Water Softeners with Iron Filters
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We review this style of water filter
Although water with a high iron content isn't going to harm your health, it may stain ceramics, smell and even taste unpleasant. Water softeners with iron filters ensure that your drinking water is free of impurities.
Iron is one of the most commonly found minerals in nature, with all water containing some degree of the metal. Problems start occurring when the level reaches 0.3 parts per million. Iron is found in a number of forms, with ferrous and ferric being the most common. The former is odor and color-less but will oxidize when it comes into contact with air, converting to ferric iron. In this form, iron can be recognized as tiny rust-colored particles floating in the water that can then go on to discolor clothing, ceramics and plumbing equipment.
Water softeners with iron filters are only capable of removing soluble ferrous iron, as suspended ferric iron particles will block up the system. If your system is to work efficiently, you must ensure that the water doesn't come into contact with air before being filtered. Water softeners with iron filters look like ordinary water softeners, but contain a bed of manganese sand. Manganese dioxide oxidizes the iron as it passes over the bed. The sand bed then filters out the oxidized iron particles, leaving you with clean, pure water.
Where there's water with a high soluble iron content, there will also be a build-up or iron bacteria. These cause a slimy build-up which is unpleasant in appearance. Slime around the toilet bowl or 'rusty slugs' discharged from the taps are clear indications of iron bacteria and demand immediate treatment with a strong disinfectant.
Home water softeners with iron filters are less common than those without as the water in most areas does not contain enough iron to be much of a problem. However, all major manufacturers will stock water softeners with iron filters, so they're not hard to find if you want to install one.