Hard well water

Leon Torkelson · Nov 18, 2009

I have had lime in my well water since this well was drilled in 1967. It wasent a real problem till I got a modern washing machine that worked good for 3 years till a valve and control modgule quit because of the hard water,$180.00. So I had Culligan test my water today, they said I have 10 - 11 grains of hardness. Of course they said a water softner is the only way to go.
If at all possible I do not want a salt based softener. What are your thoughts - opinions. Thanks in advance.

showcrop · Nov 18, 2009

Hi Leon, I used to sell and service water softeners because water conditions impacted my primary business a lot and the national companies were so expensive that my customers usually would balk at the price. What is the matter with salt based? it's better for you than phosphate. and a whole lot cheaper than RO or some of those others. The only problem I would see is putting the flush water into a leach field. It's a lot better to put it into a dry well, which really isn't all that expensive.

Pitch · Nov 18, 2009

As far as I know the only other option is a reverse osmosis system that probably won't supply all the water you need or a distillation system which will cost an arm and a leg to run.
I have a softener that I run on potassium chloride which is supposed to be better for folks on salt sensitive diets. I also tapped off the incoming line to supply well water to a seperate kitchen tap for drinking, all the other water is softened.

big fred · Nov 18, 2009

If your only concern is your washing machine, do a comparison of the cost of a water softener and it's maintenance against the cost of repairing your washing machine every 3 years. Might be cheaper to do nothing. Of course, if you have a water softener, you can probably get by with less detergent, so you'll need to figure that into the mix. Keep in mind that if it's well water, it probably has some sediment in it, and you'll need to filter that out before the water softener, so add in the cost of the filter housing and replacement filter elements.

And no matter how you figure it, you'll find it's cheaper than my solution. We're adding a water softener, but since we didn't have anyplace in the house to put it, we're adding on, and one thing led to another and now we're adding on 1144 sq ft. Two new bedrooms, new living room and new bathroom.

Butch (PA) · Nov 18, 2009

Hard water my foot.
10 to 11 grains is nothing compared with the water i've tested for dairy farms and cleaning applications over the past 15 years when I was in business of selling cleaning products.
If you want to talk about hard water, then talk 20 to 40 grains hardness. 11 is very soft in terms of hardness. I'm with one guy here, fix the washing maching every few years vs going thru the expense of softener, etc. Along with all that, "softened" water tastes terrible in my opinion.
Butch

Charlie M · Nov 18, 2009

If your concern is the taste of softened water you can tee off a line before the softener that could go to a sink for drinking purposes.

buickanddeere · Nov 18, 2009

Everything here is on the water softener except the kitchen drinking water tap, fire sprinklers and the garden hose taps.
Less soap purchased and less soap into the septic system to scum it up.
Potassium Chloride is used and the backwash goes into the grew water drain.

550Doug · Nov 18, 2009

Fix the washer. A hardness of 11 is very very mild compared to the more common 30 grains of hardness around my area. When you go to a softener, your house plants will be shaking in their pots. Just one forgetful watering with salt-based softened water will send shiver to their tender leaves. Of course they will like potassium-base softened water better, but it is about triple the price of salt.
So avoid future agro and just fix the washer regularly. Just my 2 cents worth.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 18, 2009

I would consider 10-11 soft water, we had a well that was 130 grains hard and irony, my grandpa used it for laxative, said it worked better and was cheaper than ex-lax! Neighbor said the hardest water he'd seen was, TA DA " Ice"!

DonNOhio · Nov 18, 2009

You havent seen hard water until you have been here.
You dont dare get close to the refrigerator with a glass of water as the magnets on the fridg will jump over onto the glass. Been using a salt type softener for years, no problems.

MarkB_MI · Nov 19, 2009

I would go with a conventional water softener and add a reverse osmosis system for drinking water. If you're concerned about salt, remember that the softener only adds as much sodium to the water as the amount of minerals it removes. Get a demand system and it will use very little salt. The RO system will remove any sodium from your drinking water, as well as other bad things like arsenic.

As others have said, 11 grains is not bad at all, but removing the hardness will save you on plumbing repairs and laundry detergent. We only use a tablespoon of detergent per load. Your wife will like how easy it to keep the bathroom fixtures clean. If you wash your car at home, you won't get waterspotting with soft water.

I bought my system from Ohio Pure Water; I saved about a thousand bucks over what a local installer wanted, and it has worked great for almost four years.
Ohio Pure Water

Hard well water

Leon Torkelson

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showcrop

Well-known Member

Pitch

Well-known Member

big fred

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Butch (PA)

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Charlie M

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buickanddeere

Well-known Member

550Doug

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Anonymous-0

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DonNOhio

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MarkB_MI

Well-known Member

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