OUR SOLUTION

We propose a regular maintenance to loosen up the filamentous bacterial sheath, thus releasing the drain and the gravel which surrounds it from the active presence of bacteria. It should be noted that gravel acts as a filter which becomes clogged up with bacteria.

The treatment destroys bacteria and leads to their breaking-up, allowing water to flow normally again in the drain.

EFFICIENCY

Even if you are told that the drain is completely blocked and should be replaced, the treatment will easily release it from any trace of ferrobacteria within three hours after the beginning of the treatment.  It will become functional again.

TREATMENT

We intervene via the catch basin or the drainage chimney system.

A gas that acts like oxygen is injected into the footing (French) drain. It destroys the multiplying bacteria immediately, clearing up the drainage water.

Before

After

Six months later

The water flow is no more contaminated with bacteria

PRE-INSPECTION

Before setting up the frequency of treatments, we first check under the microscope for the presence of iron ochre in the drain water. It gives us a confirmation of active bacteria in the water.

IN CONCLUSION

Deposits of ferrous sediments are the first source of visual error. Rust-coloured deposits can only be actually accumulated sediments.  Ferrous soils have the particularity to carry a huge volume of sediments.   

In nearly 30% of the sites where customers had confirmed the presence of iron ochre, we did not find filamentous bacteria but only sediments free of bacteria. In 10% of cases, we find bacteria in the catch basin water but no viscous slime, meaning that the water pH does not lend itself to filamentous bacteria growth.

Surface sediments free of bacteria from the catch basin

Surface sediments with bacteria from the catch basin

Sediment deposits free of bacteria taken from the footing (French) drain

Sediment deposits with bacteria taken from the footing (French) drain 

An ecological solution with no environmental impact! 

For more information, we invite you to contact us.

CURRENT SOLUTIONS

A waterproof lining can be installed around the foundation or the foundation, raised above the groundwater level. However, these methods are not adopted because of their astronomical cost.

Other clumsy solutions are proposed! 

Another solution consists in setting up « chimneys » to clean the drain from the surface. Cleaning is done by water high-pressure jetting which implies however an annual cost and the eventual replacement of the drain thus cleaned.

The disadvantage of this method is that it does not clear out sheathed bacteria from the gravel surrounding the drain.

The most popular treatment is the use of chlorine which forms hydrochlorinated polymers. Chlorine and its derivatives, like the sodium hypochlorite, generate hydrochlorides. This reaction of chlorine with an organic substance in soil is irreversible and extremely poison for aquatic fauna.  

The use of chlorine and its derivatives to control iron bacteria must absolutely be proscribed. In fact, this method gives only local results and does not clean the drain at all. On the other hand, the damage on aquatic fauna is persistent. Moreover, this treatment triggers the emergence of anaerobic bacteria that grow in an environment without oxygen as sulphur bacteria, forming nauseous black mud.

It is true that iron bacteria are easy to destroy with several known products. The problem stands in derivatives. Being sensitive to heat, they will be destroyed by steam jetting, but they will also agglutinate into a « beautiful » block that will have to be excavated.