Should I consider water treatment of some sort?

[rural_engineer]

I'm moving to a new house that's on municipal water that comes from multiple wells and a pond. I talked with the city water guy, and he says that they typically run 3.5-7gpg hardness, but it varies with what they're pumping. He says they treat the water with greensand to reduce iron and manganese. The water is chlorinated, fluoridated, and treated for corrosion control. They keep the ph around 6.8. Treated iron averages around 0.5ppm and treated manganese around 20ppb. Chlorine can go as high as 1.5ppm, but is usually lower The water guy says typically they don't see much scale or staining, and corrosion complaints are not common.

That said, there is a lot of corrosion in my house, all over. It could come down to bad installation and old pipes. But I'm wondering if I would at all benefit from any sort of water treatment in my house. (I'm also migrating to PEX.) What factors should I consider in this decision?

 

[Reach4]

Expect iron and manganese to be gone by the time it gets to your house.

I would leave space for a softener and/or backwashing GAC tank, but don't put one in unless you later feel a need.

Most people with that hardness don't use a softener, but some do.

 

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[rural_engineer]

I just tested the water coming out of my faucet

pH: 7.2
Free Chlorine: 1.25ppm
Chloramines: Trace
Calcium Hardness: 3gpg

It seems like a carbon filter is all that I might want. Would it make sense to put it before the water heater only, so that it protects the PEX where it gets warm, but the cold water stays chlorinated and keeps the pipes sanitized?

 

[Reach4]

When you say carbon filter, are you talking about a backwashing filter or a cartridge filter?

You may want to run carbon-filtered water to your kitchen cold for filling your drinking glasses.

Not all carbon is the same; for chlorine and general organic chemicals, coconut GAC (granular activated carbon) is good. If the water department often injects chloromine, then a catalytic carbon is called for. Not all of those are the same either, but generic catalytic carbon would probably be suitable. My carbon is special, and premium, and I don't think it is commonly used for city water. Centaur Carbon is what my H2S+iron filter uses. I am not a pro.

 

[rural_engineer]

When you say carbon filter, are you talking about a backwashing filter or a cartridge filter?

backwashing filter