We have 2.5 iron, trace of sulfer and 8-9 hardness on our weekend
getaway cabin. A local plumber has said we need a $2200 softener
solution which will take care of everything. The softener is top of the
line, but do I really need it all? How bad will my plumbing get if I
don't do the softening at all? I don't mind spending the money if I
need it, but I don't want to waste the money if I don't. I could use a
much cheaper filter to take care of the iron issue, but it won'd do
anything about the hardness.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We have 2.5 iron, trace of sulfer and 8-9 hardness on our weekend
getaway cabin. A local plumber has said we need a $2200 softener
solution which will take care of everything. The softener is top of the
line, but do I really need it all? How bad will my plumbing get if I
don't do the softening at all? I don't mind spending the money if I
need it, but I don't want to waste the money if I don't. I could use a
much cheaper filter to take care of the iron issue, but it won'd do
anything about the hardness.

IMO that's way too much money for any softener unless it's very large!
Softeners usually aren't used to remove sulfur (H2S). That's because there
is no resin that can remove sulfur. So to use a softener something has to be
added to it to remove sulfur or any other type odor. Doing so is usually not
a good idea for numerous reasons. On average plumbers don't know water
treatment or the equipment used to treat problem water. They tend to rely on
the counter clerks in their plumbing supply houses. A much better choice is
a local or internet water treatment dealer but... you need to realize that
stagnant water is usually a problem and can cause odor problems. So.. when
do you smell this odor? Where in the building do you smell it? Is it a cold
water, hot water or both type of problem?.

--
Gary
Quality Water Associates
www.qualitywaterassociates.com
Softener Forum www.qualitywaterassociates.com/phpBB2/