However, the well water often contains significant amounts of iron, and when sprinkler heads spray out the water, the iron which is left behind when the water evaporates, leaves tremendous stains.  It may stain the grass, bushes, plants and all the vegetation.  That’s certainly bad enough, but what is worse to some people is the stains that are left on the home, sidewalks, vehicles and the like.

So, what do you do?  Well, the first thing you have to determine is what exactly is in the water.  Yes, there is iron, but what other contaminants are there that could “compete” with that iron or react with it.  You need to know the pH and other characteristics of that water.  You can’t properly treat water unless you know EXACTLY what is in it, so a good water analysis is imperative.  Next, you need to determine how many gallons of water are used on a the heaviest water usage day.  They you have to figure out what the peak flow rate in gallons per minute (GPM) would be.  This would mean taking into consideration who many heads are on at one time, how many GPM each head uses and how many zones there are.  Only when we are armed with this information, can we determine what the best course of action will be.

To remove iron properly, it must be oxidized and filtered out.  This can only be accomplished with the use of a filter that uses some type of manganese dioxide or catalytic media which reacts with the iron.  Depending upon the water characteristics, an oxidizer may be required, such as oxygen, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide or ozone.

There are chemicals such as Rid-O-Rust that coat surfaces to help prevent stains, but don’t forget that the iron is still in the water and when the water dries the iron will be left behind.  Uses of chemicals like Rid-O-Rust is expensive and delivers less than desirable results.  The best results are always obtained when you oxidize the iron and completely remove it!

Remember, that irrigation systems often use hundreds or thousands of gallons a day.  You can’t expect to take a home system and have it work under those conditions.  Quite frequently, it is best to use a backwashing filter or filters that use Filox, Pyrolox, Adox, Catalox, Birm or Greensand Plus with a low-level chlorine feel ahead of the media. There should be no chlorine in the irrigation water and this type of system can work for years with minimal maintenance.

In my opinion, where thousands of gallons are needed a day, the Greensand Plus system works the best, with a Chlorine feed ahead of this to keep the Greensand Plus in a completely regenerated state.   Catalytic carbon with a hydrogen peroxide feed just ahead of the catalytic carbon tanks is absolutely the best method to acheive 100% eradication, but the cost of hydrogen peroxide can be prohibitive compared to the low cost of chlorine.

Also, a system utilizing air injection may be used but in order for it to be effective, you will need to have multiple tanks so as to not use more than 500-600 gallons of treated water in each tank.

I was looking at purchasing the Fusion Hybrid Professional Grade and was wondering if your customers have seen an increased need to either replace their hot water tank or to increase the anode rod on a regular basis. I have been told that I will need to replace the anode rod about every three years or replace the hot water heaters every 5-6 years. – Pat

The Water Doctor Answered:

Pat,

That is nonsense.  Here’s a couple of things:

1. Water heaters are made with much thinner walls now than they used to be, so whether it is on hard water or soft water frequently makes little difference to water heater life – they only last 6-10 years either way (some may last longer, but it is the exception, not the rule).  The difference is that with soft water, you will also save 24% on energy costs.  That is where the substantial savings occurs.  On tankless water heaters, soft water saves up to 57%!
2. The anode rod is not a big deal unless you are in an area where the pH is low.  My anode rod has been in for 7 years with no issues.  There are some uninformed plumbers… and plumbers that may want “recurring” revenue – if you know what I mean.

The Water Quality Association has a Softened Water Benefits Study by Batelle Memorial Institude that details the savings with soft water on a water heater. A water heater is the second largest energy-using appliance in your home and using softened water results in hundreds (if not thousnads) of dollars savings over the 10-year life of a water heater.

According to Thompson Reuters News & Insights, Culligan International Co, which sells water coolers and filters and installs water softening devices in homes, has hired restructuring advisers and is considering options including a possible bankruptcy, according to sources familiar with the matter.

“Hey Culligan Man” has been around since I can remember and I doubt that it will go away anytime soon, but the economy and growing Culligan dealer dissatisfaction have caused this to happen.  The water treatment business has changed and most companies have been slow to change from the “blue suede shoe, in-home, high-pressure, commissioned salesman,” in fact, most companies in the Point-of-Use Water Treatment Industry have continued to ride this dying business model.

American consumers hate the slick, high-pressure sales tactics employed by many water treatment companies.  The industry has been in a free-fall the past several years.  I just returned from the Annual Water Quality Association trade show in Las Vegas which was the smallest in both attendees and exhibitors I can remember.

The big box stores and internet have forever changed things.  Most water dealers are waiting “for it to come back.”  It ain’t ever coming back.  This is the new paradigm.  Culligan has a myriad of problems, but it’s biggest asset is that name.  Culligan dealers are leaving as fast as rats off a sinking ship.  If I were Culligan, I’d be looking to take that name en mass to the Big Box stores, where the multitudes would jump on that brand name.  In the meantime, consumers demand excellent service without the imposition of high pressure blue suede shoe sales tactics.  The water industry needs to take note and change… or maybe not – Their reluctance to change is great for companies like us!

On the other hand, there are “salt free water conditioners” which do no soften water, but do use some type of physical water treatment to alter the water’s ability to form scale.  You can’t call them water “softeners” any more than I can call my car a “space ship,” but they often do a very good job of preventing scale in hard water areas.

Some people extoll them as being “green” products and say that they are better for the environment than a salt using water softener.  On the surface, it would seem that they have a good argument.  After all, isn’t it bad to put sodium chloride back into the environment?  Isn’t a saltless solution better?  No so fast!  Let’s consider the facts.

• There are tradeoffs in life for anything that you do.  For example – when you drive your car down the road (unless you have an electric car) you are taking a gasoline, which is extracted from below the earth’s crust and turning it into energy.  The trade off is that you are putting hydrocarbons and other dangerous pollutants back into the earth’s atmosphere.  If you are environmentally conscious or just plain economical, you may have a vehicle that gets exceptional mileage, minimizing the carbon “footprint.”   Imagine how you life would be without a car.  Your quality of life would greatly suffer, wouldn’t it?
• Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on earth and comprises about 2.6% of the earth’s crust.  It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess. Salt is one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings and salting is an important method of food preservation. The taste of salt (saltiness) is one of the basic human tastes.
• For many years, people with hard water (meaning water that is high in calcium and magnesium), have known that the hardness minerals cause a variety of problems in plumbing systems.  For example, hard water can dramatically increase the cost to heat water because of the scale that it builds up. More energy used to heat water means more fossil fuel is used as a result.  It also shortens the life of water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, ice makers, faucets, fixtures, pipes and drains.  When  you have to replace these items sooner that you would have to if you had treated water, more fossil fuel is used in the manufacturing process and more water is wasted (manufacturing processes use vast amounts of water).  Therefore, the person who says “well I won’t have a water softener, because it puts salt back in the environment” may actually having a greater negative impact upon the environment because of increased fossil fuel usage and more wasted water.
• Here’s where salt free water conditioners started: people were looking for a viable alternative to putting salt into the environment and (this may be the real reason) hauling and carrying salt.  It is backbreaking work.  Now, for the sake of argument, I am going to assume that you are looking at a salt-free water conditioner that ACTUALLY works.  I say this because there are lots of systems that don’t work, don’t work well or for long and some that are “out-and-out scams.”
• A credible salt free water conditioner CAN do an excellent job of preventing scale, but there is a lot that a salt-free water conditioner CAN’T do that a salt-regenerated water conditioner CAN do.  However, a salt free water conditioner cannot compete with a salt-based water softener when it comes to the following: A salt water softener will use about 50% less soap, detergents, water conditioners, bleach, shampoo and conditioners, and you don’t have to use any of the caustic or acidic Lime Removers.  Soaps, detergents and chemicals are bad for the environment too.  Are they worse or better than salt?  I don’t have a definitive answer, but I do know that if sodium or chloride poses a danger to the environment, so do soaps, detergents, chemicals and the like.  That is something the people who tout salt-free leave out of the equation.
• Additionally, with a water softener that is regenerated with salt, your clothes will be brighter and whiter, not stiff, grey and dingy and will be much softer to the touch.  Additionally, it is much easier on sensitive skin.

Now, before you say that I am just slamming salt-free systems and promoting salt-regenerated water softeners, you need to realize that we sell both types of systems in probably pretty equal numbers.  I happen to like soft water better than conditioned water – I like the slick feeling after a shower (but many people don’t – I get that!).  I like the less soap, the whiter and brighter clothes and the spot-free dishes, but that’s just me.  That is not as important to everyone.

So, in conclusion, salt free water conditioners are here to stay – I just wish people would call them by their right name (not “softeners”) so as to not mislead the public.  However, whether salt free water conditioners are better for the environment is up for debate.  I could argue both ways, but I tend to think that the winning argument is with a salt-regenerated water softener.  The newest meter-controlled (demand) water softeners are extremely salt efficient and waste just a small amount of water each regeneration.  However, what is right for YOU is your decision.  We just try and give you the Straight Talk about both products.

Question: 

I have a steam humidifier and it is constantly plugging up, and I have to clean the chamber all the time in the winter.  Is there anything I can do to help this?  Would a water softener help?  – Signed C.C.

Answer:

C.C.,

Steam humidifiers are unquestionably the best way to humidify your household (or business) air if you live in a climate where that is needed.   However, in 98% of the country, the water requires treatment and I do not mean a water softener.  The problem with steam humidifiers is that most water has some degree of mineralization in it.

The minerals are calcium and magnesium, and when water is heated and evaporated by the stream humidifier it leaves the minerals behind.  After a few cycles, if the evaporation chamber contains 1/4 gallon of water, it has the minerals of 4 or 5 gallons (maybe more).  This creates big problems.  A water softener is not the answer because it works by exchanging the calcium and magnesium for sodium.  Instead of calcium and magnesium buildup, you will have sodium buildup.

Solutions – on a Scale of 1-10:

1. Polyphosphate – Some companies have filter cartridges that install on the inlet to the humidifier and “coat” the humidifier with a layer of sodiumhexametaphosphate which is supposed to help.   Bad Idea!  Rating: 1
2. Salt-Free Water Conditioners – They don’t take out the calcium and magnesium so the problem still persists.  Rating:  BIG ZERO!
3. Deionization – You can use a DI cartridge  to remove all of the minerals, but it is very expensive.  It works extremely well, but costs 35 to 60 cents a gallon (depending upon water hardness).    On a scale of how well it works, it’s a 10!  On cost, it’s a 2.  Overall Rating: 5
4. Reverse Osmosis – Unless you have more money than sense, reverse osmosis is the ONLY way to treat a humidifier economically.    Some people even put a DI cartridge after the Reverse Osmosis system to have absolutely pure water, but in most instances Reverse Osmosis removes 98% of the dissolved solids and allows the humidifier to work without the burden of all the hard minerals.

Conclusion:  If you don’t have a reverse osmosis system on a steam humidifier… or any humidifier for that fact, you are doing a very bad thing!

PUT A REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM ON ANY HUMIDIFIER – YOU WILL BREATHE EASIER AND THE SYSTEM WILL LAST A THOUSAND TIMES LONGER!

Here’s a tip: eat healthy, work out, and drink lots of water.

You may not know this, but water – something all of us have access too – is a great “cheat”, to give us an advantage to tackle that weight lose battle.

Research presented at the American Chemical Society, has pointed to weight lose being greatly helped if you drink two 8 ounce glasses of water before each meal. And it also helps you keep it off.

A study was done using 48 overweight men and women who were on a low-calorie diet (1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men). Half of the participants were instructed to drink 16 ounces of water before each meal.
After three months the results were compared. The ones who drank the water lost an average of 15.5 Pounds, the one’s who did not, lost an average of 11 pounds.

And the results were also long term. By a years time the ones staying on the water regiment lost an addition 1.5 Pounds, the others that did not drink water before meals gained an average of 2 pounds.

The full reason why drinking water before meals promotes weight lose is not yet understood, but the most logical reason seems to point towards the fact that water is filling, and will help stop the urge to over-eat.

And there is also more subtle habit drinking more water will break. Drinking more water is most likely going to discourage calorie heavy drinks at meals, like soda.

So, give the water diet a try this year. It’s a healthy and practically free tool, to go along with a healthy meal, and active lifestyle.

You might want to make sure that the water is chemical-free, clean and great tasting.  That’s where US Water comes in.

Have a happy and healthy New Years, from the Water Doctor.

I have been using Flow-Max Filters for many years to clean water in Haiti and Cuba. We typically use the 2 ¾” X 20” pleated filters in 50 micron, 5 micron, 1 micron and 0.35 or 0.20 micron. I have checked your website, but cannot find any performance data from the manufacturer on how well effective these filters are against cysts, e coli, cholera, and other water borne bacteria/pathogens. Can you help me with this kind of information?

The Water Doctor Answered:

You can’t find it because it doesn’t exist. There is no data. They are not NSF Certified, therefore there is no testing. It’s what they say it is… if you care to believe that.  That’s part of the reason we are no longer selling Flow-Max Filters.  There is little or no performance data on them, they are not NSF Certified, and frankly, our testing shows that they don’t do what is expected.

In fact, they say “Made in USA” on the label, but I have been told by people that work for the company that they are not made in USA.  I have my suspicions, but I don’t really know.

What I do know, is the following:

1. Pleated filters like Flow-Max are absolutely the best water to filter water that contains significant amounts of sticks, stones, fish turtles or actually: sand, silt and sediment.
2. Flow-Max filters are not NSF Certified, which should immediately raise a red flag.  I mean, we are talking about your home water filters or your businesses water filters, shouldn’t you REQUIRE that a filter you use for that be NSF Certified?
3. For a filter to be NSF Certified, it HAS to meet the testing protocol of NSF.  Then, when you publish your specifications, consumers can rest assure that what you say is the way it is.  AS an example, if a company says that they have a .35 micron absolute filter, you can rest assured that that it will remove over 99.98% of everything over .35 microns.  Without NSF Certification, you can say it, but is it true?
4. That’s why we sell Harmsco.  Their filters are NSF Certified.  You can take what they say to the bank.
5. Harmsco is bigger, badder and better.  Take a 2.5″ x 10″ pleated filter.  If you cut it apart and stretch the media out, you will find that the Flow-Max filter had 58 inches of media.  Does that sound good?  Harmsco has 91 inches of media that is more robust.
6. Harmsco filters better, last longer and can be cleaned and reused more often.

Guess which filter we now sell?

Can an Easy Water System (the one that wraps around your plumbing) work on PVC pipe? How does that work? isn’t it based on magnets? If it doesn’t soften the water how is soap use affected? How many other manufacturers subscribe to the technology? – P.A.

Dear P.A. ,

I think a better question is: Does Easy Water work well on ANY pipe?  Yes, it works, but how well it works is open to question.  Buying an Easy Water System is like buying a furnace that is 40% efficient when others have 96% efficient furnaces.  Think about that and read this report before you buy anything:

http://www.uswatersystems.com/pdf/ArizonaStateUniversityWaterSoftnerStudy.pdf