r/WaterTreatment

What do I even do apparently they soften our water but it keeps coming out between 500-750 ppm. I had a zerowater filter that did amazing but blew up in a week the filter stopped working and smelling like fish. I hear RO filter will just clog also. I'm about to start solar distilling water for my plants because they hate all the calcium buildup.

I have a pretty unique circumstance, and basically it boils down to - Is the $7,000+ aeration system really the only way to get rid of the smell? I'll try to keep it a TLDR as possible.

Homeowner, private, personal well. Lived in single wide on property from 2018-2025. Water had some hardness, but no smell. Smell popped up Summer 2025. Rancid, rotten egg like smell. Get water tested, and yes to sulfur and some hardness. We move out November of 25, move in to new house on same property(we upgraded size) in Feb 26.

Of course water still reeks. Reeks whether hot or cold. We shock the well, enjoy clean blissful water for about a month+. Now it comes back, smells almost worse than before. Had it tested multiple times. It is safe to drink, just smells horrid. Has some hardness, but nothing that is dangerous or going to horrifically clog up the pipes.

Had it tested by 2 different water filtration companies, both recommend the sulfur aeration system, with labor, parts, and needing a building to put the systems in, both are estimating roughly $7000.

We are exhausting all possible avenues, because that price is just astronomical for stinky water, but it has gotten to the point it is unbearable.

Anyone have a somewhat similar experience? How did you resolve it, and is the ultra expensive option really the only way?

Thanks!

Hi, all - looking for advice on brands for the following:

We just bought a home, and the previous owners didn't really take care of the previous tank. I believe they were renovating the home and never lived in it and had to sell because of a job location change. There's quite a lot of sediment built up inside, which could effect the rest of the home over time. They did, however, recently re-pipe the place.

That being said, we live in an area with very hard water, which has been tested. We've had three different plumbers come to give quotes, and they've each recommended a whole house filtration + water heater. I know they need to make money, but after seeing him drain for two hours and sediment still come out, I know it's a bit of an issue.

Our plan is to start clean with a new heater we choose and properly maintain it. But because of our location, we think it's best to get a full house filtration / softener as well, both to protect piping and our own water health. Not a bad upselling point as well down the line.

I've seen Bradford White recommended a lot, but have no clue on the Carbon filter / Softener filtration system brand-wise. The plumber said they get there's from an OEM that makes them for lots of brands, and I'd probably trust that they're bringing in a good one, but again, I'd rather pick my own or see if that's possible.

Let me know any good brands (for both) and overall thoughts. I also have a countertop RO system inside for drinking. Thanks!

Anyone have this system. Any feedback? Looks like a newer one tank system.

Hey everyone, I could really use some honest advice from people who know more about wells or water treatment than I do.

A few months ago I had about a 12-gallon gasoline spill on gravel roughly 20 feet from my private well. Yeah, I know… terrible mistake. Since then, I had the water tested, and the lab flagged it as possible gasoline contamination.

My results were

• Benzene: 345 ug/L
• Toluene: 239 ug/L
• Ethylbenzene: 205 ug/L
• Total Xylenes: 1880 ug/L

The smell has gone down the last 3 months, so it seems like it’s not as bad as it was at first, but I know that doesn’t necessarily mean the water is actually safe.

I talked to a water treatment specialist, and he said they could build me a custom whole-house carbon backwashing/upflow system. He also said they’ve done government and job site work for places with petroleum contamination from old underground tanks and stuff like that.

I also talked to the county, and they told me I can apply for a permit for a new well and they can recommend the best area to place it, but they made it clear they cannot guarantee a new well wouldn’t still end up contaminated too.

So now I’m stuck trying to figure out what makes the most sense

1. trust a custom filter system

or

2. drill a new well

If this was your house, what would you do?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has dealt with

• gasoline or BTEX contamination
• private well contamination
• carbon filtration systems for VOCs
• drilling a replacement well after a spill

Not looking for people to sugarcoat it just need help as a first-time homeowner

I'm putting a rainwater collection system in a remote 1 "bedroom" cabin. The county I live in requires a Class A UV Sterilizer for the system. The system is sized for less than 100 gallons per day, and that is oversized. No laundry, no bath, 1 shower, 1 toilet, 2 sinks.

All the options I see for UV sterilizers that are rated Class A are for much larger systems. Are there options I'm missing?

I have an under-sink System VII system that includes an alkaline cartridge. Here in Vegas, the city water tastes vile. It's also extremely hard, and I have a separate water softener. I use the RO water for drinking and coffee as well as some cooking. Still, I find that the water has an "off-taste." Is there a way to upgrade or improve my system, such as by adding a cartridge or using different cartridges? Thanks.

I am city water with a 3 stage whole home water filter system. I installed a iSring spin down fliter to protect the 3 stage filter incase a large amount of sediment got into the city water line. Yesterday when I was checking on the filter for the whole home filter system I noticed a small leak coming from the house of the spin down filter where it screws in to the brass upper. I checked the floor and noticed that the concrete was damp but not flooded so it had been leaking for a bit but slowly (about a drop every 15 seconds). I turned off my water and unscrewed the houseing thinking some dirt got into the o ring or the o ring went bad. Cleaned the housing, ran my finger on the spot where the o ring will press onto in the brass housing to make sure no dirt or cracks, put on new o ring, reinstalled. Still leaked. I tried barly tightening it thinking I over tighten it, no luck. I then tightened it very hard and it still leaked. I have tried putting tape and dope on the houseing threads but makeing sure the o ring was clear (I was getting desperate at this point) but still no luck. I dont see any cracks on the houseing and its not even 2 years old. Is this normal with iSpring filters? Anything else I can try? I do have water thanks to rubbing my two brain cells together when I installed the whole system and put in a bypass value, the only down side is that valve bypasses the whole filter sytem.

Hello all. I recently moved out of my parents’ house and into my own apartment, which has been great minus one thing - my water is no longer soft. They had a whole house softener, which of course is not feasible for me as a renter.

I know real water softening solutions for apartments are quite limited as all those shower head attachments that advertise as water softeners are really just chlorine filters for the most part. I used a Showerstick softener about six years ago that I no longer have, which I remember worked well at first but seemed to become less effective after just a few months, even with consistent recharging.

I was getting ready to buy a new one (I see the price has basically doubled in the last few years..) but I’m now seeing a newer product by SoftWaterCare popping up. It looks like it uses a similar set up to RV water softeners. Would this be a better option than the Showerstick? I know you don’t have to recharge it as often.

Any other products I should consider? Trying to get soft water in an apartment is so much harder than it should be!