water softener and iron removal systems
i need to purchase a system to reduce the iron levels in my well water and to reduce hardness. i got an estimate to do the work from a plumber and began to research the system they recommended. some systems for hardness require salt while others don’t. it is getting to the point where it is above my pay grade. does anyone have these systems and any recommendations?
paul turkheimer
5 Responses
Paul,
We had a plumber install a Water Right filter and softener system, which cost $3700 9 years ago, that didn’t solve the iron problem. We then had our well driller, BW Smith, put in a system specifically designed to remove iron that has worked great. It was half the cost of the original. Since the Water Right also is a water softener, you might need to add that component to an iron-specific filter.
Hope that helps.
Paul Graham
Paul,
We had a Kinetico system installed when we built our house in 2005. It works really well on removing iron but does require the salt pellets. A couple of years later we added a hydrogen peroxide system to remove the sulfur smell out of the water. It also works really well. A company out of Harrisonburg, Water Works Water Treatment, Inc., did the installation and they have been very good to work with over the years. I don’t remember how much the initial system cost, but I think it was around $5,000. Good luck.
Tim Sweeney
thank you all for your responses. the quote i got was for 5k and seemed high and i am still waiting to find out what they are proposing as many different systems exist. in the meantime i have called chris at bw smith to get a quote.
Have a plumber install a couple of in-line, 10″ sediment filters: 30 micron, followed by 5 micron. It should cost considerably less than $1000 and it will remove most of the iron. Change filters as needed ($3 each from amazon).
David
We also had a huge iron problem on our well, which also created a sulfur smell as a result of the iron bacteria.
We weren’t ready to buy the system our plumber recommended, so we ended up getting an iron filter through Discount Water Softeners at a much more affordable price. It took care of the iron, and the iron bacteria issues quite well. Water was still “hard” but was completely clear and smell-free.
What we learned through trial and error though was that we still had too much iron sediment coming in, that it was fouling up the iron filter media and preventing the backwash cycles from successfully completing their job. We ended up installing a self-cleaning, spin-down sediment filter before the iron filter and that has resolved all of the remaining issues. Whatever system you end up getting, I’d strongly advise installing a sediment filter before the water treatment system to reduce the strain on the system and extend its working life.
Links for both the iron filter and spin-down filter are below.
I’ll also note that Discount Water Softeners also sells a high-efficiency water softener (I’m planning to have one installed during the next construction project).
Iron Filter: https://www.discountwatersofteners.com/iron-filtration/genesis-ozone-chemical-free/
Spin-down Sediment Filter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XLP2T2Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1