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Water softener and well water calculators

Size a water softener, price it, work out your salt and convert hardness units, all with the math shown. Every number comes from manufacturer spec sheets, extension services and industry standards, and each page lists its sources.

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Well water

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Private well? Size the pressure tank so your pump runs long enough each cycle.

Popular answers

48,000 grains

A family of 4 with 15 gpg water needs a 48,000-grain softener at a 9 lb salt setting.

Size yours

17.1

1 grain per gallon equals 17.1 ppm (mg/L) of hardness.

Convert yours

About 590 lb

Salt a family of 4 with 15 gpg water uses in a year on a metered softener.

Work out yours

Why trust these calculators

Sources on every page

Each calculator lists the spec sheets, standards and extension guides its numbers come from, with the date we checked them.

The math is shown

Open "Show the math" under any result to see the formula with your own numbers.

Tested before publishing

Every formula has automated tests built from the worked examples, tables and FAQ numbers on its page.

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