Why Most Iron Filters Don't Work... And Never Will

Why do so many rural homeowners have problems with iron?  Iron is very common, especially in this part of Alberta.  Iron causes staining at as little as 0.3 parts per million (ppm) concentration.  That's like taking the total population of the provinces of BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, lumping them together, and choosing 3 people to represent "iron" - that is 0.3 people per million -> It doesn't take a lot!

Common complaints vary.  It's typical to hear people talk about staining of appliances, especially where water lands or collects.  Toilet bowls, sinks, bathtubs, and showers are common areas where iron staining can be found.  If you look in the back of a toilet, under the cover where the water comes in from the house, that area can collect iron staining, rust and sediment on the bottom, as well as showing algae and bacterial growth if either are present in the water.  Another area of complaint is odour - very similar to having sulphur in water, iron can cause a "rotten egg" odour.  Laundry problems are also commonly reported.  Whites turn pink or sometimes get reddish/rust-coloured streaks on them.

All these symptoms are common from iron contamination.  There are multiple ways iron can be treated and if you listen to the radio, you'll hear different companies bragging about having their own "patented solutions" for it.  One local company even goes so far as to say their's is the only solution designed for iron; that they can remove up to 25 parts per million of iron and that anyone that decides on a different method of treatment is basically foolish...  I wish we had their marketing dollars (maybe if we charged what they do for their systems, we could compete with their media coverage.)

Unfortunately, what these "patented" systems and most other solutions don't tell you is that they can only remove up to about 80% of iron in the water.  It's true their system can remove a LOT of iron, but it never removes all of it.  As a homeowner, this is where the BIG DISCONNECT happens.  These systems are usually purchased to get rid of the PROBLEMS iron causes.  These problems, as I have stated, start at as little as 0.3 ppm iron in the house.  I have seen many many many installations of this patented system and we constantly get called out to troubleshoot why the homeowner still has staining.

If you've ever heard the phrase, "if your only tool is a hammer, everyone looks like a nail," you can understand why the problems occur.  Most iron filters, "uniquely patented" or otherwise, really only can remove about 80% of iron.  So if the customer has (almost unheard of) iron levels of 20 parts per million, these systems will remove 80% of that, taking the level down to 4 parts per million - WELL above the levels that staining happens.  I have seen customers with iron levels of 1.6 ppm with these systems.  Take 80% away and you STILL have higher than 0.3 ppm iron levels in the home.  These people STILL have iron staining.  Calling their installers for support only leads to hearing that their levels are "so high" that "some staining is normal" and just part of rural living.  (ie. sorry, we're keeping your money and you still need to scrub out the stains.)

At best, these types of iron filters should be used as PRE filters for other systems.  One thing that you, as a homeowner should specifically ask, is, "Can you guarantee me NO MORE IRON STAINING?"  If they say no, or won't put it in writing, RUN AWAY.

When treating iron, the systems we like to use are warrantied for 25 years, including the iron removal media.  We can guarantee you that, for the life of the system, you'll not only have NO iron staining, but also no hardness (which, in this area, is dissolved limestone rock) that causes other problems with laundry, cleaning and damages appliances.

Living on well water doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to mean cleaning up calcium and iron stains, and it doesn't require some hyped-up marketing for some patented system.  What it means is getting a proper water analysis done, determining a solution appropriate for your water's chemistry and installing something that you can trust and don't need to think about as a homeowner.

There is a TON of information available, as a home owner, do your due diligence, ask good questions and when you get answers, GET THEM IN WRITING!  Make sure you and the installer of your equipment are both on the same page.  Removing 80% of iron is not going to get you the results you were looking for when you contacted your water treatment professional.  Make sure you are brutally clear - tell the company you are working with what problems you want solved and make sure the solution meets your needs!