What’s in the water

Hardness is not iron. Iron is not sulfur. Read the one you actually have.

Chlorine and chloramine

Utility disinfectants. Taste and odor are NSF/ANSI 42 territory. Chloramine needs a chloramine-specific listing and usually catalytic carbon.

Hardness

Dissolved calcium and magnesium. Causes scale, soap scum, and spotting. Not an EPA health MCL.

Iron

Stains fixtures and laundry orange or red; may be dissolved (ferrous) or already rust particles (ferric). EPA secondary standard 0.3 mg/L.

Low pH

Acidic water. EPA secondary range is 6.5–8.5. Below that, corrosion and metallic taste are the published effects. Sequence the neutralizer first.

PFAS

A class of industrial chemicals. Home treatment claims on this site are limited to product-specific NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 PFAS reduction listings.

Sulfur (hydrogen sulfide)

Rotten-egg odor on many wells. EPA’s secondary odor standard is 3 TON; the gas is not treated by a softener.