Water Softner and whole house filter

I am looking at getting a Whirlpool WHES33 water softener for my house. I would also like a whole house water filter to take out some chlorine etc. But there are so many out there, and I have no idea what I need, or what to look for. I was looking at the Aqua-Pure AP904. I got a copy of my water tests from the city. I'll try and attach the findings. Any help as to what filter to look at would be great, or confirmation that the filter I"m looking at will be a good fit.

I have never seen a water analysis quite like this one.

Do you have city water? If so, find out what the hardness is either in grains or mg/l. We can assume city water has no iron or sulfur. The only thing I would be concerned with is hardness and I personally would want to remove whatever they added in the form of chemicals such as chlorine, ammonia and fluoride. Commonly known as chlorimines.

I assume the Whirlpool is coming from a box store. (Bad Choice) There are others out there that are far better in quality and price for what your getting. Be aware that softeners come in sizes. It's easy to sell you one that has to backwash once a day or in the case of the Water Boss more than once a day. There are backwash heads that are high quality then they're are the box heads. Nobody I know will work on a box unit.

Whole house filters as are sold in box stores are really one faucet filters and have been mis-advertised for years. They are also useless. Don't waste your money.

If you want the best backwash head, buy the Clack. I sell them as do hundreds if not thousands of on line retailers.

That water report does not give enough information.

I wonder if it was done at the plant or at the residence? If at the plant, it is of little use as who knows what the water picks up in the distribution system coming to the house.

One thing nice about point of use filters on municipal water is that the chlorine will keep the house distribution system clean while the filter removes the chlorine (and other impurities) before drinking or showering. It is also a good idea to have a sediment filter to catch impurities before they enter the WH, faucets and ice makers.

Here is another option I'm thinking about...

Fleck 5600SXT Electronic 3/4 Inch Meter On Demand Control Valve Water Softener 48000 Grain Capacity
10x54” Resin Tank (Charcoal)

1.5 cu/ft NSF Approved High Capacity Cation 10% Crosslink Softening Resin

12 gpm service flow rate

2.5 gpm backwash flow rate< p="">

Selected options:
1 Inch Noryl Yoke with Noryl Bypass Valve

15x17x36 Rect Brine Tank w/Salt Grid & 2310 Safety Float

Res-Up Feeder with 1 qt of Pro Res Care

CanPro MediaGuard KDF55

One thing nice about point of use filters on municipal water is that the chlorine will keep the house distribution system clean while the filter removes the chlorine (and other impurities) before drinking or showering. It is also a good idea to have a sediment filter to catch impurities before they enter the WH, faucets and ice makers.

Click to expand...

Those whole house filters won't get all the chlorimines for several reasons. One is the flow rate of the filter. Two faucets running at the same time will allow some of the chemicals to push right through it. Secondly, carbon wll only remove chlorine, not ammonia or fluoride. Beyond that, the impurities that everyone talks about sometimes known as turbidity will be collected by the softener far better than with that little 10" filter and with far less pressure loss.

Fleck 5600SXT Electronic 3/4 Inch Meter On Demand Control Valve Water Softener 48000 Grain Capacity
10x54” Resin Tank (Charcoal)

1.5 cu/ft NSF Approved High Capacity Cation 10% Crosslink Softening Resin

12 gpm service flow rate

2.5 gpm backwash flow rate< p="">

Selected options:
1 Inch Noryl Yoke with Noryl Bypass Valve

15x17x36 Rect Brine Tank w/Salt Grid & 2310 Safety Float

Res-Up Feeder with 1 qt of Pro Res Care

CanPro MediaGuard KDF55

Click to expand...

Wow you really shifted gears from a Whirlpool to a Fleck which is also a great head. I see no need for the Res Care.

What did you mean by "Softener 48000 Grain Capacity
10x54” Resin Tank (Charcoal)" The resin tank will have softener resin, not charcoal. And don't buy a unit that does more than one thing. Like a softener that also removes chlorine. That means they put 1/4 to 1/2 the capacity of the softener of carbon into the resin tank and it's only good for a couple years. Now you have a 48,000 grain softener that is really only a 24,000 grain with no longer needed large tank. To change the carbon, you have to dump out all your resin and the carbon and replace both. Use a separate tank with an in/out head for your carbon.

Thanks! I am now leaning toward the fleck without the filter.

I wanted a whole house filter for drinking g water, shower water, laundry etc. I thought it would help all. I k ow I can get shower head filters, but can I get washer filters?

Forget all those little tiny filters. You put them on and before not very long they are used up and not helping but hurting more than they help. Just get the softener and a second resin tank with an in/out head that are very inexpensive with some KDF and I forget the other name that takes out chlorimine completely. When that's depleted in a few years, just change that only and your softener will still be doing it's thing.

We have city water and the quality is great except once in a while the chlorine smell comes up a little. We have the charcoal filter on the fridge and that&#8217;s the water we drink and make coffee with. That filter lasts for that usage about 2 years I think they say to change it once a year. Other than that the slight chlorine isn&#8217;t an issue as we sit in a hot tub every night anyway that is chlorine sanitized.

I don&#8217;t think you ever said who did the water test. When I had a well I used to take a sample to an independent test lab. I would trust their results. I never trusted anyone with skin in the game.

One would have to have a professional analysis done (not cheap) to actually ascertain what system(s) and capacities one needs. That report you have is just something to satisfy the EPA.

Is your water actually hard? Why the softener?

I purchased my softener and Terminox filters from a place called Budget Water. Great service and customer support. I had my water tested by a local lab then email the results and flow rate to Budget Water who properly sized the units and shipped them out to me. Install is not difficult if you are somewhat handy and can sweat a pipe.

I work for a big box store and my advice to you would be to stay away from any of those units.