How do I know what I need?

First, you'll need to have your water tested. Your local water treatment professional can test for things like iron, hardness, pH, iron bacteria. More critical - and possibly health threatening - testing for uranium, manganese, arsnic or e-coli bacteria will need to be done by a State Certified Lab.
Once you know your water's "personality", it's time to take a look at equipment.

Before making any decisions, ask about the equipment's warrentys - it's important incase anything breaks - you don't want to have to pay twice for it. Secondly, check see if it's NFS rated (www.nfs.org) and with the Water Quality Association (www.wqa.org) to see if there are any outstanding problems.

What do your test results say?

Hardness - If your calcium (Ca) reading is high, you'll need a softener.
The installation of a water softener will remedy your hard water problems.You will immediately see and feel the difference a softener makes in the quality of your water. With conditioned water, you and your family will look and feel better with glowing complexions and soft, shining hair. Your laundry will look better and fabrics will last longer. Housework becomes much less of a chore.

You will spend significantly less money on detergents, cleaning products, conditioners, creams and personal grooming products. In addition, your plumbing, fixtures and appliances will be protected against costly repairs or premature replacement.

pH - pH ranges from 0 to 14 - 7.0 being neutral. Below 7.0 indicates acidity; above 7.0 indicates alkalinity. In order to keep your pipes from being corroded - as well as your hotwater heater from being damaged, you'll need an acid neutralizer.
Low pH or "acid water" can mean big problems for your plumbing pipes and fixtures. The corrosive action of this type of water on your pipes is evident by the bluish-green stains on your sinks or tubs. These stains are evidence that your water is slowly dissolving the metal in your plumbing pipes.
If this condition is allowed to continue, over time leaks in your plumbing system could develop. If the condition persists over extended periods of time, the pipes will become so thin that they may all have to be replaced.
If you have copper water pipes in your home, this acid water not only will corrode your pipes, but in the process will add copper to your drinking water.

Excess copper in your drinking water can cause health problems.

Iron/Manganese - An iron (Fe) reading over .03 will need also need a softener (or iron filter). The same media that eliminates iron will also eliminate manganese.
Using Iron filters, iron is removed by first oxidizing it, causing it to come out of the dissolved state, and then filtering it out of solution, capturing it in the filter bed. The accumulated iron is periodically, automatically flushed out of the filter.
Systems are designed to allow iron to oxidize in the filter bed. They are equipped with the proper type of medium to handle the precipitated iron and have strong enough backwash flow rates to expel the accumulated iron during the cleanout cycle.
A properly designed softener can also remove large amounts of iron. Softners (ion exchange) remove iron while it is still in ferrous state.
Iron bacteri, while not a health threat, can cause staining and must be treated seperatly from ferrous or ferric iron.

Chlorine - If you have City or Municipal water, you may experience a chlorine taste/smell. Chlorine is the way your water is being disenfected. The closer you are to the Municipal site, the more unpleasant it can be on Disenfecting Day.
A Carbon filter is the way to eliminate this.

"Stinky, Smelly Water" - That rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide. While not a health threat, it is a nusance. The "cure" for this ranges from removing the anode rod from your hotwater heater to a simple carbon filter to a more substantial system.
E-Coli - Will require the use of an Ultra-Violet or chlorine disenfecting system.

Want to see how else properly treated water can benefit you?
Take a look at Kinetico's Benefits of Better Water

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