Softener before or after filters

[Glenn_James]

TLDR: Will it cause a problem to have a softener before my whole house filters instead of after?

We recently installed a whole house filter and a softener. We have very good city water with very low (7) hardness, but what the wife wants she gets. The filters are sediment and carbon to reduce the occasional chlorine smell that comes through when the city shocks the system. Unfortunately we had the softener fail and send several cups of beads throughout the house which caused all sorts of problems. I can replace the softener, but I don't want to repeat the failure and the cost associated with getting the beads out of the pipes.

Is there any harm in switching my systems around so I soften the water first and then put it through the filters?

 

[Bannerman]

With chlorinated water, it is usually desirable to locate the carbon filter before the softener so the chlorine will be removed before the softener. Chlorine will contribute to premature failure of the resin.

When you state a carbon filter, is that with a replaceable carbon cartridge, or does it contain a large quantity of loose carbon which is occasionally backwashed and appears similar in size and layout as a water softener?

What brand and size of softener was installed? It would be unusual for a good quality bottom screen to fail, particularly with a 'recent' installation. Perhaps post some photos of your current equipment.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Glenn_James]

Yes, it's a replaceable carbon cartridge. It's a Home Master filter setup: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Master-HMF2SMGCC-Gradient-Catalytic/dp/B00N2941OW/

This is similar to what I have: https://www.amazon.com/Softener-Fleck-capacity-Complete-adapters/dp/B004GEFKN8/ It is supposed to have the "better" resin that is designed to handle the chlorine/chloramine. It's got 1 cubic foot of resin which is more than adequate for us. It regenerates every three weeks and never gets close to the gallon limit it is set to. I believe it's set to regenerate after 3,000 gallons and we only use 1,000 or so before the three weeks are up.

I am being sent all new internal material / hardware for the softener. I will dump out the beads and tube, see if I can find the issue, then put in the new tube, gravel, and beads. If the bottom screen doesn't look like a quality system, do you have a recommendation on what system I should be putting in to replace it?

 

[Bannerman]

Although they maybe marketed for whole home use, a carbon cartridge filter simply does not contain an adequate quantity of carbon to be effective for that application.

Carbon filtration is not just a mechanical filter to remove solid particles, but adsorbs contaminants from the water which relies on contact time. Although it may be possible to flow 10 gpm through a carbon filter, the effective flow rate will be between 1 to 3 gpm per cubic foot of carbon media. A flow range is specified as some contaminants will be more stubborn to remove than others and so will need more contact time to be effectively removed. A cartridge filter as you show, will likely contain at best, 1/5 ft3 of carbon, making it only suitable for a single faucet or appliance, point-of-use application.

For point-of-entry applications, a back-washing carbon system will be required. This will utilize a large tank and a control valve, resembling a water softener, but will not utilize a brine tank. For smaller homes with 1 or 2 occupants, a 1.5 ft3 system may be adequate whereas a larger quantity of carbon will be required for higher flow rate installations.

With regard to the bottom screen, use a Fleck, Clack or similar quality screen. Many systems, particularly those sold online, will often include low quality components which maybe less than reliable as you have experienced.

Regarding your softener's usable capacity, you may wish to specify the current program settings as well as the water's tested hardness and your typical water usage as we may be able to suggest alternate settings that will be more appropriate and efficient for your application.

 

[Glenn_James]

As inadequate as the carbon filter should be, it works fine for us. We did not like the taste of the water coming out of the tap, but did like the water coming out of the refrigerator which has a replaceable filter in it. The whole house filter is at least as capable as the one in the fridge, since the water coming out of the tap is at least as good.

An image of what appears to be a Clack screen that was sent to me is here: https://imgur.com/a/oCvP3xE (for some reason I can't post photos or it just wasn't working for me). If this looks adequate I will use it.

If there is no extremely compelling reason not to put the filters after the softener (the salt will clog them, etc.) I can accept a shorter lifespan from the softener. I cannot accept removing more beads from my plumbing. It's going to be expensive to reverse the system, but probably cheaper in the long run.

Thank you for all your help.

 

[ditttohead]

Just my humble opinion and 30+ years of field experience. Don't bother installing that screen. Get a heavy duty screen. As to the Carbon block, 90+K Chloramine reduction filter, it must be made of ground unicorn bone. Carbon block filters are not meant for whole house applications even though many companies sell them.

 

[Glenn_James]

Get a heavy duty screen.

Where? Which one?

 

[ditttohead]

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