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On Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:36:55 -0700, mike wrote:

On 6/21/2012 8:13 AM, J wrote:
Hey gurus,

We get build-up of iron rich bacteria in our well. Eventually, this
leads to an unpleasant odor in our water (especially when the water has
not been run for a while) as well as slime in the toilet tank, etc. The
odor is much more noticeable in the hot water. I'm not sure if that's
because the bacteria like the hot water better or because the warmer
water releases the odors better. Anyway, I try and shock the well about
once or twice a year to stay on top of this problem.

My question is what to do about the water heater. Since the problem is
more noticeable in the hot water, I want to make sure that the hot
water pipes and water tank get addressed as well (the water heater tank
is 80 gallons), but I also know that a high concentration of chlorine
can corrode rubber seals, etc. In the past I only flushed the system
through the cold water pipes but then Idrained the hot water tank to get
rid of any bacteria in that water. However, I felt that the smell
returned pretty fast because I wasn't killing the bacteria sitting in
the hot water pipes or the walls of the tank. Also draining and
refilling our hot water tank is a pain because our well has a low
refill rate and if I let it fill our 80 gal tank as fast as it can, I
will run the well dry and kick up a lot of sediment - not to mention
being bad for the pump. Of course, I can't see exactly how fast it is
filling inside the tank, so I would end up filling it extremely slowly.

A few years back we had an outdoor hot water spigot installed for an
outdoor shower. So these days, I flush the system through the hot water
tank then run all faucets (hot and cold) until I smell the chlorine.
Now I've got chlorine water in all the pipes. After letting it sit for
a day, I flush through the hot water tank again until it's chlorine free
again. This can take a long time, since I don't want to exceed 1.75 GPM
and the 80 gallon tank will only slowly return to a no (low) chlorine
state since there will be mixing in the tank.

So, I feel like either way is a poor choice. If I don't run through the
hot water system, I feel I'm not addressing half of the problem, if I do
run through the hot water system, I feel the chlorine may be doing
damage somewhere in the system. So what's the best way to address the
whole system, without causing unnecessary damage? Is what I'm doing OK,
or should I be doing something else? I think when this water heater
goes, we'll probably go to a tankless water heater, but until then...

Thanks.

-J

If I understand correctly, you clean the system and the bacteria starts
building
until you can't stand the smell and you repeat.
That sounds nasty.
Is there no way you can prevent the bacteria from entering the house?
Filters, external chlorination/sedimentation/maybe spray it in the
air...? Maybe a two stage process that takes the PH out of the viable
range, then restores it?

I don't know what iron rich means, but it brings to mind a BIG magnet.

Iron Sulphide and many other iron-containing compounds are totally
non-magnetic, although very high in iron.

Talk to some water treatment people. Making hard water soft is not the
only service that they offer. They'll treat acid, iron rich and other
chemical or mineral problems.

A vinegar solution works for treating mineral build-up in water-using
appliances, faucet filters, shower heads, humidifiers, etc. Wonder if
circulating such a solution in your pipes would help. Vinegar is easily
rised out of pipes and less hazardous than chlorine when well diluted in
water.

Tomsic