Iron Staining in Perth

For those who don’t know what iron staining looks like, you will have seen it as the dirty brown and orange stain on pavements, gardens and roads.  It comes up from the ground, through bore water systems and out of sprinklers and hoses.

See Before/After below

Over time the colour builds up and before you know it, you’ve been hit by Perth’s Great Stain.

Some areas of Perth are more prone it than others; Mt Lawley, Applecross and Attadale are suburbs that are among the worst in Perth. You can see it on driveways all along the street – if it isn’t removed.

Here is what is happening…

Iron staining is most common in areas where groundwater is high and impurities are concentrated. As water is brought up to the surface in our water, iron comes with it. Suitable water treatment systems will remove iron and in conjunction with dripline irrigation it is never a problem. But with older systems and less sophisticated installation, iron will get through to the surface.

When iron mixes oxygen it changes to the nasty brown colour you can recognise on your paving and garden.

Fixing it

In the video below you can see the Before/ After of the acid cleaning process.

A weak acid is applied to the stained area and washed off later. It is just liking brushing your teeth and even more satisfying. Leave the acid to work its magic and come back 7 minutes later to wash it off.

You can get it washed off but unless you fix the problem, The Great Stain will return. So what we do is install the right water treatment system to remove impurities.  It is a quick fix for us, that we have learnt how to perfect and fix. 80% of these issues are us fixing the poor installations of prior water systems.

Call us to get your iron staining cleaned and fixed for good.

Director – Nigel Thompson
Phone: 9313 1299
Email: info@earthandwater.com.au