Pink Slime After Fitting Softener

DarrenCarter · 21 Sep 2009

Hi All,
Living in Swindon in Wiltshire, we are well known for being in a hard water area. I invested in a water softner about eight years ago and all has been working fine apart from some pink slimy residue that keeps appearing on the shower curtain, tile grout and plug holes. We never had this problem until about three weeks after installing this brand new softner. I'm convinced it is some sort of iron bacteria after reading other forums on the subject. A spray of MrMuscle shower shine after every shower seems to keep it at bay but cost money.
Does the softener remove chlorine as well, as I was wondering if that's why the bacteria is building up.
We moved house about two years ago and took the softner with us. Using the shower before I had fitted the softner, everything was o.k. About three weeks after installing the softner in our new house the residue started appearing again.
Has anyone else come across this problem and is there a more economic way of keeping this slime at bay.
Darren

bathstyle · 21 Sep 2009

Do you have a teenage son that enjoys eating the red Jelly babies??

No sorry, not heard of this before, obviosuly seen the slime that you describe before but never from a water softener, it just indicates water that has been left for lonhg periods of time, tried an extractor Fan?

DarrenCarter · 21 Sep 2009

No, we don't have any kids. Just me and the missus. Thought about an extractor fan but there dosen't seem to be a problem without the softener installed. Perhaps I need to get to the resin tank and give it a good clean and disinfect but this has been happening from when the softener was new.

bathstyle · 21 Sep 2009

Just found this out :-

Red Slime Develops In Toilet Tanks
The red slime found in toilet tanks is caused by harmless living organisms (iron bacteria) that live on iron already in the water. This condition is also often associated with rusted pipes.

Solution
Disinfection of the water distribution system by chlorinating may help, although this procedure is not designed to be a long-term or permanent solution. Directions for water system disinfection can be obtained from the DuPage County Health Department.

bathstyle · 21 Sep 2009

Have a read:-

http://www.plbg.com/forum/read.php?1,345753

DarrenCarter · 22 Sep 2009

Thanks bathstyle. I found that very thread during a search on this subject.
I'm convinced it's some sort of iron fouling.
We went on holiday for a week this summer and I switched the softener off to save on salt for the week. It's set to regenerate every three days.
When we came home and turned on the cold tap to make a brew, the water ran orange for the first minute.

kevplumb · 22 Sep 2009

just a thought you dont have any old iron pipe in the system anywhere

bathstyle · 22 Sep 2009

I notice you live in wiltshire, I have relaitives not so far from you, their water is supplied from a local Well, they have to have some sort of UV light system to kill bacteria, I don't honestly know the ins and outs of it but where does your water come from??

Agile · 22 Sep 2009

You probably have iron water supply pipes somewhere, perhaps in the streets?

In London there are many old iron pipes but I have never seen this as a significamnt problem here.

Possibly the flow rate and chlorine does not allow them to reproduce in the supply pipes here. In the country that may be a different matter.

Its not worth the bother, but an ultra voilet bacteria killer as used for well/stream supplies might kill them.

Tony

Nige F · 22 Sep 2009

Is that what they put in Iron Brew

DarrenCarter · 22 Sep 2009

Thanks for the replies.
We get our water from the Farmoor reservoir near Oxford because on one occasion it got contaminated by cryptosporidium from cattle slurry that had leaked into it and believe me, you do not want to get cryptosporidiosis as I did. Knocked me sideways. I've never felt so ill.
We do have a lot of iron pipe work in the ground but the house is copper. Our original house was built 1937 and our present one 1957 and as far as I'm aware, the street pipes haven't been upgraded.
I think it will have to be a strip down and a good clean out.

Agile · 22 Sep 2009

Have you discussed this with the water Co /

Tony

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Pink Slime After Fitting Softener

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