Like most rural folks, our water comes from a well. Even with filter, we get iron and other minerals in the water. When making some upgrades to the plumbing (copper pipe), I noticed that the pipes are lined with iron and mineral desposits.
Is there a way to remove these deposits without replacing all the pipes.
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Replies
There is a way, with an air compressor, to shoot a "froth" of air/water through the pipes. This will dislodge a fair amount of the rust. Whether it's enough or not I don't know.
happy?
The best way that I have seen is to flush with CLR.
If you can circ the system it's even better.
Take farthest port connect hose attach to pump connect pump to closest port & circ with CLR for 24hrs then flush system with a bleach solution then should be good to go.
Edited 12/27/2005 12:12 am ET by plumbbill
Great ideas, Folks. It seems we are all in agreement about circulating something like CLR through the pipes.
In the marine world, when a heat exchanger needs cleaning, we run a 50/50 mix of Muriatic acid and water through it. Cleans out all the calcification in no time. One must exercise caution, however.
Thank you for all the ideas.Happy New Year.
BTW, I asked the same question awhile back on a plumbing forum. Absolutely 0% thought flushing ANYTHING though the pipes other than water was a good idea. The two concerns were:
Contamination - are you sure the flushing you do got out ALL the chemical you put in?
Corrosion - the wall of the copper pipe are pretty thin, and if something you put in there corrodes them you could find yourself with an inaccessable leak.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
You said exactly what I was thinking- There aint no way I would run anything but WATER through water pipes.
I would figure out the best way to clean up the water, but leave the pipes alone.
My water if left unfiltered wil turn a white shirt orange in 1 wash. FIL is in the water buis- he put in a acid neutralizer then an iron filter, which solved the problems. Each tank has to backwash every other day, using considerable amounts of water, so your well needs to produce enough to use such system.
To add to Plumbills post ;
Those ATV sprayers or bigger can be filled with the solution of your choice. I think mine is 30 gallon which is considered small. The small pump acts as a circulator.
Tie the hot water heater which is a consideration to flush separtely then you would exit it with a washing machine hose tying the cold to hot water exit line. You could flush the hot water heater manually while circulating it by it self or keep it in line. If both lines were flushed while the heater was eliminated a Y would be needed at the washing machine connection for flushing all lines.
Or to simply flush from both out lets separately from the hot water heater , to keep the cold water lines pure as possible . Same procedure is used in winterizing with RV antifreeze.
Tim
If you have mineral deposits in the lines, peridicly check the screens in the water taps and toilet supply lines. At my last house, whenever I changed the water filter the turbulence and back flows would break up all the crud in the lines - leading to sinks that poured slow and toilets that took forever to fill.
I'd love to find in line sediment filters - that would have been perfect.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Even if you clean all the pipes, the deposits will return. I would put 2 or even 3 sediment filters in line where the water comes into the house. Use the filters with the clear plastic cases so you can see when the filters turn black. You have to change them every 3 months or so.
Roger that, Woodman54. We do have the filters you mentioned installed as the water enters the house, and we replace the filters about every two months. A note to the wise, if anyone else does this, tap off for the outside hose bib BEFORE the filter. Learned that the hard way. Duh.We also use "Iron Out" in the toilets every couple of weeks to keep them from becoming stained with rust.Cheers.
Have some fine sand particles get into the water from our well, only problem is the screens on the clothes washer inlets getting clogged ---
Here is a 'poor man's' sediment filter: 2 ft piece of PVC pipe, and 3/4" adapters and male female thereded sections and a 2" tee. Supply goes into 3/4" PVC pipe witha bunch of holes drilled in it inside the 2" pipe. 4 or 5 pairs of old panty hose tied loosly around the 3/4 inch pipe. Lasts for a few years at a time, then unscrew and replace the panty hose.
DW saves all PH with tears, etc, great for water filters, straining paint, strian old motro oil for use in hydraulics, etc.
Damn. And all this time I thought panty hose were for making legs look great.Sounds like you've got some great ideas there. Ever though of writing a book about saving money and re-using stuff?
Keep in mind that not all water filters are created equal. If you are using a clarifying filter (essentially one that traps sediment) and you have dissolved iron and/or hard water, then the filter isn't going to be totally effective.
Both iron and manganese can be present in water in both dissolved state and undissolved state. When undissolved, both are black "sediment" and can be trapped in a clarifying filter, but if they are dissolved, they will pass through the filter and may come out of solution as the water sits in the supply pipes.
Most other deposits in supply pipes are due to hardness, which is a result of minerals dissolved in the water. A clarifying filter won't help. A water softener will.
In addition to cleaning your pipes, you might also want to consult a reputable water treatment dealer to be sure that you have the appropriate treatment (or combination of treatments) to prevent the problem.
Good idea, JimB. The filter we are using is a GE that is supposed to trap iron, etc. But I like your idea. I will check into a better system.Cheers.
You can of course add a iron removal system. A bit like a water softener, but larger, more expensive, and higher maintenance.A plain water softener will remove some iron, but too much iron will "poison" the softener fairly quickly.How effective a simple filter is depends on the pH, oxygen content, and other minerals in the water. In some cases the filter can trap quite a bit of iron, in other cases relatively little.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Yep, you're on the money with the too much iron "poisoning" the water softener. I should have mentioned that. I think the important thing here is that you can't always take what's been done in a similar case and apply it to another without further research. I'd never recommend any kind of water treatment without first knowing what the primary contaminants are, so that a specific solution can be devised for that particular water supply.
And, as your response implies, choosing appropriate water treatment includes making some economic decisions.