Iron Test
The first test I am going to set up is the Iron Test. Iron is measured in parts per million. (Rinse the tube fill to the line with the raw tap water.) It takes only .3, or 3 tenths, of a part per million to create a stain. You may have seen the orange staining in your tub, toilet, or laundry.
There are 2 different types of Iron. One is Ferrous, or Clearwater Iron and the other is Ferric, or oxidized Iron. The Ferrous iron is the type you can remove through ion exchange, which is what your water softener does. The Ferric Iron is oxidized iron which is basically in its “rust” form. The good thing is once we run this test we can go back and check which type of Iron you have.
We are going to add this chemical, which will pick up any iron that is in the water and color the water orange. (Place the test tube in the RH side of your view box. Fill the other tube with raw water and place it in the LH side of the view box.) We are going to set this aside to give it a chance to dissolve.
Go to pH Test
Ok – now we are coming back to the iron. (place your thumb over the results/numbers window). We need to match the test tube on the right with this slide on the left. Remember, .3 will cause staining. (Be sure to hold the sample up to a white background.) Does that color look right to you? As you can see you have _____ parts per million of iron in your raw water. (Record results on your paperwork).
If Iron is above 1.0 ppm:
Looks like your Iron is pretty high so I would like to go back to make sure the type of iron you have is the Ferrous, otherwise known as Clearwater Iron and that a softener is going to handle it or if you need additional equipment.
(Run water through mini softener then redo iron test)
If there is no iron present then you have Ferrous, or clear water, iron.
Very good! Looks like you have the “good” iron and the softener will be able to remove the iron.
If you have an iron reading an iron filter may be needed.