Hello, my fill water is high in iron. Had it tested, was told to add Metal Gon, it will suspend the metals and allow the filter to capture it. Now that my filter is full of iron, is it ok to rinse and put it back in? Like, spray my garden hose at it? I fear that will force some of the metals further into the filter membrane, or am I paranoid? Should I soak it in filter cleaner instead? Thanks!
Iron filled filter?
- Thread starter Ithacarun5
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,086
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Sounds like you have a cartridge filter? Don't forget to update your signature so we know about all your pool and equipment info. But in general - yes. If the filter is dirty/full, whether it's iron-filled material or simply dirt, you'll want to rinse it. For extremely dirty, perhaps oil-filled filters from lotions and such, some may soak their cartridge filter in a solution of TSP to help clean the filter. Me personally, I usually just rinse it off.
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Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters
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Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading
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Cartridge Filter Use and Care - Further Reading
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Have you opened the filter and looked at the cartridge? are their visible iron deposits?
It has a red color to it, I'm assuming that's iron? I will post a pic of it on my lunch in an hour or so
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,086
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Very possible. You can take a Vitamin C tablet and rub it on part of the paper cartridge to confirm. The Vitamin C should remove it confirming iron.
Last edited:
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,086
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
If you confirm your situation is indeed iron, you have a couple tings to consider:
1 - Confirm the source of the iron. You mentioned the city water, and that is indeed possible. But you may want to make sure. I'm assuming you have no well water.
2 - Once iron is in, the only way to remove it is water exchange, or ... if the iron is precipitating "out" and actively brown in the water, you can try to filter it out, but you'll never get it all. From there, your best and most reliable method of metals management is to add sequestrant to the water and replenish it periodically. Sequestrant is a chemical that binds to the iron in the water so that it can't form stains or turn brown. Sequestrant breaks down slowly, so you need to add more regularly. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.
That's way over my head, lol. I use well water, not city. I thank you for your reply!! I'm going to get my water tested tomorrow and pick their brains again
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,086
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Ha. Fair enough. Okay, so I'll give you a couple more brief items to consider:
1 - Wells are notorious for having iron water. Some owners have no choice, while others elect to have water trucked in that is relatively iron-free. You might ask around. As long as you fill from the well, the iron content will increase.
2 - The pool store provides free testing, but often times their testing, just for the regular items, is flawed. Even if they show iron on their test result (which it sounds like they should), they can't help you other than try to sell you an over-priced sequestrant. We at TFP always recommend owner home testing with a TF-100 test kit (or Taylor K-2006C). Those with well (iron) water, use one of the sequestrants I noted above to help control it. That's about the best you can do. Good luck!
Sounds like I'd be better off just buying a better water filter for my fill water, than sequestering all the iron that my tiny water filter is currently not catching when I fill up.
Nope. Iron in soluble form (from your well) is generally not filterable....regardless of your filter. If you fill from an iron laden well, you will either need to use sequestrant (to keep it in soluble form) or find some way to precipitate it out without having it stick to your pool surfaces.....both are PITA's but that's the price for filling from a well with iron.