Had our groundwater tested (Comal Co - Trinity Glen Rose) for hardness, and as expected - very hard. 170ppm. As a result, we will need a lot of softening. Water co that did the testing (Kutscher in San Marcos) also recommends doing an RO system.

Anyone here successfully treat water in this range? If so - do you have a whole house RO or point of use RO (at kitchen sink, fridge)? Or no RO at all? I was told that without RO, our water would taste salty from the softening treatment.

Fortunately, the water tested out clean for everything else - normal PH, no iron, low sulphur. Just super high TDS from the calcium.

PFG said:

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Fortunately, the water tested out clean for everything else - normal PH, no iron, low sulphur. Just super high TDS from the calcium.

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Trump Derangement Syndrome isn't caused by calcium....

You beat me to it.

I'm not on a well, but also have hard hill country H2O. I recently installed an electric descaler system on the house for a couple of hundred bucks. Supposedly the magnetic field reduces the attraction of the calcium to your plumbing and fixtures. I may just be a sucker, but it does appear to be reducing the residue I see in places I can see, like my shower door. I'd be interested in other opinions on these.

There is no 'too hard' in water. You just need a system with the proper capacity to handle it. You can easily go online and purchase water softeners. You buy one based on hardness.

I do not care for RO water. I have one at my faucet to keep my coffee maker cleaner, but I see no value in removing valuable minerals from your water unless you have a medical condition that warrants it. Softening is bad enough, but I like to be clean and have clean clothes so its a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

Good info. Thanks.

Maybe the best course of action is to whole house soften, then decide if we want an RO faucet at the kitchen sink.

The only real question here that I see is: How does your well water taste? If good, then softener only.

You also didn't mention if you need to filter particulate matter or not.

Water tastes great.

Particulate matter - can you elaborate?

Only testing I've done so far: Iron, sulphur, calcium, ph, TDS.

Look at the non-salt based softeners, Aquasana makes one and some others do as well.

RO has it's place, but remember that you waste about 40% of the water you use through backflushing. It's just not an efficient system for smaller systems IMO (great for large distribution systems). I would personally look at a whole house filtration system with a softener included. If you feel the need for RO, put a dedicated one at the sink with its own tap so you can use it for smaller quantity items and not end up wasting a whole lot of water that doesn't need to run through the membranes.

Different strokes for different folks on water softeners etc. I personally like hard water. We live in the hill country and don't soften the water at all. There is line build up from time to time and we clean fixtures every now and then but it's not too bad. Softeners are primarily designed to extend the life of your appliances that use the water. In today's world those appliances are designed to have a useful life of only 5-10 years anyway so softening isn't as critical as it used to be.

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In today's world those appliances are designed to have a useful life of only 5-10 years anyway so softening isn't as critical as it used to be.

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Ha. I'll let you break that news to my wife regarding the two column Sub Zero fridge and freezers we just bought.

No chance I'm running 170ppm hardness water through those, an ice maker, and nice brass fixtures.

But yes - I can see how depending on what's in your home, it could be a push to soften vs replace in time.

I wasn't trying to be a dick. Just pointing out that, depending on your situation you may not need to soften if you don't want to. I have ice makers, swimming pool equipment, tankless water heater, very nice brass fixtures, etc. I have a water hardness of 190 ppm. I've never had anything go out. It eventually will but it hasn't yet.

Hard water can account for a lot of different minerals - it's not specific to one or the other. Calcium sucks because it leaves the white residue when water evaporates, and it can (and will) eventually clog filtration lines - especially the smaller ones that go to refrigerators, feed lines to ice makers, etc. Over time it can severely restrict flow and pressure due to buildup in mains throughout the house as well.

190! Thats pretty hard. Yes I get where you're coming from, and I suppose I'd just rather save the appliances and deal with meh tasting water. Thats if the softener makes it taste bad - I like how it tastes out of the ground.

Probably personal choice. Most of the Hill Country area has hard water and mine is over 300 (just have a softener) from public source (Lake Travis)

I have the Cadillac Aquasana system in Bee Cave. It does a great job.

Here in the heart of the Hill Country, we have a whole house softener system bought and installed by local Culligan folks located in our well house. I add the "yellow" bags of salt. Also have an under the sink RO unit for coffee maker and sometimes drinking water. Most of the time I drink the non-RO cold water from the refrigerator spigot. We don't run our refrigerator/ice maker water through the RO unit and in 10 years no problems yet.

Thanks Doc C. After talking to our plumber, it sounds like ice makers and RO don't mix - at least not the small point of use RO systems. Not enough water volume and pressure as required by a free standing ice maker, and an RO system will burn one up.

Going to stick with a softener either at the well house or in the carport. Thanks for the input.