IRON BACTERIA~A BASEMENT WATERPROOFER’S NEMESIS
When you've been in business for as long as Arid Basement Waterproofing has, you come across certain situations that challenge and force you to find a solution. One particular situation that fits this bill is iron bacteria. A naturally occurring substance, it's found from time to time in the soil due to high iron (ferrous) content. Iron bacteria is harmless to you and your pets, but it could have an odor to it, similar to rotten vegetables or a murky swamp. It looks like brownish, orange slime coating everything it comes in contact with and leaves a rust-like residue when cleaned up. From Wikipedia.com: "Iron bacteria are bacteria that derive the energy they need to live and multiply by oxidizing dissolved ferrous iron (or the less frequently available manganese). The resulting ferric oxide is insoluble, and appears as brown gelatinous slime that will stain plumbing fixtures, and clothing or utensils washed with the water carrying it."
How you know you might have this? When seepage comes in from around or under your house, the surface of the water has an oil slick look to it and when you clean up, it leaves an orange tint on the flooring. Sometimes it takes us breaking up the floor and to start digging for French drains to realize you have this iron bacteria.
There's a two-pronged approach for combating this problem. First, you have to have enough access to the French drain (i.e. the pipe and gravel) to flush the system out with hot water. We are dealing with bacteria so that means the water has to be at least 140 degrees to "pasteurize" it. However, this is not a one time deal; you can't kill off all of the bacteria. So the key phrase is "enough access." Which means our normal 1-inch gap that we leave between the wall and floor now has to be about 6 inches. I realize this is not what any homeowner wants to have around their basement but unfortunately, in order to keep the floor dry and deal with iron bacteria, this is what 49 years of installing French drains has taught us. Keep this in mind: The iron bacteria is not always around the entire perimeter. It can only be on one wall. The rest of the basement will then be installed regularly.
The second approach is to alternate the system flushes with Iron Out. Iron Out is a powdered product that you mix with warm water to make a solution and it chemically changes the iron bacteria into a clear, soluble state that easily rinses away without scrubbing. You basically pour this solution along the French drain opening and into the sump pit to help eat away the bacteria. Pour it in and let it sit for a half a day or more, and then flush it out with hot water, either from a bucket or preferably through a garden hose hooked up to a hot water supply (slop sink or hot water heater) because otherwise you'll need a lot of buckets!
We (us at Arid AND you homeowners) are thankful that this problem is rare, but when you've been around for almost 50 years, you've encountered this problem enough times that you can figure out a way to keep a homeowners floor dry and preserve the integrity of our French drain. Is it the ideal situation to have a wide gap along the walls that battle this slimy enemy? No, but would you rather vacuum up water at 2am? Ultimately, it's the homeowner's call.