Yellow water, musty taste, dingy laundry? You may have tannins, and a standard softener won’t remove them. We install an anion exchange tannin filter on the same Clack WS1 valve as our softeners, and add a refillable calcite tank only when the treated water’s pH drops below 7.2.
In short
Tannins are natural organic acids from decaying leaves and peat that carry a negative charge, which is exactly why a softener, built to grab positive ions, does nothing for them. An anion resin holds the opposite charge, so it captures tannins and releases a harmless chloride ion in trade. The same salt regenerates it.
Clears tea-colored water without trading it for a plumbing problem
Tea-colored tubs, dingy white laundry and a musty taste stop at the source. Color that used to worsen after every heavy rain stays gone.
Softener resin is a cation exchanger built for positive ions like calcium. Tannins carry a negative charge and pass straight through. Anion resin is the right tool.
Low-pH water attacks copper pipe and brass fittings. If your treated water falls below 7.2, a calcite tank brings it back into range, so you trade one problem for zero, not for another.
We test tannin level, alkalinity, pH and hardness, then size the resin bed and neutralizer to your well and your household, not a one-size-fits-all box.
| Series | Charger Matrix |
| Control valve | Clack WS1, metered |
| Resin | Strong-base anion, chloride form |
| Capacity | 24,000 – 64,000 grains, sized to your home |
| Service flow | 15 gpm |
| Brine tank | 15×17×48 in., holds 240 lbs of salt |
| Salt per regen | 12 lbs |
| pH correction | Refillable 10×54 calcite tank, added if treated pH < 7.2 |
| Plumbing | 3/4" or 1" connection |
| Warranty | 5 years valve • 10 years tank |
Installed in Portage, Kalamazoo, Vicksburg, Schoolcraft, Mattawan, Paw Paw and across Southwest Michigan.
Softener resin captures positively charged ions like calcium and magnesium. Tannins carry a negative charge, so they pass straight through. The tannin filter uses the opposite kind of resin, built for exactly that.
The anion resin can strip alkalinity along with the tannins, which lowers pH. We test the treated water, and if it falls below 7.2 we add a refillable 10×54 calcite tank that brings it back up. If it doesn’t, you don’t pay for one.
Yes. Same salt, different resin, opposite job. If we deliver salt for your softener, the tannin filter is covered on the same trip.
Rain and snowmelt move more organic material through the soil and into shallow groundwater, so tannin levels rise with the water table. A filter sized for the wet season handles the dry one easily.
5 years on the Clack WS1 valve and 10 years on the tank, the same as our softeners.
We test hardness, iron, pH and TDS at your house and tell you what, if anything, your water needs.
Schedule a free water testOr call (269) 262-1399
