RO/DI water quality

[abraha]

The prefilter (1 micron) of my RO/DI filter becomes a reddish/rust color within days from exchanging it. I heard that it might be because of a high amount of iron in the water. I'm pretty sure that affects the life of the cartridges because it's been almost 6 months from my last filter change and phos reads 0.5 for the RO/DI. So I have 3 questions:

Why does the prefilter turns red?
Does that affect the quality of the RO/DI?
Where can I get info on the water that comes out of the tap?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[abraha]

nobody?

 

[Robamus]

Out at the familys ranch house it turns red and slimy. I am told because of the iron.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

If it is iron, it can clog prefilters and shorten the useful life of the membrane.

The traditional fix for moderate levels of iron is a water softener.

Russ

 

[DarG]

Mine does the same thing but the second stage and 3rd stage prefilters stay white and my membrane is closing in on 3 years old now and I still get 98% plus rejection out of it. So I dont know if it is iron or just a combination of sediments or even bacteria (it is kinda slimy when I change the filter) but it hasnt affected my membrane and it doesnt get past that first, sediment filter. The water in our area is very hard but we dont use a softener. We probably should but thats another topic. It hasnt affected my RO/DI performance so I dont worry about it.