You can remove the iron/manganese and leave the hardness. There are a variety of methods for iron/manganese removal. The best method for your situation will depend on the complete analysis of your water, usage, well output, space available and budget. Here is a list of the possibilities to get your research started: Oxidation/Filtration: An oxidizer such as ozone, air, or chlorine may be used to react with the iron and force it to become particulate iron that can then be removed via filtration. A typical setup would involve the oxidizing unit, a holding tank, then a media filter. This type of system works quite well, but takes some expertise in sizing - you would want a water treatment pro that you trust to help you with this option. Oxidizing filtration media: This type of treatment consists of a sealed tank filled with one of several media. Water passes through and is oxidized and filtered by the media. These are relatively easy to operate and what I would recommend for the average homeowner. There are several different media that can be used: manganese greensand: water runs through for treatment. The media must be regenerated with potassium permanganate. Care must be taken with dealing with potassium permanganate as it readily dies organic material, such as your skin, a purple-brown color. Some people are quite comfortable dealing with the chemical; others are not. Synthetic greensand: This is essentially the same as option (a) but consists of a coating of greensand on a silica sand core so does not require as much backwash flow. Service flow rate is 2 - 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash flow rate is 12 gpm/sqft. birm: This media acts as a catalyst to force oxidation of iron. While it does not need to be regenerated, it does need fairly high dissolved oxygen in the water. If your water does not have adequate dissolved oxygen (and it probably doesn't since it is well water), air injection would be necessary prior to the birm. Additionally, birm requires a minimum pH of 6.8.. Service flow rate is 3.5 - 5.0 gpm per sqft. Backwash flow rate is 11 - 20 gpm, depending upon water temperatures and desired bed expansion. pyrolox: an ore that oxidizes then filters the iron out. It does not need regeneration, but needs to be backwashed (to rinse out the iron) at a high rate. pH range is 6.5 - 9.0. This type of filter works very well, but backwash is critical. Service flow rate is 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash is 25-30 gpm/sqft. Backwash daily. Terminox: Similar to Pyrolox, but a proprietary formula . It does not require as much backwash flow rate and is more resistance to a low pH. The particulars are only available from the company that sells it. Backwash daily. Filox: Also similar to Pyrolox. pH range 5.0 - 9.0. Backwash flow 12-15 gpm/sqft. Service flow 6 gpm/sqft. It must be backwashed daily.

If your humidifier is the only place you have a problem, your cheapest, easiest solution is just to replace the pad more often. Humidifiers are really difficult because only pure vapor (mostly) exits the humidifier, so you are concentrating everything in the water. This will happen even with softened water. It may be a bit slower, but you will still get build up, just a different type of buildup (softer, less tenacious). The purer your water, the less build-up you will see. Even healthy water has plenty of stuff dissolved in it. Bottom line, RO is the only practical method for your situation. Nothing else you can install will remove dissolved solids from your water (softeners swap one solid for another). At a cost of around $400, it may not make financial sense when humidifier pads are fairly inexpensive. One other option may be to install a flush valve to periodically empty the humidifier of all water and then refill it. This would prevent solids from becoming so concentrated.

The taste issue is probably due to the cartridge filter in the refridgerator. Try changing it. Plastic that is used in the refridgerators will somes leave a flunky taste in water anyway. I like to keep a glass pitcher of tap water in my refridgerator. What they are calling national standards is what the business refers to as MCL (maximum containment level). It is the highest amount that the EPA will allow in potable water. Where there is a dash there is no MCL for that. mg/l is a fancy way of saying parts per million. Chlroine has a minimum also which is 0.2 ppm. EPA Primary standards are anything that affect health such as chlorine, lead, flouride, etc. EPA Secondary standards are mostly taste, color, or otherwise cosmetic issues that are harmless such as manganese This post was edited by jcalhoun on Sun, Oct 27, 13 at 13:03

Assuming you don't have any major problems you need to deal with, the PUR is okay. However, since you're in TX, I'll point out that you have the same problem I have in sunny FL: most of the gravity fed filters don't work so well if the water is warm. The PUR says flat out it doesn't work above 80 degrees, so most of the year I have to chill the water before I run it through. The water tastes better if it was cold when it ran through, too, even after it gets back up to room temperature.