As the aquifer drops, is the water "harder"?... (softener, cost)

[pobre]

In the last few months, we have noticed that our water is no longer soft...our current softener is about 3 years old. It's cycling correctly, and using salt. Someone mentioned to us that, as the level of water drops, more and more sediment/particulate is present in the water.

Can anyone of you water softener wizards tell me if this is plausible? Or is the darn thing not really working again? I have it set currently to about 26 grains.

[Rustybolt]

Hmmm, likely not. After three years your resin should still be good too. It could be that SAWS is switching water sources on you...maybe mixing surface and ground water differently on your part of the system. I would recheck the feed water using an accurate test. The strips you get at the hardware store really aren't accurate enough. If you toto the Hach chemical and lab supply web site you can order a very accurate kit that doesn't cost too much.

[TexasRedneck]

I test SA water routinely, and can tell you that it hasn't gotten any worse, at least not as of this past week. Average SA hardness is 18 gpg. Depending on the softener, yes - you COULD have resin going bad already. The stuff that comes in the units from the big box stores - not sure who makes it, but I've already replaced it in a number of 'em that are under 3 years old, even. First couple of times I doubted myself, but when I tore it down, it was obvious the stuff was shot.