Brown water at only one location after softener regen - happened yesterday - happened one other time 2 years ago

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JEG in Raleigh

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Raleigh, NC
I have a mystery I'd like to figure out. I'm on a well with softener and other filtration:
I have the following filtration/treatment on the system:

1. Water softener
2. VIQUA VH410 UV Water Filter for Coliform bacteria
3. Katalox Light backwash filter
4. Hydrogen Peroxide (Neutra Sul) injection system
5. Catalytic carbon backwash filter
6. Whirlpool Item #631984 Model #WHKF-DWHBB cartridge sediment filter

I don't have an iron problem according to several water tests that I have had done by the county over the past 5 years. My latest test showed the iron level at <0.10 mg/l. Still, I add 3/4 cup of citric acid to my brine tank each time I add a bag of salt and I use Diamond Crystals Iron-out pellets. That's the background.

My softener did a regen last night. So, this morning when I got up and went to brush my teeth, I turned on the cold water at my sink in the MBA and brown water was coming out immediately. The water had not been run after the regen until I turned it on at that moment. I ran it for about 1 minute and the brown color dissipated. No brown water out of the hot water (but I would guess the source would be diluted in the water heater). My wife's sink next to mine did the same thing. But, no other sinks in the house did this, including a utility sink that is by far the closest faucet to the water filtration and softener. This has happened 1 other time, about a year ago. I had never happened before that and before this morning, had not happened again. I have Pex A throughout the house. The house is 7 years old. After seeing this and reading on the internet, I took 2 cups of citric acid powder, dissolved it in 1 quart of warm water, poured it in the softener well, and did a manual regen.

But, I really want to know what is going on and also, why I only had brown water in one location. I have not been dissolving my citric acid treatment in warm water when I have been adding salt to my brine tank. I have only been sprinkling 3/4 cup of dry citric acid powder on top of the salt pellets. Do I need to be dissolving the 3/4 cup of citric acid in water and pour it into the brine well each time I add salt to the brine tank? Can anyone knowledgeable give me an explanation, and did my citric acid treatment today likely address the problem? Is there anything else I need to do? I'm also wondering how the brown water ends up right at the faucet so it immediately came out when I turned it on. I would have thought that clear water would have run first and then brown water would come out, but that was not the case. I'm mystified. Thanks
 

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