Water softener / filter suggestions?

[DaveyBoy]

New house with a well and I have hard water. I verified with a few test strips and it was at the max of the color range. I also believe I have an issue with very fine sediment. It's my understanding that in this case I need both a whole house filter and a softener. At this point I can't even wash a car at home because it spots very quickly.

Anyone have a good trouble-free system? I've been looking at the Maytag softener units at Lowe's for around $500. Is there an alternative to the potassium or salt based softeners? I'm not really looking forward to the slimey feeling that comes with a salt softener.

I had a Whole House softener from Sears (possibly made by Maytag though)
I had well water and it was high in Iron (harmless, but stains everything)
and Calcium/Magnesium (can build up scale and ruin appliances,faucets, etc)

We had a pretty low ratio of these minerals, so the system didn't work very hard.
I think it was set to 15 grains and it regenerated every 5 days or so. (all programmable)

You should get your water tested to see the levels of each mineral
(the Home Depot kits just test hardness level) and that will help you figure out which model to buy.

We used salt (don't plumb your drinking water through it if you're on a low salt diet)

The slimy feeling can be somewhat misleading as soft water
actually rinses soap, shampoo, etc, better than hard water.
You can use much less soap, shampoo, dishwasher soap, laundry soap.

My complete set up, bought from Sears and installed by a plumber,
cost around $700.00 and worked flawlessly for me for 7 years
(I sold that house, but I assume it is still fine)