Water Softner/PH education

[Vincent McMahon]

Hello everyone

I looked into Water Softeners several years back, but put it on the back burner at the time. I need to revisit. I had my water tested late last year. The test results are below. I have a sediment filter in place because I'm getting some fines coming through. We are a family of 5, with 2.5 bathrooms. We are on well water

I have been reading all the posts today and trying to learn about water softeners. I need some clarification on several items. Hope some of the experts here will be kind enough to help.

I see a lot of comments about valves being the critical component - Clack, Flack, etc, being the better ones. Which are the recommended systems I can buy that have these better quality components?
Can anyone point me to any layout so I can get a good idea of the installation requirements? Trying to figure out what plumbing effort is required and what space I need to have set aside for the components.
Backwash/brine and regeneration - Is this a function within the system, or do I need to add it in separately?
PH normalization - is this a separate solution also? ( Corrosion is my bigger issue, I think)
Drinking water - we currently get bottled water into the house. Can this be eliminated with a water softener solution?
Drain - Can I tie this into my septic? I do have some cast iron pipes (will the drainage water cause corrosion?) Will the system have the ability to pump the wastewater up 7-8 feet so it can gravity feed into my septic lines in my basement?
Anyone care to take a stab at helping me figure out what spec system I would need?

appreciate any help you guys can throw my way.

Thanks

 

[Vincent McMahon]

Bumping this up, any one willing to point me in the right direction

Thanks all

 

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[Reach4]

Water test shows no problem to my thinking. 5.38 grains is considered hard by some, but most people with that hardness would not feel the need for a softener. If you really want softer water, it is not extravagant. Do you feel you have a problem? pH 6.58 is not that acidic, but could be a little hard on metal pipes. EPA draws the line at 6.5 pH... https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/secondary-drinking-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals and that is just a secondary standard. Plastic pipes would have no problem with it, and that is not to acidic for drinking water by any means..

You could get a reverse osmosis system. That could eliminate bottled water, but I saw nothing in your water report that indicated it was not good drinking water.

With an RO system, you can get a booster pump to take incoming pressure up to a higher pressure for more throughput. An extra 5 psi would make up for the extra 10 ft on the drain line, and the rest would make the water filter quicker.. I am not shopping for RO systems. So if that is your main concern now, somebody may have a suggestion.

 

[Vincent McMahon]

Thanks, I do have green corrosion on my fittings, shower heads faucets etc that has caused failure over the years . I've never had a major issue but I can see some pieces that need to be replaced again and I just want to hit it on the head and be done with. Is corrosion caused by hard water or incorrect pH?

 

[Reach4]

Green corrosion is not related to hardness, and would be from pH and copper.

To raise pH, you could inject soda ash, or use (calcite followed by a softener). Injecting soda ash does not increase hardness, but calcite does.