Calculators and plain guides for well owners and hard-water homes: what your water test means, what size system you need and what it costs to run.
Iron plus manganese
ppm
Calculators with every constant sourced. No sign-up, nothing stored.
See how much salt and regeneration water your softener uses in a year, and what that costs at your salt price. It uses the same numbers as our size calculator.
Enter your household and your water test. You get the resin volume to buy at the salt setting you choose, the salt it uses per regeneration, and a warning when your iron is more than a softener should handle.
The best water softeners for well water, ranked by the iron, hardness, pH and flow limits in their manuals, plus the limits each maker leaves out.
Most private wells with moderate hardness and clear-water iron up to 10 ppm
Larger homes that need 15 to 20 gpm of service flow
SoftPro Elite Smart HE (well-water version)
Well owners who want an upflow metered system with sturdier resin
SpringWell SS salt-based softener
Homes with many bathrooms that need high flow
Plain answers, with the study or manual behind each claim.
Buying guideWell water treatment
The best iron filter for well water by iron, manganese, sulfur and pH limits, plus the backwash flow each one needs from your well pump before you buy.
Buying guideSalt-free softeners
The best salt-free water softener is the one whose hardness, iron and pH limits fit your water. Four TAC systems compared, and when none of them will work.
ReviewWater softeners
Fleck 5600SXT reviews from spec sheets and owner forums: what the valve does, what the AFW 48k build adds, where it falls short and who should skip it.
How-toWater softeners
Fleck 5600SXT settings step by step from Pentair's manual: the capacity to enter for your salt dose, hardness, reserve, regeneration time and brine fill.
How-toWater softeners
Fleck 5600SXT vs 5800 vs Clack WS1 from each maker's spec sheet: flow, backwash, tank size and programming, plus what replaced the old 7000SXT.
How-toWell water treatment
How iron filters work: oxidize, trap, backwash. Air injection, peroxide, greensand, Katalox and Birm compared on published iron, pH and flow limits.
How-toWell water treatment
Iron filter maintenance from the manuals: backwash schedules, media life by type, valve parts and a fault table for iron coming back or constant draining.
ComparisonSalt-free softeners
Salt-free water softener vs salt: what each does to hardness, scale, salt and drain water, iron limits and sodium, with every figure from a primary source.
How-toWell water treatment
Sulfur smell in well water: check whether the water heater or the well is the source, then match treatment to your hydrogen sulfide level with Penn State.
How-toSizing and running costs
Water softener grain capacity is rated at maximum salt. See the makers' own salt tables, what 32,000 to 64,000 grains means in resin, and reserve settings.
How-toSizing and running costs
The right water softener hardness setting: convert your test to gpg, add iron by your manual's factor, read the chart, then check the result with a strip.
How-toSalt-free softeners
Do salt-free water softeners work? They cut scale but leave hardness in. What independent studies measured, each maker's limits, and when salt is better.
How-toWell water treatment
Iron filter vs water softener: match your well test to one or both with Penn State ranges and softener manual iron limits, plus the right install order.
ComparisonWater softeners
SpringWell vs SoftPro for well water: softeners and iron filters compared on each brand's published iron, sulfur, pH and well-flow limits, not claims.
How-toWell water treatment
Well water test results explained: read the hardness, iron, manganese, sulfur and pH lines, see which are high and the equipment each number points to.
How-toSizing and running costs
What it costs to run a water softener per year: salt, regeneration water and dollars from your hardness, household and salt setting, every figure sourced.
How-toSizing and running costs
Find what size water softener you need: enter your household, hardness and iron to get the resin volume and grain rating at your salt setting. All sourced.
Grain & Gallon