How to get rid of hard water

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 10:20 am

My test results finally came in:
Water Test Results.png
.PNG | 33.2KB | Water Test Results.png
I am starting to wonder if I should drain my EFM this summer and fill it with water from Lake Champlain!

 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:19 am

Rob R. wrote:
Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 10:20 am
My test results finally came in:

Water Test Results.png

I am starting to wonder if I should drain my EFM this summer and fill it with water from Lake Champlain!
Not horrible when laid side by side with my well water, but definitely in both the iron removal and softening requirement zone.

Lets see how my Ca and Mg predictor method works for it:

Total Hardness = 433 = ~2.5(Ca) + ~4.12(Mg)

70% of 433 = 303.1 = predicted hardness from Ca.
303.1/2.5 = 121.1 mg/L (ppm) of "predicted" calcium, vs 138 mg/L actual

30% of 433 = 129.9 = predicted hardness from Mg.
129.9/4.12 = 31.5 mg/L (ppm) of "predicted" magnesium, vs. 21 mg/L actual

Not bad for ballparking it from only the hardness reading. Got the calcium close, but the magnesium not so close.
Last edited by lsayre on Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:28 am, edited 3 times in total.

 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:23 am

As a check on Ward Labs:

Predicted Total Hardness = ~2.5(138.0) + ~4.12(21)

Predicted Total Hardness = 431.5 (vs 433 actual)


 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:28 am

Rob, did that Ward Labs tested sample come direct from the well, or from a tap pre but somewhat near the softener? The unusually high sodium and chloride ion counts suggest that there might have been a bit of back-flowing of water from the softener into the sample you sent off for testing. ???

 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:31 am

lsayre wrote:
Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:28 am
Rob, did that Ward Labs tested sample come direct from the well, or from a tap pre but somewhat near the softener? The unusually high sodium and chloride ion counts suggest that there might have been a bit of back-flowing of water from the softener into the sample you sent off for testing. ???
I ran a hose from the pressure tank to the drain at full flow for 5 minutes, then collected the sample right from hose bib on the pressure tank. There is a check valve between my pressure tank and the treatment system, so I can't see how anything back flowed.

I am wondering if it is due to road salt

 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:34 am

Rob R. wrote:
Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:31 am
I am wondering if it is due to road salt
It could be road salt, particularly if the well isn't real deep. Or it could just be inherent of the water table in your area. Generally people near salt water bodes have water that looks a lot like yours as to sodium and chloride.


 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 12:00 pm

lsayre wrote:
Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 11:34 am
It could be road salt, particularly if the well isn't real deep. Or it could just be inherent of the water table in your area. Generally people near salt water bodes have water that looks a lot like yours as to sodium and chloride.
Our well is about 250' deep. The levels of sodium and chloride seem to be "safe" based on what I found online (link below), but I am not sure how it compares to other wells in my area. I looked up the local municipal water report, but they don't have sodium and chloride listed.

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/dri ... gwater.htm

 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 12:19 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 12:00 pm
Our well is about 250' deep. The levels of sodium and chloride seem to be "safe" based on what I found online (link below), but I am not sure how it compares to other wells in my area. I looked up the local municipal water report, but they don't have sodium and chloride listed.

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/dri ... gwater.htm
At 250 ft. deep I'm back to speculating as to some degree of softener water contamination in the sample. Pull a well water sample from the nearest neighbor who has a hand pump on their (preferably similar depth) well and send it off to Ward Labs. Or pull the well cap off and send a weighted bottle down on a string.

 
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 12:51 pm

Based upon some quick cation and anion balancing your 'straight' softened water will have a sodium level somewhere close to this:

Na = ~ 265 mg/L

The daily recommended sodium intake is on the order of 3,500 mg (albeit that most of us exceed this), or 2,500 mg if you are on a Dr. ordered sodium restricted diet. It is vitally needed by the body, so without consuming it daily at somewhere likely right near the restricted level no less than death assuredly follows. So at 265 mg/L you could hit the restricted intake level on tap water alone if you drink 2,500/265 = 9.4 Liters (10 quarts) of your well water daily (which sounds along the lines of something Tom Brady might do). If you haven't already, you might want to consider adding an RO (reversed osmosis) unit under your kitchen sink. And drink/cook only from the RO tap.

I once heard that heart attacks are more common among those so highly restricting their sodium intake as to not be getting anywhere close to 2,500 mg/day than they are among those routinely exceeding 3,500 mg/ day (which also potentially causes serious problems). But this might merely be hearsay, so.... (verify, verify, verify).

 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Feb. 16, 2021 1:46 pm

I am not hung up on the sodium results - for now I am more interested in making sure my softener is programmed correctly, and that my birm filter is appropriate for treating the iron and sulfur in my water.

Based on what I see in the results, my birm filter should be fine. I brought the control head to my local water guy to see what was wrong with it - and he said the piston and seals were scored due to sand. He recommended a 5 micron sediment filter prior to the birm filter to prevent reoccurrence.

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