salt problems

[ek15432]

I live in Wisconsin and have hard water which is softened using a ion exchange (salt). I have added a humidifier to our house which sprays a very fine mist of water into the heating system. This humidifier has a very fine nozzle which is prone to being clogged by mineral deposits. The system is also known for having minerals settle out of the air and collect as a fine dust. I'm interested in preventing these problems with a water filter. But which one?

[waterfilters]

Mineral deposits are hard particles that are best reduced by
softening. It appears that some hardness is getting by your softener,
which is completely normal.

A water softening cartridge can take care of this problem. Here is a
filter cartridge that will reduce hardness.
http://www.waterfilters.net/Pentek/wholehouse/Specialty_Filters/WS-20BB-Water-Filter.htm

You will also need the housing, bracket, and wrench from this page.
http://www.waterfilters.net/culligan/wholehouse/housings/20_BigBlue.htm

If you want a smaller filter to just soften the water to the mister,
then you can use this 10 inch standard size version of the above
filter: http://www.waterfilters.net/Pentek/wholehouse/Specialty_Filters/WS-10-Water-Filter.htm.
Here is the housing for this filter:
http://www.waterfilters.net/culligan/wholehouse/housings/HF360.htm

If you'd like, you could also add a prefilter to reduce the sediment.
This will make the softening filter last longer and make sure that
some of the buildup is not sediment.

Thank you,
WaterFilters.NET

[ek15432]

Can you recommend a prefilter? Do any of these filters have a means of telling me when the filter needs to be changed?

[waterfilters]

For a prefilter, you might just use a small housing
(http://www.waterfilters.net/culligan/wholehouse/housings/HF360.htm)
and a basic 5 micron sediment filter
(http://www.waterfilters.net/culligan/wholehouse/replacement_filters/P5.htm).

When the pressure drops, you will know that you need to change the
sediment filter. When there is hardness in the water again, you will
know you need to change the water softening cartridge.

It always takes a practice run before you know exactly when to change
the filters, because all water and usage varies. The clear housings
will help you at least see how the filters are looking.

Thank you,
WaterFilters.NET