Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Is this filter/water softener setup correct?

A colleague of mine at work has well water with alot of sediment and a definite sulfur smell that is strong. She was also told that the water has iron and manganese.
When her house was built, the well people put a whole-house filter which uses a white pleated paper and then just beyond that a water softener.
The water always smells like sulfur (just maybe a little less when a new filter is installed), and within a month, the filter is totally pinkish-orange.
We tried replacing the pleated paper with a carbon filter, and it clogged within a week. So we put a pleated paper one back in.
Is this the best setup for her problem, or should it be set up differently? The sulfur smell is the worst.
Thanks.
Dave

The pleated paper filter is only for the sediment; it does nothing else. Personally, I prefer a wound filter because the pleated paper filters can break or 'punch through' and then they pass debris on to the softener. I ended up using a 30 micron wound filter in this application; the cartridge is a direct replacement for the paper element.

The softener won't do anything for the sulfur smell as well.

I suggest your friend get a detailed water analysis from a private lab and then contact a water treatment expert. There are some very good ones on the web (google 'clack softener' and you'll find quite a few) that can help at very reasonable prices.

The reason your carbon filter didn't work was two reasons. The pleated filter has a very large surface area so it takes longer to clog and filters more efficiently providing better flow rate. Also, the carbon was probably a solid-block style rather than a flow-through type.

These are designed for removing odor and not intended as a sediment filter. They are most often placed near or at the end of the water treatment sequence, typically under the sink for drinking water or in a fridge.

Sulfur needs to be approached with a more elaborate arrangement in order to be both effective and longer lasting. There are a number of reliable approaches to handle sulfur at varying degrees of intensity.

Let us know if you want further advice on how the handle sulfur.

Andy Christensen, CWS

AndyC:

I posted an involved question on 3/9 and was interested in an extruded carbon block filter to handle tannins.

I cannot find a mfr or vendor of carbon block filters. Can you help, please?

Thanks

To remove tannins, you would need an anion resin tank. Some application allow for anion resins and cation resins found in softeners to be mixed and regenerated with salt or potassium.

I have never attempted to remove tannins with any carbon application except to correct odor and very minor color issues.

What type of system are you currently using?

Andy Christensen, CWS