Rust in pipes and hot water heater

[matt1two3]

Hi. I have a question, or two.

So, my house has had unsoftened well water for the last 5 years, and high enough levels of iron to put a good stain on the sink/toilet/shower.

I'd like to install a water softener to (hopefully) minimize the iron, sulphur smell, etc.

My concern is that there is rust/sediment throughout the plumbing and inside the hot water tank, and that this rust will "re-rustify" the softened water and in doing so cause continued staining in the bathroom.

My question is:
Is there anything I should do or be concerned about with respect to rust/sediment buildup in my pipes and water heater before I throw in a water softener?

ok. thanks.

[Gary Slusser]

You can drain and then flush a water heater.

The rust in a pipe usually will stay put until or unless you drain the line and let air in to dry out the rust, and then when you turn the water on, a lot of teh rust will be flushed out.

I suggest you look at a softener using the Clack WS-1 control valve. Of course it should be bought from me online and you install it yourself or hire a plumber to do it.

[Andy CWS]

A softener will remove one type of iron, which is most commonly found in well waters, but will do nothing for sulfur. If you have that as a problem (especially coming from the cold water side) then additional equipment would be needed.

Rust may be released from plumbing--particularly hard-hit galvanized pipes--but should not be a great concern and will eventually even out where it is not noticed. It all depends on the origial build-up.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[matt1two3]

I had no idea how complicated water treatment could be.

For better or worse, I've already purchased a WaterBoss 700. Can't be returned at this point.

There was a water softener installed in the house when I bought it five years ago, but it didn't seem to be working and I had it removed shortly after moving in. I can't say for sure what effect it'd had on the water when it was working, but I figure it must have done something to improve water quality.

I guess what I'll do is hook up the Boss, see what happens, and if I have to add something like a sulphur filter(?) or a bacterial iron filter(?) or whatever else, then I'll do that next.

I appreciate the advice, and will certainly check in with filtersfast.com should I need additional equipment to achieve my water cleanliness goals.