# Whole house water filter and softener



## TazinCR (Jun 23, 2008)

I would go with the mfg. recommendations. You do realize the there is only about 15% recovery of a water softener.


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## llp&h (Oct 7, 2008)

your husband wins this one. let the softener take care of hardness and filter out most sediment, whole house filter for final clean-up after softener. Your filter cartridges will last longer, and softener will not be adversely affected. Softener will clean itself with each backwash cycle.


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## Andy CWS (Apr 27, 2007)

First of all what kind of water are you treating, well, city, cistern? What kind of filter is included, sediement or carbon? What type of softener did you get, big-box brand?

Almost always put the filter between the water source (but after a pressure tank) and the softener. The softener is not intended to be a filter and makes a rather poor filter. Depending on the quality of your source water, the filter may last a long time or relatively frequent changes.

Avoid putting a carbon filter ahead of a softener on well water. 

Andy Christensen, CWS-II


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## Gary Slusser (Sep 16, 2008)

gonepostal57 said:


> We just purchased a new water softener and a whole house water filter. The box pictures the Whole house filter first and then the water softener. My husband thinks it's a better idea to put the whole house filter after the softener. What is the correct way and why?


The only brand/type of softener that needs a prefilter is the Kinetico. Andy sells them.... Their water powered non-electric control valve gags on any build up of invisible or visible 'dirt'. And their Upflow Service, downflow brined softeners (Mach Series IIRC) require a prefilter because dirt can not be backwashed out of that type softener. Andy do you know if that's correct? 

The same applies to Upflow Service acid neutralizing and carbon filters; they do not backwash so they require a prefilter, and I advise against them.

Big box store brands, Kenmore, Whirlpool, GE and North Star may also because of their rotary disk design.

If you prefilter a softener with disposable cartridge filters, you can cause improper backwashing of the resin bed and that kills resin. Resin should not be used as a mechanical filter for visibly dirty water but, it works rather well and resin will filter invisible dirt out of the water and it will be backwashed out of the softener to drain during each regeneration.


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## Andy CWS (Apr 27, 2007)

Gary Slusser said:


> The only brand/type of softener that needs a prefilter is the Kinetico. Andy sells them.... Their water powered non-electric control valve gags on any build up of invisible or visible 'dirt'. And their Upflow Service, downflow brined softeners (Mach Series IIRC) require a prefilter because dirt can not be backwashed out of that type softener. Andy do you know if that's correct?




No Gary, that is not correct. Perhaps you don't have any experience with the equipment you are critiquing. Nothing in this thread was mentioned about any perticular brand so I don't know why you feel the need to bring it up. 

"Invisible dirt" clogging the valve. I have no idea where you get that information. Softener resins can filter water down to about 20 -40 microns and nothing that size clogs any valve I have every worked with. Perhaps you got your information mixed up. Invisible dirt!?

I was responding to the OP's question and dilemma. So was everyone else, it seems.

I would rather stick to the topic of the OP than crusade against something not even mentioned. You really seem to take every opportunity to criticize products you don't sell. And if the opportunity isn't there, then you create one. Give it a rest Gary. 

Andy Christensen, CWS-II


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## Gary Slusser (Sep 16, 2008)

I'll bet their water is clear, and yet you said: Almost always put the filter between the water source (but after a pressure tank) and the softener. The softener is not intended to be a filter and makes a rather poor filter.

Now you say a softener will remove particles down to 20 microns. I agree and still say those particles are invisible until they build up, like in a toilet tank etc.. That's my opinion and it's based on my experience servicing softeners for 20+ years.

Any invisible dirt filtered by most softeners will be backwashed out of the resin bed.

Millions of softeners do not have prefilters and last 20+ years. Kinetico requires a prefilter for most all their softeners. I wonder why that is when they use the same resins the rest do.


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## ada_8493 (Oct 22, 2021)

gonepostal57 said:


> We just purchased a new water softener and a whole house water filter. The box pictures the Whole house filter first and then the water softener. My husband thinks it's a better idea to put the whole house filter after the softener. What is the correct way and why?


You should check out Kinetico for the best water softener tips!


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

@ada_8493 it's a 13 year old thread. And you're advertising, which is frowned upon on the forum.


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