Whole house softener / filtration system

[Brian G]

Good afternoon everyone!

As recommened by another forum member, Im posting this here.

I recently bought a house in McHenry, IL.
The water softener system that is existing is older, the resin tank needs to be exchanged and the water quality is horrible.
I have not had the water quality tested yet, but did find the local report for the water quality that serves our neighborhood.
Below are a few of the results:

Chorine = 1.0 ppm
Barium = 0.1 ppm
Radium 226/228 combined = 1.07 pCi/l
Flouride = 0.54 ppm
Iron = 1.3 ppm
Manganese = 22 ppb
Sodium = 46 ppm
Zinc = 0.14 ppm
Lead = 11.1 ppb
Copper = 0.59 ppm

As is, the water is hard if there is no salt in the salt holding tank, and scale / deposits will form on the faucets, etc. I recently changed the filters in our RO system, that is inline after the softener, and the sediment filter was layered in a thick brown/rust colored sludge. That filter was less than 6 months old and we did not run a ton of water through it.

What I would like to know is what kind of whole house system would you recommend for water qualities such as these. Im looking to remove the hardness, and as many of the impurities as possible. Cant afford a whole house RO system, so Im looking at least another softener and possibly a filter system to suppliment it. I would do solely filter, but think I'll be changing costly filters a lot sooner than I should. My goal is safe, soft water that is as clean as possible without breaking the bank for our family of 3. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Brian

 

[Reach4]

I expect a softener would do you, but you could follow that with a RO for drinking if you like. Your numbers were not above the MCL or SMCL numbers except for iron, and the iron will all be precipitated out into the city pipes by the time the water gets to you. You do want 10% crosslinked resin.

Hardness is a big factor in sizing a softener. The Hach 5-B is a good test you can use at home. At 20 grains per gallon or less, a softener with 1.5 cubic ft of resin (10x54 tank "48000") would be good. More, you would probably want 2 cuft "64000".

Your report did not report pH, but McHenry is not going to have undesirable pH I expect.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Brian G]

I expect a softener would do you, but you could follow that with a RO for drinking if you like. Your numbers were not above the MCL or SMCL numbers except for iron, and the iron will all be precipitated out into the city pipes by the time the water gets to you. You do want 10% crosslinked resin.

Hardness is a big factor in sizing a softener. The Hach 5-B is a good test you can use at home. At 20 grains per gallon or less, a softener with 1.5 cubic ft of resin (10x54 tank "48000") would be good. More, you would probably want 2 cuft "64000".

Your report did not report pH, but McHenry is not going to have undesirable pH I expect.

Thanks Reach!
Im learning so much more than I thought about water, softeners, and filters. Luckily ph is good here.
Im going to test the water hardness myself, find my water usage, and figure the correct size based those figures and the iron and magnanese content. I'll add a pre and post filter at minimum for filtration, and I should be just fine.

 

[Reach4]

Never use the 48000 or 64000 numbers for calculations. You could use about 2/3 of those amounts.

 

[Brian G]

Never use the 48000 or 64000 numbers for calculations. You could use about 2/3 of those amounts.

Gotcha!
I'm seeing the 75% rule come up often..
75% for average use and the other 25% for an unexpected extra use of water.

 

[ditttohead]

Filters before and after the softener will not really have any function but you can add them Be sure to install a 3 valve bypass around these filters if you add them so that you can bypass them for service or due to a leak. Be sure to use Big Blue filters, not slimline. Can you post pictures of your old equipment?