MoparMarv

I just bought a house. I'm new to the well water thing. It had a water softener but was rented and is now gone. I talked with the nieghbors and they said the water had alot of iron in it and you will need a softener. So I'm in the market for a water softener. Its just me living there in a 3 bedroom 1500 sq ft house. I'm also planning on a reverse osmosis filter setup under the kitchen sink as well. Looking for any reccomendations or opinions on both softeners and Reverse osmosis filters. One nieghbor has a sears unit and the other an elgin I believe. They both had nothing but good to say about both.

annabelle

I have had good luck with the Sears. I have a whole house filter and a smaller charcoal filter inline going to the house. I also have a RO system installed for drinking water located under the kitchen sink. I bought the RO system at Sam's.

ofcmarc

Last house I had with bad (looked like TANG when it was untreated)water went like this.
1- 20 micron whole house filter
2- Water softner (kenmore)
3- 5 micron activated charcoal filter

The Kenmore softener worked pretty well for being fairly inexpensive. Just had to makesure to keep it filled with salt. It did use a lot of salt.

I drank the water no problem, but Mama didn't like it. It was a bit hard on the laundry as well.

ktpauley

My suggestion come from the regulator side of drinking water get the water tested by a laboratory certified for drinking water analysis. Then look in the yellow pages for a company that has Water Quality Association certified (WQA) people. There is 2 types of Iron. What is called red water iron and the type that settles out in a glass. If you get lab results you can email them to me at ktpauley0911@comcast.net Keith

HotRodTodd

The sears units are very well made and are very low maintenance. I installed one at my moms, and at the shop to get rid of the water spots when washing the trucks. If you are not in a big hurry, they have some really good sales a few times a year.
Unfortunately even the best, most expensive conditioner, will only remove about 5ppm of iron, anything above that and it simply coats the rosin media in the tank, and begins to build up till it no longer does anything but waste salt. If you have more than 5ppm, you will need an iron filter and a softener to get any descent results.
You need to send in a sample as stated before, to an independent lab(one who doesn't sell water treatment equipment) and then go from there.
Your local health dept. will have a list of approved labs in your area.

annabelle

Definitely go to an independent lab that does not sell anything but testing services.. If they sell water or filters or softeners, they will tell you whatever benefits the case to sell you something......trust me....been there done that.

Red3quarter

I have a kinetico water softener, a Well-mate pressure tank, and a omni fliter filter system in my house.

MoparMarv

what would one expect to pay for that test for iron content? I called about getting the well tested before I bought it. The place just seemed to do coliform Baterica test. I asked about nitrates and after they asked a few questions they said it would be a waste to test for that. I was more worried about the water being pollituted from some type of chemical run off and after they told me the price for that test I would truck in water. there are about 5 other houses with well water by mine. city water is 1/4 mile up the road but the nieghbors said don't hold your breath. That makes sense to test the water and set up the filter and softeners to the water. I tried looking for another place to test water but as mentioned above most also sold filters and such so they will just want to sell you the most expensive stuff. The water had a rotten egg smell when you first turn on the water which clear up as it ran for about 5 minutes. I have a whole house filter that I will probally change this week.

biododge1

I see your from oak lawn-I would have thought they had city water. You can get a test kit from home depot, menards-once you know how hard the water is you can properly size(grain capacity) the unit.

ktpauley

Iron is part of what EPA calls secondary contaminants. They are mostly contaminants the produce Tase/Odor concerns. I think most of the labs here in Pa. charge about $150 for the Group. The Group includes Iron, Manganese, hardness, Sodium, Chloride, pH, and a few more things. Nitrates are analyzed with Nitrites. I think labs charge like $30 for them. Nitrates are an important concern if you have children under 6 months. Nitrates over 10ppm or mg/L can cause Blue Baby syndrome in kids under 6 months. If you have Iron over 5ppm you need to oxidize it forst the run it through a filter. If you want I can either try to attach a brochure we have for well owners, or email it to you. I have an Eco softener in my home. Keith

bigfoot

what he said

MoparMarv

I actually have to update my data. I'm now across the border in Indiana. No 1 acre plus lots, with taxes for under 3000 a year for less than 150,000 In Chicago area. 5 miles over the border and they have all that.

MoparMarv

Well I think I'll call around this week and find a lab. The county health dept has one place they deal with which is the place I dealt with when I bought the house. after that I'll chime back in with the results.