Iron out in water softener, toxic?

Hello, I am curious to know if adding Iron Out to a water softener is toxic for drinking? Also what are the long-term effects on the softener itself from doing this?

We do not drink the soft water directly, we run it through a reverse osmosis filter, but our pets like to drink straight from the faucets. We have noticed an orange tint that builds up over time on various things that use the water (dishwasher, sinks, etc). From reading these groups it would appear that using Iron Out may help. I have read and been told it can be added to the softener, but I wanted to see how safe this is first.

Thanks for all feedback on this issue!

Reply to
Chris Szilagyi
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The product [fluoroboric acid] causes burns to eyes, skin and mucous membrane. Ingestion may cause gastro-intestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhoea.

The argument that is frequently advanced is that Iron Out and other like materials are introduced with the brine in the softener and the brine solution with the added chemicals are then passed over the ion exchange resin during the regeneration process and then the resin is back washed and rinsed with water. Supposedly all brine and chemicals are removed this way. In theory it may work but in practice I submit that it may not. I sometimes can taste salt just after a regeneration so the rinse is not flawless. Of more concern is what happens when the seals in the softener mechanism wear out or fail so that the brining, backwash and rinse operations do not occur as intended. Then you could have large unintended amounts of residual brine and chemicals mixed with your "softened" water.

I don't like adding anything toxic to the water my family or I drink. Even if it "may" be removed before I drink it. Machines do fail and the risk of possibly ingesting something toxic is too great.

RB

Chris Szilagyi wrote:

Reply to
RB

What is the secret ingredient in iron removing salt? for that matter, how does iron removing salt differ from "system saver" salt? WHat does "system saver"salt do that iron removing salt doesn't? My water softner guy said to use regular salt and add 1/4 cup iron out for every bag. Been doing that for the last 5 yrs.

Reply to
jmagerl

Thank you for all of the advice. I will do the recommended steps on adding some iron out to the brine tank, for this model softener (Autotrol 460i). I(like anybody else) would like to prolong the life of the softener! I agree that an additional manual flush is probably not a bad idea just to be sure the chemicals are all removed from the resin tank.

Just to address Garry's questions I know that the softener is producing soft water, and we haven't run out of soft water before. Also the softener itself is about 1 year old. But I should probably have the water re-tested, the hardness is high (22) so I'm guessing the iron level must also be very high.

Thanks for all of the information, I really appreciate it!

-- Chris

Reply to
Chris Szilagyi

I too have been wondering how these anti-iron water softener products work and what they affect they might have on our health.

I just got off the phone with Morton Salt company and they answered my question.

The active ingredient in Morton® Rust Remover Super Pellens® is Citric Acid. I am very familiar with the ability of citric acid to remove iron and iron stains. It does an exceptional job!! If your dishwasher tub is iron stained, fill the detergent dispenser with citric acid, and run it through a cycle. You'll be amazed how this stuff makes the tub look new. Here's a source for citric acid.

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Its health risks are non-existent as far as I'm concerned. Citric acid is present in many food products at much higher concentrations than what you'll find in your treated water. If it was in your softened water at concentrations as high as what is found in Kool-aid or Sweet-Tarts, your water would be sour. Now that I know this, I would use the Morton pellets instead of Iron Out.

Reply to
Rodger

replying to Chris Szilagyi, Walt wrote: Hi Chris - It is important to note that softened water is not healthy for drinking regardless of what salt or additives you use. All softeners leave some amount of sodium in the water that is passed through. It is the nature of the ion exchange process. For drinking water, you should either have a tap that comes from before the softener (I recommend carbon filtering that) or putting the softened water through a reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water. I personally do not like RO water and it hurts my stomach, but the problems with RO water are another large discussion. Another option is, of course, to buy drinking water (you can now easily find good drinking water for under $1 per gallon) Either way, it is certainly not healthy to drink water from a water softener due to the significant sodium content. I've seen this nearly put people in the hospital. Water softener manufacturers will not tell you this because people would be more hesitant to purchase them. Some will try to tell you that their softener does not allow a significant amount of sodium into the water. The sodium level varies with the part of the cycle and it is in fact significant with all softeners. This assumes you are using salt in your softener. Some softeners allow you to use Potassium Chloride, which will leave Potassium rather than Sodium in the water and this is much safer for drinking, though you should probably have your Potassium levels checked periodically at the doctor if you use this. Potassium Chloride, though, is much more expensive and harder to find. It also does not remove iron from the water like Sodium Chloride, so if you have iron in your water it is probably not a good option.

Reply to
Walt

Just as gee whiz info my water softener adds about 200 PPM of salt to the water. YMMV depending on how much calcium it is displacing. As a reference contact solution is about 5000 PPM and sea water is ~35,000 PPM

Reply to
gfretwell

The "experts" started demonizing salt back in the 1960's but we now know that the residual levels of salt from a water softener is harmless.

Reply to
Dev Null

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com posted for all of us...

Thanks for cutting through the crap. I have a water softener and never tasted any kind of salt. I have very sensitive salt taste buds... I don't how you accumulate all these facts and knowledge. You constantly amaze me.

Reply to
Tekkie®

So, any amount of sodium, no matter what the level, is now to be avoided by even healthy people? Suppose the level of sodium in a gallon of water is less than in a slice of bread? It's still bad? Some level of sodium is present in municipal water systems, bottled water, etc. too.

Define significant. From everything I've seen, respected health authorities, even those that are trying to get people to cut back on salt in their diets, don't say that typical softened water is bad for you, unsafe, etc.

I've seen this nearly put people in

I'd like to see some case studies. If true, this is a serious public health problem.

Water softener manufacturers will not tell you this because

Sadly, Chris passed away 10 years ago. He died of salt poisoning, next to a running water tap. What kind of water do they have at HomeMoanersHub and what are they putting in it?

Reply to
trader_4

People also seem to ignore you will die if you get no salt too. Your body needs salt to function.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I read an interesting article on our need for water. Starting with the old wives tale that you need 8 glasses of water a day. (I think it was 8) Someone did a search to try to find what it was based on and there was exactly zippo. No research, no science, just a number passed down. The writer of the article stated that he could not find one case of a human that died from not drinking enough water when they had access to it. But he did find cases where people have died from drinking too much water, which is true. Every once in a while another one happens, where someone takes a bet or something and forces water into themselves. Eventually it causes edema, swelling of the brain, and some people die.

Reply to
trader_4

Another antique thread but worth repeating that softened water has been evaluated to be safe for those even on a low sodium diet. The extra sodium is insignificant.

Reply to
Frank

replying to Frank, Jalaz wrote: So I put iron out in my brine with the iron salt I always use. My German shephard always drinks out of the toilet. Should I be afraid for her or what need a straight up answer. If its bad what should I do?

Reply to
Jalaz

Is the dog healthy? If so, start drinking from the toilet too. Or put the damned lid down.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

No you haven't. Sorry, but that's dripping with hyperbole.

"Nearly"? What constitutes that? "People"? How many people did you come across?

Reply to
Water Tester

Yes, my step-father who was restricted to low sodium moved to a house where the drinking water was softened. He started bloating up. His heart started giving him more problems. I noticed the significant sodium taste in his water and he changed to drinking the same water, but from before the softener and these problems went away. This is not the only case I've seen, but they were quite conclusive. You can call it insignificant, but I've seen the results.

Reply to
Walt

I'm afraid this is not a rumor. I've seen proof and significant health problems (with visible physical effects) that stopped after changing from softened water to to the same water before the softener.

Reply to
Walt

I would assume in the case of my step-father (restricted to a low sodium diet), the sodium level from his softener was much higher than 200PPM. It was enough to cause significant swelling, which stopped when he switched to drinking water from the same source, but before the softener. It was an undeniable effect.

Reply to
Walt

It's easy for a naysayer to jest. I've seen the effect in more than one family member in different settings. One was on a low sodium diet, but one was a strong, healthy middle-aged man. I intentionally add some level of sodium ions to my diet when needed (such as vigorous exercise on hot days) via electrolyte drinks, but I can taste significant sodium from my water softener and would certainly not make it my primary source of water. The difference of sodium ion levels from one softener to the next can vary significantly.

Reply to
Walt

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