carbonate, commonly used in residential water treatment applications to correct pH.  You should not have any problem correcting pH with this material, you just need to either increase you pump rate or increase the concentration of the Neutra-7 in your injection solution. You should not consider sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) for pH correction.  Sodium hydroxide is a dangerous material to handle, and normally not used in residential applications.

The way that you resolve the iron/sulfur bacteria problem is by killing the bacteria with injection of chlorine.  You can mix household chlorine bleach with the Neutra-7 and correct your pH, and resolve your bacteria problem at the same time.  A typical starting concentration is .65 gallon of bleach and 40 ounces of soda ash to every 10 gallons of water.  Always add bleach and soda ash to water – never water to bleach!  – it can splash, so always wear proper safety protection (protective gloves, eyeglasses and clothing) when preparing any chemical injection solution containing strong chemicals.

You will need to replace your Big Blue carbon filter with a larger backwashing carbon filter – your existing Big Blue is not large enough to effectively remove the injected chlorine. Also, you will need to add an 80 gallon retention tank to provide the required contact time that will be needed to effectively destroy the bacteria.  In any case, the water sample will point us in the right direction, just be sure to note in a letter along with the sample what equipment you currently have, and that the presence of iron or sulfur bacteria is suspected.

I’m looking to buy a water softner for under my sink in my kitchen. Which type of system do suggest?

Answer: If you are referring to a small automatic water softener that is designed exclusively for under-sink installation, we are only aware of one system that is currently offered within the United States. This unit is called the Kite water softener, and although our company carried it at one time, we no longer carry it, and are not sure if it is still available.  You can try calling the Springsoft Corporation to see if they have any local distributers that can offer this product to you at 630-894-5000.

However, a system commonly used to provide purified drinking and cooking water at the kitchen sink is an under-sink reverse osmosis drinking water system.  This may be what you are referring to. We have a number of these available on our Reverse Osmosis page, and two that we would suggest are the Microline TFC-4 and the GE/Merlin tankless RO system.  Both are very good quality systems, and carry an NSF 58 certification.  Always be sure that the RO system you are considering has either the NSF 58 or WQA Gold certification – most good quality units do.

I currently have a water supply from a borehole which does not have any filtration or softener in the line. I suffer from the typical damage that hard water causes and I am looking for a solution to prevent further damage to my heating boiler and water systems: I guess the answer is to soften the water for use in the house. Your recommendations would be appreciated. Would a reverse osmosis system work as well as a brine based regeneration unit?

The water tastes fine and is not discoloured in any way; however I am aware that UK regulations insist that I have a non softened supply of drinking water.

Answer: Whole house reverse osmosis would resolve your problem, but it comes along with its own issues that would need to be addressed.  Whole house RO is normally only used in applications where no other means to treat the water are practical, such as salt or brackish water supply.  The system is very expensive, in the range of US$3000 to $7000 (~£1500-3500), and water generated by reverse osmosis is very pure – it has very little in it – and it wants something in it.  This means that it’s very aggressive and can corrode piping and fixtures that are not plastic or stainless.   Additional equipment must be installed to add some small level of hardness back into the water to eliminate this effect.

So, as you mention, traditional cation-exchange water softening is really the way to go.  Although very little sodium is added into the water by this process (7 mg per grain of hardness), you can use potassium chloride rather than sodium chloride.  Potassium is a nutrient, and in this way no sodium will be added to your water at all.  We always recommend that you use sodium chloride or potassium chloride purified for use in water softeners (both available at many supermarkets, plumbing supply and hardware stores).

There are two other ways to resolve the regulation issue.  You can install a water softener on your incoming water supply, tee off a line before the water softener, and simply run this dedicated line to your kitchen sink to provide un-treated water.  You can also install a “point-of-use” reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink – this system is relatively inexpensive, and will remove all sodium for the drinking water anyway.  You can look at some of these units on our site’s Reverse Osmosis page.  Let us know if you have any other questions. 

Hello.  I don’t know anything about water softeners, so please bear with me.  We moved and brought our water softener with us.  It was left in the garage over the winter and the fiber glass? on the outside is split.  My husband says he thinks it is fine because the inner thingy is not split.  I’m wondering if we need to get a new one and if we do, can we just buy one without the controls on and switch the controls over to the next tank?  If we need a new one and CAN buy just the tank, where would we get one and what would we need to fill it up with?  The current tank says WG 948 on it, but I haven’t been able to find that anywhere on the internet.  Thanks!

Answer:  You should replace the resin tank.  While the polyethylene inside liner may not be damaged, it’s not pressure rated for operation at normal water pressures without a complete fiberglass reinforcing shell.  Using it as is may cause failure and (possible) water damage.  In any case, you can just replace the tank, and while you are at it I would recommend replacing the ion-exchange resin contained within the tank too.  The tank you have is a 9” diameter x 48” height, and contain 1 cubic foot of resin.  You can fine the tank on our internet site on the Tanks & Tank Parts page.  The ion exchange resin is on the Chemical, Resin, & Filter Media page – C-249 or C100e are both good replacement resins.  You will also need some replacement gravel (called garnet) – scroll down the page to find that under the Filter Media heading – you will need about 15-20 pounds for your tank.  Installation instructions are available on our site as well under the Services menu – this will help you in changing out the tank.  One note, any time you work on your softener, be sure to remove the water pressure from the unit first.  Let us know if you have any other questions!