Here’s my final irony: I bought a 32,000-grain unit for my family of three. It’s overkill—my calculations said a 24,000 would work. But my neighbor’s unit died at year five, and I realized the extra capacity meant I could skip regeneration on vacation, or handle a burst pipe without panicking. It’s like buying a bigger suitcase than you need. You never regret having a little extra room.
So measure your water hardness (buy a $10 test kit—don’t trust the city report), count your actual gallons, and add that iron factor. Then add 20% for your sanity. You’ll end up with a size that feels right, not one a chart told you to buy. And next time you’re in the plumbing aisle, you’ll walk past the tiny rockets with the smug confidence of someone who did the homework.
Now go take a shower without feeling like you’re rubbing sandpaper on your skin. You deserve that.
