Remove Iron and Manganese from Water
If you are experiencing unpleasant metallic tastes, rust particles, staining on the bath and sink and other plumbing fixtures, or red water, chances are that your water may have high iron or manganese in the water.
Natural sources of iron and manganese are more common in deeper wells where the water has been in contact with rock for a longer time. Water coming from wells with high iron and/or manganese may appear colourless initially but orange-brown (iron) or black (manganese) stains or particles quickly appear as the water is exposed to air (oxygen).
CWS offers a range of filter systems to eliminate iron and manganese from well water. Our iron and manganese filter systems are able to deal effectively with all these problems and provide you with excellent quality water for your home.
Some of the benefits of our Iron & Manganese Removal Filters are:
- Complete removal of iron & manganese from water
- Prevents staining on plumbing fixtures, appliances & laundry
- Increases lifespan of kitchen & bathroom appliances
- Easy Regeneration
- High Flow Rates
- Saves water
Problems Caused By High Iron in Water
Iron can drive homeowners crazy with its ability to make its way into a well water supply, affecting everything that uses water. Water containing high levels of iron and manganese can be unpleasant both in taste and appearance often causing staining of baths, basins and clothes.
Perhaps, it can also clog pipes and water pumps.
Here are some of the common problems homeowners complain about when they first contact us.
- Brown/red staining on toilets, sinks, and tubs
- Deposits on plumbing fittings and cooking utensils
- Staining on laundry, especially whites
- Low pressure from pipes
- Metallic or bitter taste to water
- Damage to water-using appliances
Iron and Manganese Removal Filters
At low levels, water softeners are the most simple method for the removal of iron & manganese. At higher levels, it may require advanced filtration media such as Birm, Filox, Crystal Rite, Lanxess or Eco Mix.
Factors such as the water pH can influence the type of filter media required.
Below are just some of our water treatment media.
Katalox Light
KATALOX LIGHT® is a new brand of revolutionary advanced filtration media completely developed in Germany. Its composition simply makes it outstanding against the contemporary filter media available in water treatment industries.
Advantages
- High content MnO2 coating (10%)
- Very High Surface Area
- Contains NO Crystalline Silica
- Light Weight – providing significant savings on backwash water
- Higher Filtration rates
Lanxess Lewatit® S 1567
Lewatit® S 1567 is a newly developed food-grade, strongly acidic cation exchange resin with beads of uniform size (monodisperse) based on a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer. Lewatit® S 1567 is manufactured without the use of solvent. The monodisperse beads are chemically and osmotically very stable, and they can effectively be disinfected for drinking water processing.
Advantages
- High exchange flow rates during regeneration and loading
- Good utilization of the total capacity
- Low rinse water demand
- Homogeneous throughput of regenerants, water and solutions; therefore a homogeneous working zone
Birm
Birm is a relatively inexpensive material that can be used for iron and manganese removal by catalytic oxidation. It requires a pH of 7 or more for iron removal and pH 8 for manganese removal.
The physical characteristics of Birm provide an excellent filter media which is easily cleaned by backwashing to remove the precipitant.
Advantages
- Long material life with relatively low attrition loss
- A wide temperature performance range
- Extremely high removal efficiency
Crystal Rite
Crystal Rite is an excellent filtration media as it can address multiple water issues at once. Crystal Right ™ works at its best on clear water, i.e. when the iron/manganese is in a dissolved form. There are two types of Crystal Right ™, CR100 is used where the pH is between 6 and 7 and CR200 is used where the pH is 7 or above.
Advantages
- Removes at the same time iron, manganese and hardness by ion exchange
- Removes manganese, difficult to remove by classic oxidation
- Absorption of Ammonia
- Increases the pH (absorption H+)
- Excellent filtration of non-dissolved particles
EcoMix C
Ecomix C is an advanced multipurpose filter media for removing water hardness, iron, manganese, tannins and ammonia. Ecomix® is supplied in bags of carefully proportioned media that will automatically arrange themselves into the 5 treatment layers upon the initiation of the first backwash. This reduces the time required to load the media into the treatment tank as the individual layers do not need to be loaded one at a time.
Advantages
- Removes any form of iron (ferric, ferrous, organic and colloidal)
- High concentration limits for iron and manganese removal
- Low salt and water usage for regeneration
- Consistent reliability
- High efficiency
- Easy to install
Water Treatment Grants to Treat Iron & Manganese
You can save up to €1000 on your well water treatment through well water grants. If your house is more than 7 years old & you do not have access to an individual or group water scheme, you can qualify for this grant.
Celtic Water Solutions can carry out the detailed water test, assist you in your grant application process and go through each step to ensure the householder understands the whole process.
To know more about well water grants, reach out to our expert team and we will be more than happy to assist you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How would you know if you have an issue with high iron & manganese in your well water?
A water test is the only sure shot way to confirm if there may be a problem with the amount of iron and manganese in your water supply.
Here are the telltale signs that you have elevated iron concentrations in your water:
- Your water looks yellow, reddish-orange, or brown.
- Your water smells of rotten eggs.
- You spot reddish-brown stains on your clothes.
- Your fixtures and sinks have rust stains.
- Your pumps and pipes are clogged with slime.
Water quality from a well can change depending on climate and other factors. It is highly recommended that homeowners using well water should conduct testing at least annually.
Why having excessive iron in water is harmful?
Iron is one of the many minerals that are essential for human health. However, excessive iron in water may have some negative effects, including the following:
- Food and drinks made using rusty water may taste metallic and unappetizing.
- Your sinks and other fixtures may stain over time.
- You may incur major expenses towards plumbing because of blockages in pipes due to the accumulation of iron.
How does an Iron filter work?
An iron filter works much like a water softener.
The iron filtration unit contains a “media bed,” like a water softener, but in this case, the media is not resin but an oxidizing agent such as manganese dioxide. When water passes through the bed, the media attracts soluble ferrous iron and converts it to an insoluble state. That allows a filter to capture the iron precipitate, leaving the water iron-free. The system is maintained with periodic backwashing to remove the precipitated iron and, less frequently, regeneration to refresh the oxidizing ability of the media bed.
Why Is iron Such a Common Issue in Well Water?
High levels of iron are often found in well water because well water is sourced from groundwater, and iron is one of the most common naturally occurring metals in Earth’s geology.