As water comes out of the ground, it is usually clear in color, even though it may contain high levels of iron; this is known as ‘ferrous’ or clear water iron. Also when dealing with “red-water” or ferric iron there is usually still additional iron that remains in clear, ferrous state. Iron filters take this clear iron and transform it to rust or ferric iron in the process known as oxidation. These trapped particles are then physically captured by a granular filtration media. This media is periodically and automatically backwashed to rinse the accumulated iron out to drain. Most iron filter systems will remove both clear water iron and ferric iron (rust). Special considerations must be made if bacterial iron is present. Click here to watch a video showing how an iron filter works and its backwashing cycles.