Wrong place. Use search function over on plumbing forum. You'll find MANY discussions.

Just a comment that you probably want a RO system or other filtration system that rather a softener.

Thanks asolo... I've never been over on plumbing so didn't even think to post there... will do.

I don't know what an RO system is but I guess I'm about to learn!

RO-Reverse Osmosis, sorry

Softeners are for hard water and will make cleaning dishes easier reducing spots and stains, it will also make cloths last longer and get whiter. Not to mention showering with soft water is a pleasure.

RO can input sewer water and output drinking water depending on the amount of stages.

So for soft water use a softer for clean water use RO although in South Florida a green sand filter should be sufficient since it is for the whole house and will filter the green/sulfur water you are getting. RO is usually just for drinking because its output is typically very low. It waists 4-6 gals of water for each 1 gallon of filtered.
I used to live in Miami.

larry... are you saying that there is a third system that incorporates a green sand filter that I would use for the whole house in addition to a water softening system? My very limited understanding leads me to conclude that I want something that will soften the water not just for drinking but for cleaning, bathing, and cooking. So, I guess that an RO system would NOT meet my needs? My initial inclination is that I don't want separate systems under the each sink or water source throughout the house. And... if what I'm saying shows total ignorance or misunderstanding, I apologize in advance.

I put a whole house system in at the same time that the kitchen and 2 baths were being redone last summer. I have well water with lots of iron in it, and didn't want all my new tiles, sinks, toilets, etc. turning orange.

I had Culligan and Adderson come out, the Anderson guy spent the whole time telling me how bad Culligan was. The Culligan guy was nice. Both systems would have cost me approx. $6,000 for a 2.5 bath 2600 sq ft house.

I then asked my local plumbing and electrical people, they eventually put it in for me for approx. $4,000. ANd they are around to check it and for me to get supplies from.

And I just love having it. I had hard water, iron and iron bacteria ... and now I have nice clean water.

You can get a whole house RO or other filtration system, remodelfla. I've lived in South or central florida my whole life and I never anyone who used a water softener, although I know a number of people who filter their water.

Hard water is not the problem here; it's the other minerals you don't like.

What you're saying is that the iron in our water is what dulls hair, dries skin, is damaging to our household items, and creates the "rust" spots on the walkways, sides of homes, and so forth? And that a water softening system does not deal with that but a filtration system does? I guess I was under the impression that the systems did one and the same with perhaps different mechanisms. I had thought that So. Fla. water was hard as well. Are there filtration systems other then reverse osmosis that won't waster water but will remove the iron? Do I still need a water softener?

pamghatten... what kind of system did you put in? Was it a softening or filtration system? Or is there one system that does both?

It's all pieces of the same system. They just add the components that suit your water. I have a water softener and a filtration system, and a system that keeps the iron bacteria from re-appearing.

They also had to give me a new indoor tank for my well, they couldn't believe the one I had was still even functioning.

And after they did all this, the pipe leading from the well to the house in the back yard broke, so they had to dig up my backyard. But it's been great since. :->

A few quick thoughts--

-Good quality water makes an enormous difference in the quality of your life-- housework is easier, clothes don't get ruined in the wash, food tastes better, skin and hair feel better.

-$6000 sounds high to me. Been a couple years since I bought mine, but that's about double what I paid for a TOL contico system. It all goes to install, though, so it isn't out of the question.

-RO is fine, but please check into the enviro aspect, don't get one that wastes a great deal of water. They aren't all the same in this regard.

-If you go with a softner, be sure to place the salt tank in a convenient location. This is not a small thing.

-Do what ever it takes to have separate water for the lawn, etc.: I have to go to the basement, thread through a couple rooms, find the valves in an unlit closet to operate the valve that turns the system on and off. No big deal at first, but a massive hassel as the years go by.

BTW if you buy a RO you must test the water periodically because a RO filter membrane costs ( $50 - $90) and is only good for so many gallons of water before the effectiveness is lost. A meter costs about $30 and typically a membrane lasts 6 months for the 2 of us. A 100GPD membrane is about the largest for home use unless you get an industrial system. As far as I know they only make 2 sizes of membrane holders 50gpd and you CAN put a 100GPD in a > 50 GPD housing. 100GPD means that at a certain pressure it can produce 100 GPD max. Which means the output is WAY too slow for anything but drinking unless you get a storage tank to store it and remember it waists 4-6 gal for every filtered gallon.

http://www.pwgazette.com/filtermembranes.htm

We gutted our kitchen last August and a water softener was at the top of my list. We also installed the RO water in the kitchen and its connected to my fridge for water and ice. We went with Kinetico they were expensive but Im very happy we did.