The Water Boys

Iron Filters

Even though iron is classified as a harmless water contaminate, having iron in your well water can cause problems for your plumbing. If your water looks and tastes like rust or you are getting brown spots on your laundered items and dishes, call The Water Boys of Macclenny, FL and ask them if you need to install appropriate iron filters.

Iron usually leaches into water from rocks and soil, so having iron in your water is common. The particular type of iron you have will determine what iron filters will be effective for your water. Some common types and removal methods include:

• Heme Iron – Appears often in shallow wells and surface water as a byproduct of the decomposition process of dead vegetation. The best process to remove heme iron is to use something like sodium hypochlorite and retention time to cause the organic matter and the iron to oxidize, and then use iron filters to remove it.

• Clear Water Iron – Iron is not visible in the water until it comes into contact with oxygen, which causes it to turn that familiar rust red color. Water softeners can remove clear iron because it is soluble before it oxidizes.

• Red Water Iron – Oxidized iron is insoluble and is usually noticeable by its reddish color. Iron removal systems for red water iron require activated multi-media filtration like heme iron.

Clear water iron can be removed with water softeners, but people who don’t want soft water or who have red water iron might want to check out The Eradicator, which oxidizes the iron and then converts it to a solid that can be backwashed out. If you have iron water and don’t know how to treat it, contact The Water Boys and we’ll help you out.