Letter from reader:

          I need some advice on selecting a water system for my residential well. Here is the problem, I get green staining and have a pH neutralizer and water softener that never seemed to work for longer than three months after every maintenance of $3 to $400. After doing some research, I went to a lab and had a portability test. My pH is 5.7 and hardness is 44.7 mg/L which seems to be the biggest problem.

          So during my research there were many options for systems and I had a local guy who advertised he was WQA certified. I mentioned to him I was interested in some of these new salt-free systems and was told they are gimmicks. He told me that I just needed the right sized system and to pay him $400 for yearly maintenance.  I asked him about the slimy feeling from salt systems and he said that is your body oils from soft water. Is there a better way to get good water for my home? How can I find someone I can trust to make sure I get it right this time and not waste thousands of dollars?

Sincerely,

John M.

Professor POU/POE’s response:

          The water is quite soft now (<3 gpg) but if the acid neutralizer is comprised of Calcite or Corosex, then the hardness will increase. I don’t know if it will increase enough to require a softener. First I’d take the softener off-line (bypass it) and work on the pH. The pH is quite low so I’d use a tank of media not a cartridge. I would recommend a mixture of Calcite and Corosex (or Corosex ll). The former is calcium carbonate. The carbonate adds alkalinity as it dissolves, thus raising pH. The Corosex and Corosex ll are magnesium oxide. As they dissolve they neutralize carbon dioxide, thus raising pH. Both materials add some hardness (one calcium and one magnesium).

          Can pH be raised without the changing of minerals and the addition of hardness? Yes, but there is still monitoring and maintenance needed. A chemical feed pump and a tank containing soda ash (sodium carbonate) can be used. It must be wired to run when the well pump runs and the soda ash is fed ahead of the pressure tank. This would eliminate the softener and the tank or cartridge neutralizer. The drawback is that you can’t mix too much of the soda ash at one time and with the pH so low the feed rate would be quite high ... frequent mixing of soda ash, possibly every week or two. 

          The treated water pH should be monitored as the neutralizers (in the case of the media-in-tank method) dissolve to see how frequently media replacement is needed. This is what the annual maintenance fee is for. At the same time the hardness can be monitored to see how much is added by virtue of using the neutralizer. A personal note, my water is 8 gpg and I prefer to have a softener. If it was 3 gpg, I wouldn’t use one unless I also had to remove iron.

          I would not recommend a salt-free system. They have not been proven. I agree about the body oils. In the presence of hardness the oils are tied-up as are detergents. In the absence of hardness the oils can be detected. If it feels like soap, lick the back of your hand. If it doesn’t taste soapy, no further rinsing is required. 

          More than often it’s helpful to me to know where someone is writing from. Sometimes I can make certain useful generalizations.

          The WQA certified person makes sense to me. Remember that WQA has certifications in sales, installation (CI), a general certification in treatment (CWS 1) and then CWS 2 through six for more specialized achievement.

          If there are further questions I’d be happy to respond.

Dave