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What’s involvedWater quality

Check the iron or sulfur filter: what's involved

What an iron or sulfur filter does, the signs it isn't keeping up, what a water treatment pro does, and what to have ready. No hands-on steps: it cleans itself with strong chemicals.

  • 5 to 10 min
  • 7 parts
  • Every step animated
Check the iron or sulfur filter: what's involved: the animation’s first picture

What’s involved

No hands-on steps here: what the job is, what a pro does, and what to have ready.

  1. An iron or sulfur filter takes out the rusty colour and rotten-egg smell some well water has, and backwashes itself clean.

  2. A tall tank on its own near the softener, a control head on top and a drain line from it.

  3. Orange or brown stains in sinks and toilets, or a rotten-egg smell from the cold tap, mean it isn't keeping up.

  4. Don't change its settings or add anything to it.

    It cleans itself with strong chemicals: don't open the tank or its chemical feed.
  5. They test the water, set how often it backwashes, check the media inside, and refill or replace it.

  6. Note when the stains or smell started, and keep any water test report handy.

  7. Stains, a smell, or a leak at the head: ask Handyman for a water treatment pro.

What you need

  • Nothing: a water treatment pro brings the tools

Call a pro if

  • Orange or brown stains come back
  • The cold water smells of rotten eggs
  • Water leaks at the filter's head

Handyman says: I'll find a water treatment pro.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.

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