Water softener?

[Rick Potter]

Never had a water softener, now the daughter is with us and requests one. Our city water is really hard, and the wife has wanted one forever, so now I am outvoted.

I read you should not drink soft water because of the salt/sodium content, and that you need a filter or ionizer also.

Anyone familiar with the different types of systems who can steer me to a tutorial or some other help? I don't want to go into this cold, and get the wrong one, on a salesmans recommendation.

Thanks,

Rick Potter

[Mike Henderson]

I have a water softener and have had one for years - maybe 25 years. The new ones don't use that much salt - I only have to add salt a couple of times a year. I got my softener from Sears and have been very satisfied with it.

Unless you or someone in the family have to be on a severely restricted sodium diet, the softener should not be a problem - you can safely drink the water and it'll taste better. In any case, you can't remove the sodium with a filter or an ionizer. The only way to avoid the sodium is to not use a softener.

But for normal individuals without any health problems, a water softener is no problem. Once you have it, you'll love it - the water tastes better, the clothes come out cleaner, you won't get scale buildup on the faucets, and you'll notice a difference when you shower.

Mike

[Joe Mioux]

water softeners are great.

no issue with drinking water.

During the softening process Zeolite beads have Sodium ions (positive charge) which attract the negatively charged Ca and Mg ions. Once the beads get loaded with Ca and Mg ions, you have to regenerate the beads and flush out the Ca and Mg ions and replace with new Sodium ions.

The sodium ions come from Sodium Chloride.

So, no you do not get Sodium Chloride (salt) mixing with you water, maybe very very small amounts of Sodium

Joe

[Jeff Wright]

It's my understanding (and I am no expert!) is that you can buy a softener that uses potassium instead of salt (sodium).

Also under the kitchen sink we have a filtration system that removes stuff and makes for some great drinking water. It provides water through a separate sink spigot that tastes as good as any bottled water I've had. Culligan charges $35 per month for the entire set up including the softener, but if you do the math, buying the equipment is a better investment.

[Curt Harms]

We bought a water boss from the blue borg some years ago, It has been trouble free. Soft water is superior I think for laundry and showers. Little or no soap scum and less detergent required for laundry, no rust stains etc. Re taste, sorry, I prefer unsoftened water. I guess it depends on well or surface water and type of bedrock but unsoftened to drink, thanks. When I installed the softener, I put a T before the softener input and ran lines to the outdoor hose bibbs(don't need soft water for the lawn) and one to the kitchen for drinking water. The rest of the house is softened.

HTH

Curt

[Lee Schierer]

If you get a softener, get on that senses either the water hardness for recharging or one that measures the gallons used before it recharges. Our old timer used to recharge every few days, which was okay with the kids home, but with just two of us we used far less water. The timer went belly up a year ago and we replaced it with a new control. We have used only 10% of the salt we were going through previously and the water softness is still the same.

[David G Baker]

I have a couple of the ultrasonic humidifiers that turn water into a mist. I have soft water and use the tap water to fill the humidifiers tanks. I have white residue on many things in the rooms where the humidifiers are used. I am assuming that the white powder is from the soft water. I have been trying to solve this problem.
Other than the humidifier I would recommend soft water, it is great on laundry, showers, etc. I do not care for it as a source of drinking water because some sulfur taste and smell is still in the water. Water directly from my well tastes great.

[Jim Becker]

David, you'll get the white stuff no matter what kind of water as it will always have some mineral content that is left when the water is gone...

[Rex Bloem]

I have a Kinetico softner and it has been very good for us. Our water tested at 19 grains of hardness. We can tell it if we run out of salt. As for taste we don't notice it. This unit regenerate on gallons used not on time. There is no electic to the unit so if the electric goes off you don't have to reset the timer. It also has 2 tanks so if it is time to regenerate it switchs tanks and goes about its business. I have had this sofener for abour 15 years. I did have to have the valve rebuilt about 2 years ago because I hadn't chaged the filter ofen enough. I just use the unit and don't sell them or am connected with a dealer.

[Mike Henderson]

One more thing. I see you're in southern California. One thing you should be careful of is where you dispose of the salty water that is used for the regeneration. Normally, the installation instructions say to connect the waste line from the softener to the regular drain (your sewer system). However, much waste water is recycled in southern CA and it's very difficult and expensive to remove disolved salt from the waste water.

Consider connecting the waste line from the softener to the storm drain, as long as that storm drain drains to the ocean - as most do in southern California.

And as a poster said earlier, make sure the softener regenerates based on water usage and not on time. The water usage method winds up using much less salt because it only regenerates when needed.

Mike

[Matt Meiser]

Our system is a compoennt system put together by a local dealer who knows the water in our area. The owner of the company came out, did some testing on our water, did some calculations, and designed a system to meet our needs. Part of the calculations were to determine how to set the timer. The system cost probably 3X what the one I probably would have bought at Lowes would have cost, but the mechanicals and salt storage tank should last indefinitely. The main tank can be replaced separately when it wears out.

We use the "red-out" salt which helps to remove most of the iron from our water.

Some other benefits of the local guy: They did 6-months same-as-cash financing. This wasn't through GE or one of the other finance companies. They just billed us 1/6th of the total every month for 6 months. The price included the installation and setup and a 1 year complete warranty on everything through them. The various parts have manufacturers warranties, and I'd be suprised if they charged us much to change out a part under that warranty. We can also get our salt through them. They'll deliver it at about $1/bag over the going rate around here which includes carrying it down to the basement, filling the salt tank, and taking out the trash. When I sprained my ankle two summers ago, we had them deliver about 6 months worth in one trip which was well worth the money.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I got one some years ago. It's a tall two stage unit. The lower part is the Zeolite Deionizer the upper is a tank for CalMag neutralizer. The salt is supposedly washed out after regenerating the ion charge on the Zeolite. However, I have observed a higher salt content in the water and a year of so after installing it my Dr put me on Bencair for blood pressure. I have no clue if there's a connection.

The neutralizer has however stopped the water from dissolving and eating holes in my copper pipes which it did like it was free.

[David G Baker]

David, you'll get the white stuff no matter what kind of water as it will always have some mineral content that is left when the water is gone...
Jim,
I have been looking at the snow drifts outside of my windows and thinking, "I bet melted snow could do the trick". I am going to give it a try.
The white stuff is on my computer monitors that are approximately 18 feet from the humidifier. Makes me wonder what I am breathing at night while I am sleeping.

[James Jaragosky]

you do know that new home builds that offer a water softener rough-in"s by-pass the supplies to the kitchen sink, toilets and garden hose spigots. also do not get one with a trimmer they are inefficient as stated in above posts. get one that back flushes only dependent on usage, not on time. good luck.
JIM j.

[Matt Meiser]

Our outside faucets and my shop don't go through the softener, but if our toilets didn't they would be iron-stained in days (like they were when we moved in.) The one time I've run out of salt I new quickly that I needed to refill.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

you do know that

Nope, didn't know a damn thing about 'em 'cept they were deionizers and had a neutralizer.

I have the outside water supply on a Tee before the filter. And I bought the poly piping to install a kitchen line last year. Waiting to to the remodel in the spring before I hook it up.

[Michael Gibbons]

My wife and I moved in to our new home in Dec 99'. I had to get a softener within six months because our clothes were getting red and stains were forming on the tubs, sinks and toilets. We also had a kitchen sink water filter installed which I use every day. The guys who drilled our well said we have the best water they have seen in our area. No salt, No sulpher but we do have iron like most do. We rent ours from a company called Culligan. If anything goes bad they get to fix it free. I have them deliver salt to me once a year and I put it in as I need it.

[Don Stutsman]

Our softener system uses potassium versus salt to backflush the resin tank. The system came from Culligan.

[Rick Potter]

I appreciate the first hand experiences you guys wrote about. I have researched the web, and talked to a contractor. Everyone agrees that you should get a salt based system, without a timer (recharges as needed).

I am closing in on it, hopefully we will decide soon.

Rick Potter