Iron Bacteria In Sump Pump

If you have a slimy discharge from your sump pump you probably have a problem with iron bacteria which is also known as iron ocher iron algae or the red stuff the bacteria that feed on iron form a sticky slimy jelly like deposit in your drainage system and well.

Iron bacteria in sump pump. How to remove iron ochre from house drainage sump pump line i wanted to show you a job where scott and his crew were flushing out all the sump lines and the basement drains. If your sump pump and pipes look like this you have an iron bacteria problem. The ferrous oxide also known as iron ochre that is produced by iron bacteria can become a gelatinous mass that can clog drain tile both interior and exterior and gum up sump pumps. However at least 0 3 ppm of dissolved oxygen is needed to carry out oxidation.

Similar bacteria cause a problem with manganese or sulfur. While the material is still fluid a basement waterproofing company can often remove it from the system by a hot water flush that will kill the bacteria and wash. We re using a high pressure washer with a jet nozzle that. A sewer jetter can help you scrub away sticky iron ochre and flush out the residue for more thorough cleaning of plastic and cast.

Iron oxidizing bacteria are chemotrophic bacteria that derive the energy they need to live and multiply by oxidizing dissolved ferrous iron they are known to grow and proliferate in waters containing iron concentrations as low as 0 1 mg l. Sludge from iron bacteria can clog pipes and completely ruin a drianage or waterproofing system then what happens is other bacteria called iron bacteria are now able to attach themselves to these first organisms. The sump outlet is at the margin of a wetland and i m afraid a chlorine treatment would do more damage than good. It was while googling iron bacteria that i found your site forum.

The sump pump cycles on every 5 10 minutes so heavy is our water problem that keeping a chlorine residual in the pit for any length of time would be very. Well when you have iron bacteria that builds up in your sump pump you ll inevitably get sludge build up on the sensor which will stick to the sensor after the water has been discharged and have the pump believing that all the water is not yet drained and will kick on and off forever until you either hear it running or it burns out. The first step is to scrub the pipe walls and flush away the thick iron ochre residue that s inside the drain line foundation drain drain tile sump pump line or fresh water supply line.