The Water Softener Blog

There is an upscale community near us with about one hundred homes in the development. This development is served by a community well water supply. Typically, such systems are serviced by licensed companies familiar with community well water supplies. In this case, the homeowners’ association decided to manage it themselves and hired a resident with a chemistry background to maintain the system. This was a red flag that led to the complex water treatment challenges I was called on to help resolve. Community wells are maintained much like municipal systems: disinfectant products  (usually chlorine and ammonia) are added, and water sampling ensures safe, consistent levels. Frequently, polyphosphates are added to encapsulate water supply lines to prevent scale from entering the water supply in municipal water supplies. Community well water supplies often use polyphosphates to encapsulate iron to try and prevent it from staining landscaping, drivewa...

As a true water nerd and a curious investigator, I am involved in several online discussion forums focused on well water and water treatment. Quite some time ago, a forum member asked what size water softener they needed for their home. They had the water analysis and were replacing an existing system in a home they just purchased. Their family had grown, and the home they purchased also had in-laws’ quarters for the wife’s parents, who had retired. In this particular forum, I’ve had several back-and-forth “discussions” with another frequent contributor about applying and sizing water softeners. I respect all points of view—we can always learn something. This contributor leans traditional or “old school,” and we ended up with opposite recommendations. Let’s break it all down. We’ll explain the systems suggested and how The Water Softener Blog applies our four cornerstones— Advocacy, Expertise, Methodology, Education —to resolve the pr...

A long-time customer moved into a lakefront home and immediately encountered water problems: coliform bacteria, discolored water, rusty water, hard water, and terrible-smelling water. This is how we investigated—and fixed—the real water problems. Listen to the customer, perform a proper water analysis, a complete system diagnosis, and recommend the correct water treatment solutions. The Call: “Our Water Is a Mess” Even before closing, the well had tested positive for coliform bacteria . The seller had a well contractor shock-chlorinate the system, flush the well afterwards, and a well water re-test for bacteria cleared the sale. But once remodeling began, the homeowners discovered the water was hard, rusty, discolored , and had a strange odor . The customer called the original water treatment company out to inspect the system. They recommended a water softener valve rebuild and replacing the waterlogged pressure tank. One of those items w...