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Hard well water and Tanning

Discussion in 'Tanning' started by murph, Sep 30, 2014.

  1. Sep 30, 2014 #1
    murph

    murph Member

    407
    4
    Western NY
    Ok ....I looked in the archives and really couldn't narrow this down to a good answer but here goes....I've been tanning using the same well water for the past 10 yrs. or so. Since the last season, I've had a change in the contents of the water as far as a smell like sulfur and rust. The rust problem is really new. I really notice it from one of my outdoor water outlets.... blows a rusty water for a few seconds before it clears up. (by the way... my home is protected with a good whole house filter)I've got a new landfill going in that borders my property and I wanna toss that out there but that's a whole different conversation(health dept had tested already but no results yet.. like I've said I notice a difference in my water and lost 2 deer capes just recently. Can someone out there kinda give me a heads up on how to go about knowing weather or not my problem is in the water or not? I'm using the same stuff as always, the safety acid pickle, (1 gal of water, 1 lb of salt and 1/2 oz of safety acid ) and liqua-tan. PH is held to a 1.5 or 2 max for 3 days.. shave n pickle one more day then final flesh then neutralize n freeze or mount.... I've not run into this issue before.... PH as near as I can tell right out of the well is about 7 or so.... Help me if you can to understand all this .....

    Thanks, Lance
     
  3. Sep 30, 2014 #2
    pir^2h

    pir^2h Retrievers give you the bird

    4,684
    5,055
    Tennessee
    Never trust the health department to give you the truth! They work for the city/county and they are not going to go against them. If in doubt and you want the real results, send the sample to an independent lab at least 500 mile away so they have no connection to your area. Around here the health department condemns all well so they can force you to go onto the county water system. Best of luck.

    Vic
     

  5. Sep 30, 2014 #3
    capnmike

    capnmike New Member

    344
    0
    I have hard well water and don't have a problem as long as I watch the ph
     
  6. Oct 4, 2014 #4
    Bruce_Rittel

    Bruce_Rittel Consultant Services

    965
    38
    Raynham MA 02767
    If you are referring to your well water by calling it hard because it has a lot of Iron or Minerals in it - then try using Citric Acid to Pickle with. It has a Chelating quality about it that helps "soften" hard Waters. However, when I had my business I also carried a Chelating Agent (not Citric) that could be used. However, I don't think its available anymore. It was very economical to use for Pickling and Tanning.
     
  7. Oct 8, 2014 #5
    twinrivers

    twinrivers Active Member

    833
    33
    New Sharon, Iowa
    You should probably filter the water coming into your shop if your having iron and hydrogen sulfide content issues. Most minerals such as iron and manganese and those that create hard water are primarily removed using aeration and filtration, and lime softening for hard water issues. Our water is 325 ppm calciun carbonate...off the charts but we are still able to keep our iron and manganese levels far below the maximum contaminant level through aeration and filtration. Since are hardness levels are high and I tan using it with no issues it likely is not the culprit. Is your shop supply filtered? If not I would try a flirtation system. Also not sure if you have a flush valve between your well and house. We do here for dead end lines to flush the iron deposits out of the main. Hope I could help a little.