Help needed for green water stains!

14 years ago

We have a deep well and the water has tested acidic and hard. We get green water stains and ruined fixtures. We have both a neutralizer and a softener. We recently redid a bathroom and converted the copper feed pipes to pex. I was sure we wouldn't have any problems until after a few months I noticed green stains on the white caulking in the shower, green drip marks in the white tub that drips a little and water stains on the escutcheon where a body spray dribbled for a while until it was totally drained. We don't know if it is copper or other minerals in the water from the well, minerals or metals being dissolved from plumbing someplace - where there might still be some metal? - or something else that is causing these stains. And why don't our softener and neutralizer help? They have both been checked by the people who installed them and they say they are working OK. Where do we go from here? I don't want to have to redo my bathrooms ever 3 years - is my only option to do green bathrooms just so it blends in!?

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Comments (4)

User
14 years ago
Odds are that the neutralizer is not getting the water to a neutral PH. The neutralizer will also raise the hardness of the water so the softener may not be set correctly or it may be undersized.

How long has this equipment been in service?

Ask the people who installed the water treatment equipment to provide you with test data of the water before and after the equipment.

Post the before and after water test results and list the exact equipment you have with model numbers. Also post the # of people in the house and the number of bathrooms. Also include any high water use appliances and fixtures like Jacuzzis and such.
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lybern
Original Author
14 years ago
The installer of the neutralizer did test the water and said it was neutral. He attributes the stains to hard water. Sears, the manufacturer of the softener, tested the water and said it was set properly. Apparently, the neturalizer is not adjustable - just put in the resin and let it work. I am going to take water samples to a lab myself. Thanks for your suggestion - I'll post the results when I get them. By the way, are there some softeners and neutralizers that are better than others? I would gladly replace my equipment if I knew I was getting better stuff - more likely to work well.
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lybern
Original Author
14 years ago
Please ignore - or correct - what I said about resin in the neutralizer. I misunderstood what I was told. Thanks.
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User
14 years ago
No resin in the neutralizer... it uses a different media.

A Sears softener is the worst choice one could make for problem water and the technical knowledge that anyone at Sears has about their softeners and water treatment in general is underwhelming and pretty much nil about treating well water.

As far as the installer of the neutralizer, he should be quoting NUMBERS. The water is OK is hardly a defining answer.

Hard water is usually a white calcium carbonate deposit and green usually indicates copper being leached from pipes.

I admire you wanting to cure the disease instead of treating the symptom. To do that you need to find a local water treatment professional who knows what they are doing.

Treating well water can be more complicated, tedious, and expensive than municipal water.

Ask your neighbors who they use for water treatment. They may tell you who's good or who to avoid.

At the least I'd think your neutralizer can stay but your softener should be replaced.

Get a comprehensive water test from before any treatment equipment. A good local water treatment pro will more than likely do it or arrange to have it done. No one can speak intelligently to water treatment without knowing what needs to be treated.
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