Lemme tell you about our hard water.
We bought the top-of-the-line Kenmore water softener from Sears for $600 and it works like a charm.
There is a site called slickdeals.net and put in a “deal alert” - you will be pinged when someone finds a good sale and posts it.
I have noticed Sears prices seem better than others on WS, but haven’t checked it recently and that kind of stuff always changes.
I had a kenmore unit installed in1997 for $675.00 . I had the seals and gaskets replaced twice. Once sears did it, the second time I replaced. I also have iron in my water but the softner is able to remove it in the treated water. Our toilets are plumbed with non softened water. To handle the iron in that I buy 1 inch pool chlorine tablets and throw two or three in the toilet water tank every two weeks or so. The chorine tabs take care of the rust in the bowls. You can buy the tabs at local pool stores or at some Home Depots.
Our water is equally hard. Hard enough to walk on. We do not have a conditioner because money is tight, too. We scrub. Period.
However, most softeners from national chains store will get the job done with varying levels of efficiency. The backflush for the zeolite core will take more water the cheaper the unit. Sodium levels will be higher and you’ll probably dislike the slimy feel after your showers.
That said, you ought to be able to get the job done for under $1,000.00. Installation is pretty easy if you tap your supply to household plumbing. Separate your yard supply from the house and avoid unnecessary costs where they aren’t needed.
All the damage being done to the pipes, dishwasher, clothes washer and water heater requires a quality piece of equipment. Not to mention the cost if a loose piece of iron destroys just one load of clothes, how much money can be put into a washer in one washing?
Based on your descriptions you basically have a calcium and iron source with a little bit of water mixed in.
Smarten up and bight the bullet, it is always better to buy a quality product once than a piece of crap over and over again.
I’ve got hard/rusty well water.
Bought a Whirlpool softener from Lowe’s for about $500, installed it myself last December.
Whoever you buy it from should be able to test your water and tell you what hardness to set the softener for and what proportion of standard salt and anti-iron salt to use.
Mine seems to work fairly well; bathtub doesn’t turn red anymore.
I have a Waterboss 900 that was installed when we built our house. It is tidy, easy to fill and has no issues.
Oh and the water comes out softened.
Go to your local grocery store with a couple of 5 gallon bottles and get your drinking water at 25 cents a gallon.
As far as your shower, you can get a cheap filter on it to block the stuff out for 30 bucks I am sure.
Consider yourself lucky, your groundwater issue is primarily an aesthetic one.
Here, if you’re on a well and don’t install a whole house RO system, your copper pipes and fittings will spring pinholes after as few as five years and certainly by ten, with potential burst pipes behind walls, etc. if the moisture problem from the pinholes isn’t recognized and caught in time.
The groundwater here is acidic. If any of you have problems with aqua or bluish stains in sinks and toilets, that’s copper in your plumbing being eaten away and deposited on the porcelain due to evaporation.
If you procrastinate on the RO water system, you’ll be spending more down the road to replace your plumbing, and potentially a whole lot more if walls have to be cut into or mold remediation is necessary.
Lemme tell you about our hard water.
I suggest you contact several local water conditioning companies in your area. You will find one who is very familiar with the problem with iron in the water. I assume your water comes from your well. Locate the companies who service, not install, wells. They will already be aware of the water condition in your area.
There are lower cost methods to diminish the amount of iron but a complete filtering system is far better.