I have a relatively high concentration of clear water iron in my water supply (well). I have been using a northstar water softener to help mitigate the problem. This has been moderately successfull. The softener model I have indicates that it can remove 5 ppm of iron. Even with the water softener I am still seeing some iron staining, particularly in my bath tub (more so when I run the jacuzzi jets). I just had my water tested with the following results:
Without the softener:
9 grains of hardness 6 ppm ironWith the softener:
4 grains of hardness 1 ppm ironIt is my understanding that even 1 ppm of iron will cause staining. So, I believe that my softener is doing everything it can but is simply overmatched. The question I have is what my next step should be? I have been looking at a more powerful softenere at Sears with will clean out 8ppm of iron and costs about $550. Alternatively, I could look at a more expensive iron filter and use it in conjuction with my current softener. Or, would changing the resin to a "fine mesh" be enough? Also, I currently use the Morton "Iron Free" pelets, without them the problem is even worse. The big problem is that trying any of these methods requires me to shell out a fairly large amount of cash without even knowing if the problem will be resolved. If anyone has any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it. Specifically, any recommendations with brands/models would be helpfull.