Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Help! Softener vs. storage tank. Mass confusion!

Hope someone can help. We have a hwbb system, where water is heated off the furnace. Every year we have to have the lines leached due to the high iron content in water;coming to point where we can't keep doing that w/out ruining lines.
One (reputable) plumbing co. gave us an $1800 estimate for a softener. DH isn't crazy about having to keep buying and adding salt, and is worried about it affecting drinking water.
Another (reputable) person who is a licensed boiler man and who services our system every year gave us a $1500 estimate to add another zone and a "megastore" tank. This idea would mean that once a year we'd have to drain it down and brush the stainless steel coil. Advantage is less maintenance and no salt.
Hope someone will help. We are "babes in the woods" and know absolutely nothing about this business but we have to make a decision very, very soon.

If the water is hard then a good softener is the most cost effective way to remove the hardness, but there is a limit to how much iron a water softener can remove. If you truly have high iron content then you'll need a softener and additional hardware to remove the iron.

No storage tank will remove hardness or iron.

First thing is to have your water tested. Then you'll know what's in it and what you want to remove or treat. Get your water tested and post the results.

Thank you, thank you, Lurker! The water is an 11 on hardness and the PH is an 8. Gawd, it feels like I'm being yanked every which way but loose re. this decision, so I appreciate your input.

Cathy,

OK, hardness is 11 grains per gallon and ph is 8 but where's the high iron content? :)

Are you on city water or a well? how many people in the house? How many bathrooms? Do you drink coffee or tea (just kidding).

Just found some earlier paperwork. The iron total is -0.05 mg./L
and hardness is 1250 (mg/L). There are 2 of us in the house, on our own well, one bathroom. Oh! And as a result of all this info-overload, we no longer drink tea or coffee...we've turned to booze. LOTS of it. (JK)

Cathy,

How "earlier" is that water info? Best to get get your water tested now.

Did your (reputable) plumbing company test your water and then make a treatment recommendation?

Hi Lurker-the older water test was a couple years ago. The plumbing company said it needed a more recent one, so it was done 2 weeks ago and was virtually the same. They based their recommendation on the latest test.

Hi Lurker-the older water test was a couple years ago. The plumbing company said it needed a more recent one, so it was done 2 weeks ago and was virtually the same. They based their recommendation on the latest test.

Cathy,

So, the local (reputable) plumbing company performed a recent water test?

That's good, now ... what did they recommend to treat the hardness, iron, AND high ph? Just a softener or addititonal equipment?