Iron removal with water softener

Will a Water Softener remove the iron from my water?

1. Yes, if the iron is still in solution ( it has not been oxidized ). How much it can remove depends on the size resin tank of your softener. The more iron in the water, the larger the resin tank needs to be to remove all the iron. E-mail us for advice on your situation.

I have a working Water Softener, but I am still getting Iron Staining. Why is that?

There are several things that could cause you to still be getting staining. 
1) It is critical that your system never run empty of salt. 
2) It is important that the time of day be kept correct and that no one uses water between 2 a.m. - 3 a.m. when the system is regenerating. While the system is in regeneration, any water used would be unconditioned ( coming straight from the well ).
3) In high iron situations it is usually necessary to include a cleaner with the salt. Iron Out ( about 1/4 cup with each 80 lbs of Salt ) is commonly used. So is Tan-X ( Citric Acid, also 1/4 lbs per 80 lbs. ). A cup or two of Chlorine Bleach can be used, if your softener DOES NOT have "white resins" installed for Tannic Acid Color removal ( this is a special layer of resins sometimes added to the regular resin inside your resin tank ).
4) It could be your resin tank is too small to handle all the iron.
A. What size is the resin tank?
B. What is the level of Iron and Hardness of the water?

5) It could be you are not regenerating often enough, or using enough salt per regeneration.
A. How often does your softener regenerate?
B. How many people are using the water?
C. How much salt are you using per month?

6) On rare occasions the iron could be coming from just the hot water tank. I've seen a few old ones ( over 20 years old ) rusting out on the inside, thus putting iron back into the water. This is also true in older mobile homes ( again over 20 years old ) that used galvanized plumbing under the trailer.

Above are the common reasons a working water softener might still be allowing you to get staining. For additional help and recommendations, please send the answers to the above questions.