Old water softener system questions.

[Dsang97]

I have a older style water system that is located on the side of my house. I want to relocate it inside one of my rooms.
Any way I had my water tested and all is fine, But has a horrible smell. The Iron is so bad it rotted out my copper pipes. I cut out every copper pipe and switched to pex. My 3/4 in copper was 75% iron filled over 50 years. Any way I put on a sediment filter after my treatment system. Im thinking about putting one before the softener just to collect the big stuff would this be ok? like a 20 micron or so. Is there any maintenance for the Charcoal tank or mineral tank? Im afraid of what it might look like in there because of what I saw after the system.

 

[Dsang97]

No one can help me out????

 

[phishfood]

If your softener is working correctly, I don't know why you would still be getting iron in your water.

If I understand hard water correctly, the minerals are entirely dissolved in the water. So, a filter would not be likely to remove the iron at all.

I noticed your post several days ago, but I was hoping that one of our members, speedbump, would answer. He has much more knowledge of water treatment than I.

 

[Andy CWS]

I have a older style water system that is located on the side of my house. I want to relocate it inside one of my rooms.
Any way I had my water tested and all is fine, But has a horrible smell. The Iron is so bad it rotted out my copper pipes. I cut out every copper pipe and switched to pex. My 3/4 in copper was 75% iron filled over 50 years. Any way I put on a sediment filter after my treatment system. Im thinking about putting one before the softener just to collect the big stuff would this be ok? like a 20 micron or so. Is there any maintenance for the Charcoal tank or mineral tank? Im afraid of what it might look like in there because of what I saw after the system.

Your softener can produce softened water and still have iron coming through if it is ferric iron (oxidized). Softeners are very good at removing ferrous iron (clear) from water supplies.

Copper doesn't usually 'rot-out' copper plumbing. It can leave thick crusty or gelatine substance. Maybe this is what you are talking about. What does the condition of your toilet tank look like. Can you describe it?

Replacing your 'clogged' plumbing was a great idea. A new softener would not silve that problem and might even cause additional problems.

Tell us what your water test results were. "All fine" is not very definitive. What did you test? The interior of the softener (valve and tanks) might be damaged or in very poor condition--considering age and current water issues. You may want to consider a replacement.

Not sure why you put a filter 'after' the softener. Placing a sediment filter (20 micro is OK) before a softener may help. Are you on slab foundation?

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

 

[speedbump]

You also said that your water has a horrible smell. You are definitely going to need a good water analysis before anybody can make recommendations.

Your copper being 3/4 full of iron kind of sounds like iron bacteria. You also mentioned a carbon filter. What was that installed for?