Well, "salt-free whole house water softener" is a misnomer. There isn't any such thing. There is though a salt free whole house water
conditioner . Water softeners & water conditioners perform 2 different functions. The water softener actually removes "hardness" minerals (calcium & magnesium) thus giving soft water. Soft water will allow you to use less soap and detergent and provide the benefit of not having scale buildup in your appliances, faucets, and fixtures (sinks, toilets). The "conditioner" will help somewhat in helping to prevent the scale buildup but will not give the additional advantages of truly soft water. BTW, water in Sumter county does have some iron which can damage the conditioner media making it totally ineffective. Iron can also damage the ion bed used in softeners. Prefilters are recommended before either system to remove particulates (sand/sediment), metals & especially chlorine. Chlorine can damage both systems too.
Anyone selling a
salt-free water softener is misleading you. I'd suggest reading up on both before making a decision. And I have heard that one salt-free "conditioner" company will potentially charge you a different price than your neighbor. If you immediately decide, they get you at their highly inflated price, if you act like you're not totally sure, they come down in price to make the sale. These people are salesmen and don't necessarily know the chemistry behind what they are selling too. And don't be swayed by any dog & pony show.
Water in Sumter county has a hardness value of 163mg/l per the latest (2022) water report. 121 - 180 mg/l is considered hard. If you want a complete water report, send an email to:
utilities@districtgov.org
I am not associated with Nova Systems but have installed their filter & softener system in 2 houses here. I highly recommend their system. And while they recommend potassium chloride (salt), you can also use sodium chloride (salt). The latter is cheaper but sodium chloride will kill plants around where the ion bed flushes. Potassium will not kill plants and will aid in their growth as potassium is a component of fertilizer (N-P-K which is nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium - K is the elemental symbol for potassium coming from Kalium which is an old latin word for potash). I know, more information than you probably want.
