Can I use a water softener to remove iron?

Water softeners will remove some dissolved clear water iron by a process known as ion-exchange. However, iron, manganese and/or hydrogen sulfide gas will eventually foul and ruin the ion-exchange resin. If your water contains less than 2.0 ppm of dissolved iron and manganese combined, have a pH under 7.0, and no sulfur odor, then you may be able to use a good quality water softener with a special type of resin cleaner in the brine tank. The resin cleaner will help clean the resin when the softener is being regenerated with the salt water. However we don’t often recommend this approach and strongly advise against it in most cases where the iron content is higher.