Orange Stains in Your Sinks and Driveway? Here's What Causes Them

Orange streaks on the shower wall, rust rings in the toilet, or a driveway and house wall that look stained no matter how often you clean them. In South Florida, that is almost always iron in your water.

Where iron stains show up

• Sinks, tubs, showers and toilets

• White laundry that turns dingy or yellow

• Driveways, pavers and walls hit by irrigation

• Dishwashers and fixtures

Why iron is so common here

Groundwater in much of Palm Beach County picks up iron as it moves through the ground. Homes on private wells, and irrigation systems fed by wells, see it most. Once that water hits air, the iron turns orange and leaves stains behind.

Why cleaning alone does not fix it

Cleaners remove the stain you can see, but new water brings new iron with it. Until the iron is treated at the source, the stains keep coming back.

How iron is treated

Iron treatment depends on how much iron is in the water and what else comes with it. Iron often shows up alongside hardness and a sulfur smell, so the right system may handle more than one problem at once. A water test tells us exactly what you are dealing with.

Learn more on our iron and orange staining page, or see our advanced water treatment options.

Related reading

• Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?

• Hard water treatment

Stop the stains at the source

Water Concierge Services is a family-run Authorized Kinetico Dealer with 75+ years of combined experience with South Florida well water. Call (561) 779-5544, text (561) 721-5617, or book your free water test.