You might check out www.uswatersystems.com. They have a system to remove Iron from water. Whether you buy from them or not it might be worth giving them a call. They can answer questions and provide suggestions on what might solve your problems. I ordered a whole house carbon filter, salt water softener, UV system, and sediment filtration filters from them. I already knew what I wanted my system to do, they helped me to identify the particular products I need to meet my needs. Here is a link that might be useful: US Water Systems

On many of the sewing boards I frequent, Rowentas seem to have very poor reputations. Apparently they leak, and have lousy customer service. I've never owned one myself, as they are extremely expensive here in Canada. Personally, I prefer a gravity feed steam iron. These are commercial-style irons which deliver billows of steam regardless of the heat setting, and can be used all day if necessary (think industrial sweat-shop hours). They don't have auto shut-offs, and are not portable, as they all have a bucket of water attached to the ceiling above. They have no pumps, or other problematic internals, and can be repaired or have parts replaced if necessary. I've had mine for about 5 trouble-free yrs now, and at that time it was only about $30 more than a Rowenta Professional (bearing in mind Canadian prices) and half the price of a Rowenta Steam Generator. Its brand is Silver Star, made in Korea, and was the cheapest of the cheap of this genre. I've since persuaded several friends to this style of iron, and so far, all have agreed with my assessment of its quality and reliability.

gordonr - Water is known as the universal solvent because many substances readily dissolve in water and most will dissolve at least to some extent. However, a given amount of water will only dissolve so much. Just to make it easier, assume on liter of water can hold 100 grams (not correct and very simplistic, but useful for explanation) of anything. If it already has 75 grams dissolved in it, it can only dissolve another 25. If it has 0 grams dissolved, it has a 100 gram capacity and will be more aggressive. The mild acidity of RO or distilled water is because of its purity. Water with a bit of hardness will form a thin film of scale on the heated metal parts of the iron, protecting them from corrosion. Water with too much hardness will form a thicker scale, eventually causing the heating elements to burn out. The scale acts as an insulator, forcing the element to burn hotter in order to provide the same temperature water.

The "screws" on the dual check valve are plugs that are there for testing equipment connections. Unscrew them and you will get wet. The cover in the yard, tops off a cast iron riser and at the bottom is your main service valve for the house. A special wrench is needed that is carried by utility companies and plumbers for shutting off the water service by turning a 1/4 turn valve, which is anywheres from 12" to 4' down, depending on climate. This wrench is commonly called a curb stop wrench or key. You could verify that it is fully open, brass part on top would be pointed inline with the pipe. I doubt that would be the issue though as with minimum or low draw the pressure would still be at highest obtainable pressure, just volume wouldn't be there, or pressure would drop when a large volume in drawn.