Water Softener
 

Has anyone had a whole house water softener system installed? Has anyone dealt w/Culligan or EcoWater?

Ann

I have a Culligan and am satisfied. The price is higher than what you can buy one at Lowes or HD. They are just as good, however, I had experience Culligan in the past and thats why i purchased.

Have had EcoWater for almost a year now and have not had any issues with it. Works very well and requires minimal attention.

Why a water softener?

Are you having scaling issues or soap scum buildup? Do you know the degree of hardness in the water?

I can understand the need for a softener if a well is the primary source; otherwise I would be concerned about the amount of sodium I would ingest to soften water that may not need it.

And how much sodium would that be?

A paper by Kansas State University gives an example: "A person who drinks two litres (2L) of softened, extremely hard water (assume 30 gpg) will consume about 480 mg more sodium (2L x 30 gpg x 8 mg/L/gpg = 480 mg), than if unsoftened water is consumed." This is a significant amount, as they state: "The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that the 3 percent of the population who must follow a severe, salt-restricted diet should not consume more than 400 mg of sodium a day. AHA suggests that no more than 10 percent of this sodium intake should come from water. The EPA’s draft guideline of 20 mg/L for water protects people who are most susceptible."[

Michael H. Bradshaw, G. Morgan Powell. "Sodium in Drinking Water". Kansas State University. http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/H20QL2/MF1094.PDF. 2007-04-03.

We had extremely hard water when we lived in Calif. so along with the softener we had to install filters on the line to the ice maker and a little drinking water faucet at the sink. We used a reverse osmosis unit under the sink with a line running to the Ref Ice maker water in door thing. This may have been overkill a cardon filter probably would have worked just as well.

Anyone have any recent recommendations for water softeners and installation?

We recently put in a hydrid Sears water softener....it is a water softener AND a water filter. Water went from tasting like caca to being great straight out of the faucet. It goes on sale for $699 every once in a while...regular price is $799. We had a handyman install it and have had ZERO problems with it. Very pleased. There is NO maintenance on the water filter. It has a permanent filter. Highly recommend

need more info
 

Can you give me the name and phone number of the handyman that installed it?

If you use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride (salt),
then it's not a problem to the environment. A bit more costly but it's not that terribly much.

My installer/plumber says all the water softeners are about the same,
just be sure to size the capacity properly for the most efficient.

I had the same device installed about 2 months ago and recommend it. The extra carbon filter reduces the chlorine taste quite a bit.

Sears has an installer and they charge about $300. While I consider this a bit high, they have a slick way to plumb the output water into the ground.

Also, we use potassium chloride to eliminate the additional sodium and it seems to work just fine.

Cheers

Is this an item that would be less expensive to have installed while building or is it make no difference whether you do it during or after building?

I'm here 5 weeks now...almost everything is easier to have installed after construction, and less expensive. Seems that TV and the builders don't want to do anything "extra" to slow down construction. Ask your sales rep and they'll all tell you that the water here is fine. BTW - we had all-house filtration installed...

No difference