Was the water always discolored?

It sounds like you have tannins in your water. Tannins are a coloration of water due to organically decomposed material usually from vegatation. Tea and red wine contain tannins. It is common in shallow wells, surface water and other areas where vegatation can enter the source water.

If that is the case then you need an anion exchange media to remove it. In some cases the anion media and can be added to the cation media in your softener. Both regenerate with salt. you may have to get a larger tank to accommodate the addition resin.

The water professional who came to your house should have pointed this out to you.

Andy

Thanks Andy. Vegetation is not a likely cause. The water is from a town well system, and is treated by the town (but not for hardness) before it is distributed. It was crystal clear before the recent installation of a water softener.

It seems to be clearing up on its own though. I no longer notice any difference compared to before the installation. It must have been either something on the new resin, something coating the interior of the newly installed pipes, etc. that did not flush out immediately. I guess the lines just were not flushed for long enough after the work was completed.