Water softeners for well water

Best for

Homes with hardness above about 7 gpg [120 mg/L] that see scale, spotting, soap scum or short water heater life, with iron already treated or low.

Wrong fit

Homes under about 7 gpg with no scale complaints, or with untreated iron, manganese or sulfur. Fix those first, and skip the softener if the hardness doesn't bother you.

Tradeoff

It adds sodium (or potassium) to the water, uses salt and regeneration water, and puts chloride into the environment.

Do you need one?

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. It isn’t a health problem. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says there is no requirement to soften your water and that softening isn’t needed for health. It helps appliances, fixtures and the feel of the water, mostly when hardness is above 7 grains per gallon (gpg) [120 mg/L].

Labs often report hardness in mg/L as calcium carbonate. Divide by 17.1 to get gpg. Penn State Extension uses these classes:

If you’re in the soft to moderately hard range and not fighting scale, you can skip it. More on hard well water.

How a softener works

A softener is a tank of resin beads coated with sodium. Penn State describes the process: as water flows through, the resin trades its sodium for calcium and magnesium. When the beads are used up, the control valve regenerates them with brine from a salt tank and rinses the hardness to a drain. Penn State says a regeneration uses about 50 gallons of water.

You can use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. MDH lists it as a way to cut sodium in the water.

Salt-free conditioners are different. Template-assisted crystallization units, such as SpringWell’s FutureSoft, condition hardness minerals rather than remove them. SpringWell’s own specs for FutureSoft call for zero iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide, so they don’t suit untreated well water with those problems.

Iron, manganese and the treatment order

A softener can remove some iron, but there are limits. Penn State Extension says softeners are generally recommended for iron when:

• dissolved iron is below 5 mg/L (ppm),
• pH is above 6.7, and
• hardness is 3 to 20 gpg [50 to 350 mg/L].

The catch is oxidized iron. Penn State warns that oxidized iron and manganese foul softener resin. Water that has been exposed to air or chlorine needs filtering first. That sets the order on most wells:

1. Sediment filter.
2. pH neutralizer, if your pH is low. Calcite adds hardness, so the softener needs to come after it. See pH neutralizers.
3. Iron, manganese and sulfur filter. See whole house well water filters and iron in well water.
4. Water softener.
5. UV, last, if you need disinfection.

Penn State also notes turbid water may need filtering and bacteria-laden water may need disinfecting before the softener.

What your lab report should show first

Before you shop, make sure your test includes:

• Hardness, in gpg or mg/L as calcium carbonate, to size the softener and set it.
• Iron and manganese, because Penn State’s limits for softening iron depend on them, and oxidized iron fouls resin.
• pH, since Penn State’s softener guidance for iron assumes pH above 6.7, and low pH may call for a neutralizer that adds hardness.
• Hydrogen sulfide or a smell check, because a softener doesn’t fix sulfur odor.
• Sodium, if anyone in the home watches sodium intake.

If any of these are missing, add them before buying. See how to test well water.

Sizing in brief

Size by hardness, household water use and flow, not just by bathroom count. SpringWell’s published specs show how capacity and flow scale:

SpringWell lists a pH range of 6.5 to 10 for these units. For third-party performance claims, check NSF’s listings, which include a category for cation exchange water softeners (NSF/ANSI 44). For the full sizing math, settings and resin care, WellWaterSoftener.com covers softeners in depth.

Softener, conditioner or nothing?

Common setup mistakes

• Softener ahead of the iron filter. Oxidized iron and manganese foul the resin. Put the iron filter first.
• Hardness set too high or too low. MDH says a softener set too high wastes salt and water. Set it to your lab result.
• Softening every tap. Toilets, hose bibs and basement sinks rarely need it, according to Penn State and MDH.
• No unsoftened drinking tap in a home where someone limits sodium.
• Skipping the water test. Hardness alone doesn’t tell you whether iron, manganese or low pH will cause trouble.

Install needs

• Drain for regeneration water.
• Power for the control head.
• Floor space for the resin tank and a brine tank. SpringWell’s brine tank is 18 inches wide by 33 inches tall.
• Bypass valve for service and shock chlorination.
• Plumbing choices. Penn State says toilets, outside spigots and basement sinks can be left on unsoftened water. MDH agrees that toilets, hose bibs and many cold taps don’t need softening. Fewer softened gallons means less salt.
• Pressure. SpringWell lists 25 to 80 psi.

Running costs and upkeep

• Salt. MDH estimates $50 to $300 a year for salt, based on 2017 to 2018 quotes. Hardness, iron and water use set the real number.
• Settings. MDH says to set the softener to your actual hardness. Set too high, it wastes salt and water.
• Resin cleaning. Penn State notes bacteria and fungi can form mats in the resin, and periodic cleaning with bleach can help. Check the manufacturer’s instructions first.
• Brine tank checks. Look in the brine tank regularly and keep salt above the water line.

Sodium and health. Penn State says softening adds about 7.5 mg of sodium per quart for each gpg removed. MDH suggests anyone with a history of high blood pressure ask a doctor about drinking softened water, and recommends an unsoftened tap for drinking and cooking.

Septic and environment. WQA says properly operated softeners have no negative impact on septic systems. MDH notes chloride from softener discharge harms fish and aquatic life and is hard to remove once it reaches lakes and streams. MDH also cautions that softening can make water more corrosive.

Who should skip it

• Hardness under about 7 gpg with no scale problems.
• Untreated iron above the limits, or oxidized iron. Put an iron filter first.
• A sulfur smell. Penn State notes that in rare cases a softener can give sulfur-reducing bacteria a place to grow. Treat the sulfur first.
• Strict low-sodium diets without an unsoftened drinking tap.

To see whether your hardness and iron numbers call for a softener, an iron filter, or both, enter them at /test-results/.