Best Water Softener For High Iron

High iron content will lead to discoloration of your toilet bowls and clothes. Most water softeners can handle calcium and magnesium but few can handle iron well. In this review we show you the best water softeners for high iron.

Iron is an essential component in our body systems. However, oversaturation of the mineral beyond recommended levels will cause yellowing of your kitchen systems and toilet. Hard water will contain a considerable amount of calcium and magnesium. This are extracted through a process of ionization. However, during this process iron consumes more salt than the rest of hard minerals hence necessitating a water softener strategically adjusted for ion absorption.

We have tested some of the best high iron water softeners in the market. In this review, we go through each one of them and reveal which one is the best for your home.

How the Iron softeners compare against each other

Model	Grain capacity	Flow rate (GPM)	Dimensions (Inches)	Weight (pounds)	Check on Amazon
Iron Pro 2 Fleck 5600sxt	64,000	16	14 X 7 X 21	119.5	Buy Here
ABCwaters Fleck 5600sxt	64,000	13	48 X 12 X 2	147	Buy Here
Aquasana Rhino	500,000	7	9 X 46 X 44	44.5	Buy Here
DURAWATER Fleck 5600sxt	48,000	14	54 X 10 X 10	120	Buy Here
Fleck 5600sxt Digital Metered	48,000	28	27 X 17 X 62	20.8	Buy Here

Iron Pro 2 Fleck 5600sxt digital meter valve

The Iron Pro 2 is designed to remove iron and other hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium. Iron will cause embarrassing yellowish stains in your bathroom and kitchen sinks. With this unit you can reduce your hard water concentration from a high of 75 GPG and manganese by 6 ppm and iron from a high of 8 to 6 ppm. The Iron Pro 2 comes equipped with the Fleck 5600sxt control head that is very effective in filtering hard water.

The Iron Pro 2 is a great addition for your home. It is compact and not only removes hard water minerals but it will also filter rust, dirt and other sediments present in water. With a grain capacity of 64,000 it should supply your entire household with clean water.

The Iron 2 Pro will work on your faucets and water pumping systems to ensure that there is no scale build up. You can set the regeneration process to only be activated when certain amounts of water have been processed. This makes it economical on your salt. In the purchase package you get 5-year warranty for the control head and 10 for repair or replacement of the tanks.

Pros

• Comes with DIY installation manuals for fast set up
• Each generation supplies you with over 800 gallons of water
• High flow rate
• Meter based regeneration

Cons

• Challenges refilling the resin

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ABCwaters Fleck 5600sxt water softener

This full package water filtration system features up flow carbon filtration system, whole house water softener, and a reverse osmosis filtration system. It comes equipped with the Fleck 5600sxt control valves that monitors how much your household consumes and then triggers the regeneration cycle. The water filtration system can handle 64,000 grains hence satisfying the household needs of 7 people.

Iron while useful for the body, excess amounts will cause the yellowing of your sinks and clothes. The ABCwaters can filter out iron from your water hence providing you with 13 gallons of iron free water per minute. A complete reverse osmosis filtration process runs the unit. During this 5 stage filtration process, you have a system of activated carbon block, network of sediments captures, thin film composite membrane and a system of post inline carbon filters. This ensures that no bacteria or viruses get to your drinking water. With the unit you will not only get clean water but one that is odorless.

Pros

• Reverse osmosis filtration system
• Large grain filtering process
• Company offers excellent technical support
• Easy to install

Cons

• Can be complex to operate

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Aquasana Rhino whole house water softener

The unit operates as both a water filtration system and softener. The Aquasana comes with a UV filter that is essential for treating water from bacteria and viruses. It will also sieve through your sediments through a pre-filter cartridge. To remove hard water minerals like magnesium and calcium, the Aquasana deploys a salt free softener technology that deploys an innovative catalytic media.

The reason why you should consider the Aquasana rhino for removing iron is because it uses KDF-85 that has a removal rate of over 98%. This enables it to capture any iron in your water. You also get a catalytic carbon filter that removes any awful odors from the water.

The Aquasana Rhino uses a process of solidifying your sulfur and manganese compounds through an oxidizer (hydrogen peroxide). These contaminants – which are now solids – are then filtered out of your water, leaving it soft and safe for consumption and domestic use. The unit is reputed to remove up to 99% of the chlorine present in your water at a rate of 500,000 gallons per 5 years.

Pros

• Combines filtering and softening system
• Long shelf life
• You do not require electricity
• UV filter to remove odors

Cons

• Setting up is complicated

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DURAWATER Fleck 5600sxt

This water softener combines an iron filter and water softener that will removes any calcium and magnesium present in hard water. The DURAWATER uses the Fleck 5600sxt digital head. This allows it to estimate your usage and use this during the regeneration process.

The unit is affordable with the capacity to remove 48,000 grain of contaminants for your water. This is done through a fine mesh resin filter that is specifically adjusted to also handle iron content in the water. It will also remove calcium and magnesium. This gives you soft water for drinking and domestic use.

The DURAWATER can handle 6-8 ppm of iron from hard water. It also has the capacity of removing 6.8 pounds of magnesium and calcium. The softener is easy to install and also comes with detailed instructions so you can start getting soft water immediately.

You can by-pass the softener by accessing a valve on top of the tank. This means you can access the unit even when it is regenerating. This unit is ideal for homes with up to 5 people.

Pros

• Great for iron removal and other hard minerals
• Easy to install
• Bypass valve
• Long lasting

Cons

• Heavier than comparable models

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Fleck 5600sxt Digital Metered water softener

This water softener uses both Fleck 5600sxt digital meter and Fleck bypass valve. At a maximum flow rate of 28 GPM, which is adequate to supply water to a family of 6 people. With a metered design your household can have all their water needs meet as it regenerates itself. You can use the digital screen to adjust your water flow like maximizing salt usage.

The Fleck 5600sxt can comfortably remove 48,000 worth of grains in hard water. This translates to an average of 6.8 pounds of dissolved magnesium and calcium. If you are doing maintenance you can easily turn off the water going into the softener. This means you can continue consuming water while it regenerates.

The best part about the softener is that it continues running for up to 48 hours after the electricity supply is disconnected. The unit comes with a 1.5 cuft high capacity resin – which is way better that other resins in the market. Through a metered regeneration process you can be economical on your salt usage and your house won’t lack clean water.

Pros

• Refilled resin
• Easy to install
• Highly rated Fleck 5600sxt digital control unit
• Excellent customer care team

Cons

• It is not easy installing the resin

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Buying Guide

Factors to consider when purchasing water softener for High Iron

Importance of water softener

There those areas in the country where the only available source of water are hard water. Hard water will contain significant amount of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron. If water is slightly hard you will notice discolorations on your sinks, toilet bowls, calcium deposits on your faucets, and problems washing your clothes. If you have excessive amounts of iron in your hard water then it dry out your skin, yellow and may even cause respiratory problems. If the water is not cleaned then it will cause serious health problems for the household.

If you have high iron content or you want to handle specific minerals like manganese or sulfur then what you need is to make some modifications to your resin filter to tackle these compounds. KDF-85 is effective for this. Also, you may find your water smelling like rotten eggs. This is due to sulfur which some softeners are capable of removing.

Flow rate

When purchasing a water softener it is imperative that you consider the flow rate. The rate defines the gallons of water per minute that are supplied to the household by the water softener. To get the overall rate you will need to monitor your household consumption. The best water softeners come with automatic regeneration capability. A control valve monitors your daily usage and then signals the softener to regenerate at the appropriate time. For a 1 or 2 person household you may need something like 4 gallons per minute.

Filtering technologies

When it comes to filtering technologies, you have two main types – the conventional ones that are common in the market and the salt free ones. In the conventional one you have the resin filter that contains small beads that filter out minerals as they pass through the filter. This are then cleaned out with salt water when your water softener reaches its filtering capacity.

The salt free filters will either use coating, electronic, filtering, or magnetic. Through any of the above methods the harmful minerals in the hard water will be crystallized hence preventing them from clogging your water system pipes.

Capacity

One of your main focus in a water softener is resin capacity. You will need to know your average water intake for the household. Most of the water softeners will start from a capacity of 16,000 to a high of 96,000. Be selective in the size of the brine tank and whether your softener is comes with a dual tank. The more resin you have the more salt that will be required.

Bypass valve

With the bypass valve your water is able to bypass your water softener. It is not all cases that you need to use soft water, there those instances when you need normal untreated water to fill your pool, water your garden or wash your front porch. One of the best control valves is the Fleck 5600sxt. A bypass valve will often have two arrows that indicate the flow of water – each going in the opposite direction. You then adjust it to show direction you want the water to go.

Regeneration settings

Here you have two options – timed or metered one. With metered regeneration your water softener gets the average amount of water you need to run the household then automatically regenerates the moment you have passed a certain water usage threshold. You key in this number on the softener screen. With timed water softeners the regeneration takes place within a certain time like few days or week. The downside with the timed regeneration is that when you are not around it will still regenerate meaning you are using salt for soft water but there no people to use it. The metered regeneration system is more economical than the timed one.

Conclusion

The presence of calcium, magnesium and iron makes water hard. Such kind of water clogs your system while the iron leads to yellowing of your sink basins and can cause serious cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Not all water softeners are designed to handle high iron content in water. To handle this they will come with an additional resin filter for iron filtration. Depending on your household water needs you can choose an ideal water softener that has high grain capacity. The flow rate should also be high to meet all your needs.