Grate Drain vs. Iron Bacteria 2 - control and protect the basement

Iron Bacteria build up in a Pipe and Stone
Drainage system ruins a finished basement

As I’ve mentioned before about the Grate Drain, many of it’s features help to control iron bacteria and keep it at bay. This post I’ll focus on another series of benefits that the Grate Drain has over other french drain systems when it comes to Iron Bacteria.

No Gaps - Total Connection
One of the hard parts to defend against is the bacterias ability to cling to jagged surfaces. Many open back systems on the market have rough entry holes and rough surfaces in and around the drain. This is especially a problem at joints, where two pieces of drain meet. Bacteria has an easy time of grabbing a hold of that ridge and building on itself and eventually clogging a drain. The Grate Drain has nothing but smooth, seamless edges. It’s one continuous piece that is built to fit - so there are no gaps, edges or breaks at joints.


Pitched System.
Water requires gravity to flow properly, which is why every Grate Drain system is pitched to a sump location. This not only helps the water flow, but it makes it harder for bacteria to hold on. More importantly, if iron bacteria does build up somewhere, during a Hot Flush Maintenance, the water volume will carry the rest of it away due to the pitch of the system.

Access Ports - Flushing systems.
Hot Flush maintenance is important and to do this a system would require access ports. The Grate Drain has multiple types of access ports to choose from. Corner Ports and T-Ports connect long stretches of system and can be placed in a design to allow easy access to perform maintenance. Drains that don’t have access points tend to clog faster, have short life spans, and eventually fail. Regular maintenance of any interior french drain system is a must, with or without an iron bacteria problem.

Isolation - walls separate areas of the basement.
A solid wall divides the french drain into two parts. One that takes water from underneath the basement floor, and the other side takes water from the wall and footing joints. These two chambers stay separate through the corners as well, which makes isolating a bacteria problem easier. With this style of isolation, the iron bacteria will have a harder time spreading to other parts of the basement. This allows the maintenance and hot flushes to be more effective in curbing the growth and expansion of the iron bacteria.

The Grate Drain is a great invention for the basement waterproofing industry and even more so for it’s layers of protection that keep iron bacteria at bay. Read my previous post about Grate Drain vs. Iron Bacteria to learn other ways that this drain can hep to control moisture and water, while protecting the basement against iron bacteria.

Related Reading and Links
Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make. See what other readers have asked in Safe'n'Dry Basement Blog's Reader Questions Section
Ask Pioneer Basement a question Directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!

Grate Drain vs. Iron Bacteria - how it can help control and protect.

The GrateDrain french drain system has the best set of protections against iron bacteria issues in the basement.

The GrateDrain System installed on the inside of a Basement.

Iron bacteria is prevalent in America, with approximately 1 in every 5 basements having contact with iron bacteria in the soil it's a very real problem for households.

Iron bacteria, or iron ocher, can cause pipe clogs, kill sump pumps, and render most drainage systems completely useless. The Grate Drain on the other hand is one of the best solutions for waterproofing a basement while an iron bacteria issue is present.

Drainage holes
The openings in this french drain are specifically designed for iron bacteria situations. They are wide and smooth. Wide means it can carry more volume and it's harder for the bacteria to bridge the gap and cause clogs that hold on the exterior part of the drain. The holes themselves are punched out of the outer walls during the manufacturing. This makes the hole edges smooth and makes it harder for the bacteria to get a hold of the drain to gain in mass.


Built in Anti-Microbial
To futher defend the basement against the bacteria build up, this new version of the Grate Drain has had anti-microbial built into the plastic. If the bacteria reach the inside of the basement the drain's surface repells the substance to keep it from forming clogs or gaining mass. This helps to keep it at bay and makes it easy to flush out of the system.


Interior Slick Surface
The combination of the smooth punched holes in the drain and the smooth surfaces of the drain itself, helps to limit clogs and limit sediment from building up in the drain. If soil, sand, or silt find level resting places in any drain, this gives a rough surface for other silt and, in this case, iron bacteria to get a foot hold to build and expand.

The Grate Drain has other design elements that help it combat iron bacteria. Hopefully you've learned a little more about the drain product and some of the important features that can help to make the basement a safer and healthier place.

*Update 8/9/2010* I've continued on about some of the other features of the Grate Drain that help to limit and control the problems of iron bacteria: http://diyguyct.blogspot.com/2010/08/grate-drain-vs-iron-bacteria-2-control.html

For more information about GrateDrain visit: Grate Products: Basement Health
More information on Iron Bacteria and the Waterproofing Industry visit:
http://www.waterproofmag.com/back_issues/200904/iron-bacteria.php

Related Reading and Links
Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make. See what other readers have asked in Safe'n'Dry Basement Blog's Reader Questions Section
Ask Pioneer Basement a question directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!

3 Things that help Pioneer Basement Deal with Iron Bacteria

Iron Bacteria is becoming more and more common. As of today, almost 1 in 5 homes have an Iron Bacteria issue that could range from minimal to overwhelming.

As I’ve talked about before, Iron Bacteria is harmless to people, but it’s the machines, drains, and pumps in your basement that can be at risk if there is a problem that is not addressed.

Grate Products put a great deal of research into their Grate Drain products because of this. Here are the top 3 things that help any Grate Product Contractor, including Pioneer Basement Waterproofing of Massachusetts, to deal with Iron Bacteria more effectively than the “other guy”.

1. Larger Openings in the Drain – Iron bacteria, has the ability to create chemical bonds with its self. This allows it to span small cracks, gaps and openings between rocks and drain pipes. The Grate Drain was designed with openings that are too large for this chemical bond to hold against the pressure caused by the volume of water coming through.
2. Anti-Microbial – The Grate Drain and all the active components of the system have anti-microbial built into parts. This keeps the iron bacteria from even wanting to touch or attach itself to any parts of the drain or sump location.
3. Center Wall – The center wall of the Grate Drain helps to make it stronger but it also segregates the two sides of the drain. It helps to keep any water that enters through the wall-footing joint from joining the water under the floor, and visa versa. This also goes for Iron Bacteria. It has been known to form colonies in one part of the basement and leave the other side alone, and this helps any Grate Products Contractor isolate the bacteria issue and provide a treatment for it.

Things we know about how to combat Iron Bacteria:

 Flushing the problem areas with 160-degree water causes the bacteria to go into hibernation which makes it easier to remove from a system.

 There are chemicals that can be used to treat small areas and unclog pumps, such as Iron Out, but they should be used in small amounts if used at all.

 Iron Bacteria feeds off of minerals in the water content. High iron and manganese deposits make for a better place for the bacteria to grow.

 It’s been reported in many of the northern states in the United States, such as Montana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.

Related Reading and Links

Steve Andras about Iron Bacteria: The Red Stuff - Waterproofing Mag.

Read more about Iron Bacteria on Safe'n'Dry Blog :-)

Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make.

Ask Jacob A question Directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!

Image thanks to FreeDrinkingWater.com

What does Iron Bacteria look like?

Iron Bacteria isn’t something that we see on an every day basis. Many people who have read this blog and others like it are curious to see what Iron Bacteria looks like. So I went on a hunt, even borrowing pictures from blog friends of mine such as Steve Andras and from sites like http://www.homebasementfinishing.com/ to try to bring you a realistic collection of images of Iron Bacteria.

I don’t want to paint too much of a biased picture of Iron Bacteria. It can be some rather nasty stuff dependant on the soil content and the moisture content where you are

As I've said countless times, Iron Bacteria isn't harmful to humans. It might smell slightly odd, clog pipes and indicate a high level of minerals in the area that could be harmful... but the bacteria itself isn't harmful.



Related Reading and Links

Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make.

Ask Pioneer Basement a question Directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!

How Does Iron Bacteria Work

Iron Bacteria is a living organism that feeds off of iron and manganese in water. It requires all three of these food sources to function.

Currently there is little being studied about how Iron Bacteria exist. They typically propagate in iron rich areas with high moisture. As a bacterium they are harmless to humans however people have recently began becoming frustrated with Iron Bacteria as it clogs pipes and basement drainage systems.

Very few companies are doing anything about Iron Bacteria. However, GrateProducts in Westport MA has officially put anti-microbial in all of its drainage system. What the anti-microbial do is to help the limit the “stickiness” of the bacteria to the surface of the drains, ports, sump pump basins and the like.

By maintaining yearly maintenance of your basement waterproofing system you can hold off infestations of Iron Bacteria, keep your drains clear, and allow a naturally occurring organism to live with out interfering with your daily life.

Canada, Quebec in particular, are having similar problems with the way that Iron Bacteria/ Iron Ochre reproduces and populates in an area. They're proposed very radical solutions.
Full ACAIQ article and Pioneer Basement's Responce to Iron Bacteria.

Iron Bacteria: Exploring food source.

http://www.pioneerbasement.com/forum/blog.php?b=17


I posted on Pioneer Basement's Forums in my work blog about Iron Bacteria as a Health Risk.

As far as the research says (currently) Iron Bacteria isn't a health risk. Having Iron Bacteria can only clog well pumps, basement waterproofing systems, or exterior drain systems that have direct access to water where the Iron Bacteria is present.

To the Basement Waterproofing Industry Iron Bacteria is more of a "pain in the rump" than anything dreadfully serious.

However, because it exists, clogs basement waterproofing systems, and helps to disrupt the dry basement that you love, I feel compelled to write about it.

This blog post on the Pioneer Basement Forums that I posted deals with Iron Bacteria's food source: Iron and Manganese.



For more formal research and understanding:
Wilkes University Center for Environmental Quality Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences: Iron and Manganese in Drinking Water


Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion Testing
By Jeffrey R. Kearns, Brenda J. Little (p.266)

Iron Bacteria

What is Iron Bacteria?
Iron bacteria are a natural part of the environment. These microorganisms combine dissolved iron or manganese with oxygen and use it to form rust-colored deposits. In the process, the bacteria produce a brown slime that builds up on drains, pipes, and plumbing fixtures.

Effects of Iron Bacteria
Iron Bacteria in wells does not cause health problems, but they can have the following unpleasant and possibly expensive effects: Cause odors, corrode plumbing equipment, clog pipes, clog drainage systems, and increase chances of sulfur bacteria infestations.

Prevent Iron Bacteria
Prevention is the best safeguard against accompanying problems. Iron bacteria are nourished by carbon and other organics, and it is essential that these are not introduced into any part of the drainage system. Because it is difficult to get rid of iron bacteria once they exist, it is best to isolate it and try to control it rather than trying to completely “cure” the problem.

Clogging Drainage Pipes
Iron bacteria can cause damage to pipes due to deposition of iron compounds, resulting in clogging tuberculation of pipes and red water.

Controlling Iron Bacteria
The iron bacteria does not use oxygen but rather it needs the carbon dioxide which it gets from the oxygen. For this reason it is not recommended to install a sub floor drainage system that has an open wall channel. The open wall channel will allow air to be introduced and help the iron bacteria to thrive.

When the contractor installs a sub-floor drainage system, he/she should install some type of wall protection at the same time. With an iron bacteria problem evident, GrateProducts LLC believe that a closed system is the best defense for minimizing and controlling iron bacteria.