First time homeowner, need water softener advice

[Brecchi]

Hello, we've just moved into a 2900 square ft, 4 bedroom/3.5 bath home and I'd like to add a water softener to the existing well water system. Its just me and my wife at the moment, although we do plan on having 2-3 kids in the future. Also, there is an in-law suite with a kitchen, and we plan to add a second washer and dryer set to the house.

The well water we have is very hard, lots of calcium (Eastern panhandle of WV). No iron or anything else unpleasant, and fine to drink through a basic refrigerator filter. But for all of the obvious reasons, and including my wife having a not-so-great reaction to it for health reasons, I'd like to spring for something quality. Ideally, I'd like to purchase a very good unit and have a master plumber install it. I'm hesitant to go with a big brand company, as I've heard to many stories of overcharging and bad customer service.

I've narrowed things down to 3 systems which seem top notch:

-SoftPro Elite for well water
-Fleck 2510 SXT, well water
-Springwell salt -based (doesn't seem to be well water specific.)

I'd like to keep things at 2k or under if possible, I'd be willing to go a bit higher if I decide on an RO system for the kitchen. Is this a reasonable expectation? Any advice on RO systems in addition to the water softener would be much appreciated (for example, getting one online, how effective they are, etc.)

I've attached a pic of the current well water filtration set up. Its just a couple of years old I believe. A very basic water test was done prior to our move in which tells me almost nothing, other than there is no coliform or E-coli, and that the water is good to drink.

I'm assuming I need a much more thorough test which will maybe help me to narrow down my choices of setup, although I do know that I'm just trying to soften things up. From there, is ordering a unit and finding a good master plumber to install the way to go? Any and all advice is appreciated, as are links if I missed anything that has already been discussed at length. Thanks in advance.

 

[bingow]

@brecchi as another newbie to this forum, I can tell you that yes, you'll need results from a good water test, the more comprehensive the better, before the "pros" here can offer much advice. Worth waiting for. Good luck.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

Your temperature & pressure relief valve pipe should reach down to no more than 6 of the floor.

 

[Bannerman]

Suggest obtaining a comprehensive lab test for the raw well water. Proper sizing will require knowing the hardness quantity, other metals and minerals that may also consume softening capacity, pH, TDS etc. You said there is no iron, but as the existing report doesn't offer much information, then it would seem 0 iron has not yet been verified.

National Labs offer a standard WaterCheck well package that will be appropriate.
https://watercheck.com/?aff=5

 

[Brecchi]

Thanks, I just saw these replies for some reason. Lots of choices from the National Labs link, any idea which one would be most appropriate for my needs? I had a message in my inbox with a bunch of lab suggestions. I saw some more reasonably priced kits from Enviro test. I see only one DIY specifically for well water, would the Safe Home Pro 15 work as well?

 

[Bannerman]

National Labs 'Standard' well package.

 

[Skyjumper]

if you're certain you have no iron or anything else "unpleasant" then you could just get the 45k gr Morton softener from Menards and it'll probably last >10yrs. and then you get another one. if you want to go high end get Clack it will be way less than $2k.

if you had iron there would be obvious signs... iron staining in toilets, sinks, etc.

you could do the fancy water tests, but if all you care about is hardness just get the hardness test strips from the box store they will get you in the ballpark close enough to set your softener.

 

[Brecchi]

Thanks Skyjumper, appreciate it. I'm more prone to spring for a higher end softener and avoid replacing. I'm sure there is no iron, I just moved from a farm where that was definitely an issue so I'm familiar with the tell tale signs.

I'll likely get the test strips and go from there. I didn't come across Clack products, but I'll do some research. I'm assuming they are comparable to the SoftPro, Fleck, or SpringWell brands based on your mentioning of them.

I'll post hardness results when I get them, likely this weekend.

 

[ditttohead]

Start with a real water test.

NTLWATERTEST

Stay away from most of the online companies, especially the ones selling knock off valves. As to "well water specific" units, well water can range from better than bottled water to worse than raw sewage mixed with arsenic and sea water... get a real test. Once we see a real test we can make suggestions, until then we are only throwing wild guesses at it.

 

[Skyjumper]

I didn't come across Clack products, but I'll do some research. I'm assuming they are comparable to the SoftPro, Fleck, or SpringWell brands based on your mentioning of them.

Clack is a valve manufacturer, like Fleck. many of the water companies out there put their name on Clack or Fleck valves. I'm sure soft pro and spring well are just names put on a Fleck or Clack. A Clack Ws1 is the best softener valve available (my opinion). It sets the standard for reliability, and is designed to be easily serviceable when service is needed. kind of like a small block chevy but with toyota quality. it has a distinctive look that you will readily recognize in private labeled systems. or some dealers just sell it as a Clack. you can't buy Clack online, you have to buy from a local dealer. you can contact Clack to find a dealer, or just call around to different water companies to find one that sells Clack. for reference here's my local Clack dealer listing for a system https://www.discountwatersofteners....ck-pro-series-ws100-on-demand-water-softener/

 

[Brecchi]

Start with a real water test.

NTLWATERTEST

Stay away from most of the online companies, especially the ones selling knock off valves. As to "well water specific" units, well water can range from better than bottled water to worse than raw sewage mixed with arsenic and sea water... get a real test. Once we see a real test we can make suggestions, until then we are only throwing wild guesses at it.

Thanks, this makes sense. I'll plan on the Watercheck Lite form NTL (the cheapest test under the well water offerings) unless I need more than this. Sorry to go back and forth so much about a simple water test, this is all brand new to me and I'm learning in real time.

 

[Brecchi]

Your temperature & pressure relief valve pipe should reach down to no more than 6 of the floor.

Is there something in the pics that doesn't look right?

 

[Reach4]

Is there something in the pics that doesn't look right?

Your water heater temperature and pressure relief valve discharge pipe discharges far from the floor. It is supposed to discharge no more than 6 inches from the floor. Yours opens maybe 30 inches from the floor. In warm climates they route this outdoors, but due to freezing, it goes inside in places with cold winter.

This valve should be tested periodically with the lever. Water should come out when the lever is operated, and the water should stop when the lever is released.

 

[Brecchi]

Your water heater temperature and pressure relief valve discharge pipe discharges far from the floor. It is supposed to discharge no more than 6 inches from the floor. Yours opens maybe 30 inches from the floor. In warm climates they route this outdoors, but due to freezing, it goes inside in places with cold winter.

This valve should be tested periodically with the lever. Water should come out when the lever is operated, and the water should stop when the lever is released.

Thanks for the info. Aside from the testing, should I be looking into lowering the piping? Or is this just an inconvenience?

 

[Reach4]

Thanks for the info. Aside from the testing, should I be looking into lowering the piping? Or is this just an inconvenience?

It has nothing to do with softening. It just stand out. It's a safety mater for something that is unlikely to happen -- hot water spewing from the pipe. Water spewing from a pipe 4 inches from the floor is less likely to burn somebody. But then this spewing is unlikely. It's something that will jump out at anybody inspecting.

Regarding your question, the Fleck 5810SXT valve is good for a wide range of things. That's what my softener is. You can measure hardness with a Hach 5-B test. The iron can be estimated. We don't know how arsenic is in your area. We don't know your pH. A lab test tells you those.

A coliform test is a waste if you don't sample properly. I think a lot of positive results are due to contamination due to sampling technique. Coliforms are very common. If the well has not been sanitized for years, I would sanitize.

 

[Brecchi]

It has nothing to do with softening. It just stand out. It's a safety mater for something that is unlikely to happen -- hot water spewing from the pipe. Water spewing from a pipe 4 inches from the floor is less likely to burn somebody. But then this spewing is unlikely. It's something that will jump out at anybody inspecting.

Regarding your question, the Fleck 5810SXT valve is good for a wide range of things. That's what my softener is. You can measure hardness with a Hach 5-B test. The iron can be estimated. We don't know how arsenic is in your area. We don't know your pH. A lab test tells you those.

A coliform test is a waste if you don't sample properly. I think a lot of positive results are due to contamination due to sampling technique. Coliforms are very common. If the well has not been sanitized for years, I would sanitize.

Thanks for the clarity. I'll be ordering either the Watercheck Lite or Standard lab test. Regarding the coliform test, that and an E-Coli test were done about a year ago as a prerequisite for buying the house and were shown to be not-present. I can;t rememer the details offhand but I believe the septic system is either fairly new and/or sanitized prior to our move-in.

 

[Reach4]

I can;t rememer the details offhand but I believe the septic system is either fairly new and/or sanitized prior to our move-in.

You would not want your septic system sanitized. You do need to get it pumped periodically.

 

[Brecchi]

You would not want your septic system sanitized. You do need to get it pumped periodically.

Yep, I misspoke.

 

[Gary Bowling]

You should also read and learn as much as you can about how to size your softener. Here's one of the best I've found on softener sizing.

https://www.best-osmosis-systems.com/water-softener-size/

There are many others, just poke around. It all comes down to maximum flow rate, usage per day, hardness of your water, iron/manganese content. Once you have a clear handle on those things, you can properly calculate what you need.

G

 

[Brecchi]

I did a quick couple of test strips from Varify to test water hardness. I think it was $15 online. It was consistently showing my hardness at around 7GPG, or 120PPM. I still plan to order a more comprehensive lab test kit from NTL, I just figured I'd post what I have so far.