Question:
What is a reasonable cost for the installation of an iron and sulfer whole house water filter? I was just quoted $2,200 on our brand new house and can not understand why it would cost so much. Our well water pressure is good and no other contaminates were found. I see iron filters for a couple hundred dollars online ( see http://www.mediawaveonline.com/iron-water-filter.php ) which look like they would do the trick and I can not imagine it taking more than a couple hours to install. Any ideas?

Answer: When we lived in Oregon we had a well with a great deal of iron in the well. We had two cartridge filters in series mounted in the well house. These were about 24" long each. In the garage, by the water softener, we had a Culligan iron purifier taking the input from the filter cartridges. This unit looked like a water softener, except it had a separate tank into which we had to maintain a mixture of water and some type of chemical. I know the system cost several thousand dollars. It was installed by the previous owner. Getting rid of iron can be an expensive proposition. You would need to have your water tested for iron content before you can make a judgement on the type of filtration required. It may be simple. It may be expensive.

After a quick glance at that product, it shows that a replacement cartridge is $120/each or $380 for four. While your initial costs may be lower, your ongoing operational costs will start to add up. The operational costs for a water softener are pretty low. Also some water softeners have usage monitors and back flush automatically on a as-needed basis and becomes an "out of sight, out of mind" operation. With cartridges, you need to either change them on a set schedule or somehow monitor your water condition.