What Is The Best Water Softener To Buy !!INSTALL!!
As you can see in the water softener buying guide below, budget, functionality and features vary considerably across the spectrum of water softeners. Besides softening capacity, options such as energy efficiency, iron removal, salt usage and even contaminant filtration capabilities found in whole home hybrid water treatment units come into play when deciding which system is right for you. At a glance, It may seem like a lot of technical info, but if you get to know some basic water softening terminology, narrowing down your water softener choices becomes much easier.
what is the best water softener to buy
There is a wide range of water softeners to peruse and you are more than guaranteed to find the best solution for your household. All you need is some fundamental knowledge on how to choose a water softener to narrow down your search. If you have answered the questions above, you are more than ready to find your perfect water softening solution.
In our opinion, the SpringWell SS Salt-Based Water Softener System is one of the most dependable and capable ion exchange water softeners currently on the market. We love this salt-based system because it uses a durable, chlorine-resistant 10% crosslink resin and completely removes unwanted minerals (namely calcium) from both well and city water.
The folks at SpringWell offer a series of softeners in the SS range: the 32k grain SS1 (ideal for homes with 1-3 bathrooms), the 48K grain SS4 (for 4-6 bathrooms), and the 80K grain SS+ (for 7 or more bathrooms).
Families of any size looking for the best-value salt-based residential water softener, and anyone who prefers to spend their money on a trusted brand. We think the SpringWell SS softeners are the best for everyone because they offer more features than any other softening system at the most affordable price.
The SoftPro Elite is our second choice for the best overall water softener systems that use salt. This system blew us away with its efficiency-boosting features, including upflow tank design, limited backwashing, and demand initiated regeneration.
The SpringWell FutureSoft is our top choice for the best overall salt-free softener system. This is because the system uses the highly effective TAC scale-control process and comes with all the perks of a SpringWell product, including a lifetime warranty and top-class support.
What else can you expect? Quality scale reduction (up to 99.6%) even for extremely hard water, flow rates of up to 20 GPM, and an entirely salt- and chemical-free performance. This system is head-and-shoulders above the other water conditioners on the market.
Anyone looking for an affordable water conditioner that provides almost the same performance as salt based water softeners. Thanks to its impressive scale-reducing performance, we think the FutureSoft is the best alternative to an ion-exchange water softening system that money can buy.
If your water is very hard and you want to remove all mineral ions from your water, opt for the most capable system: a salt-based softener. If you want to avoid limescale but you enjoy the taste of mineral-rich water, look at salt-free conditioners or descalers.
Water containing iron or other heavy metals needs a softening system with a slightly higher minimum grain capacity, so you need to add 5 GPG for every PPM of hardness when hunting for an iron removal water softener.
Limescale deposits in hard water damage your plumbing. The damage goes far beyond the kitchen and bathroom features we can see. Water passing through the pipes is dragged back by the limescale, reducing water flow.
When you wash with hard water, hardness residue deposits a film that clogs pores and sticks to hair, aggravating conditions like eczema, dandruff, and acne. Hard water can also strip the moisture from the surface of the skin and hair, leading to dry skin and irritation.
Salt based water softeners (also called ion exchange softeners) contain resin beads, which have a negative charge. The calcium and magnesium minerals in hard water have a positive charge, and because opposites attract, they move towards and pass through the resin beads, where ion exchange takes place.
Genesis softeners are salt-using units that are sold by Discount Water Softeners. While Genesis systems are manufactured in the US and offer a decent performance, their high price tag deterred us from featuring them in this guide.
Yes, you can use potassium chloride pellets in place of salt in a water softening system. Salt is more efficient at removing magnesium and calcium from water, so you should move your hardness setting up by 20% when using potassium chloride.
COPYRIGHT 2022 WaterFilterGuru.com All Rights Reserved. waterfilterguru.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or amazon.ca. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Technically, any water that contains more than 1 GPG of dissolved hardness minerals is considered hard, but, realistically, water with up to 3.5 GPG is relatively soft. Water with more than 10.5 GPG is very hard. Between these extremes is typical, moderately hard water. You can buy a water test kit on Amazon.
Worse yet, scale cakes onto interior surfaces of water heaters, making them more likely to fail. According to a study commissioned by the Water Quality Research Council at New Mexico State University, water heaters operate 22 percent to 30 percent less efficiently when plagued with hard-water scale.
This type of water softener cycles household water through two tanks: one with special resin beads and the other filled with brine. It works on the principle of ion exchange, softening hard water by substituting sodium (salt) for hard minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. For a complete explanation of how a conventional water softener works, please see How a Water Softener Works.
The general consensus is that this type of water treatment is better than no water softener at all, but not as effective as conventional water softening. For more, please see the article Salt-Free Water Softeners.
When a water softener is recharging, it is designed to disconnect from the water system, so it is basically out of commission. For this reason, the regeneration cycle is usually set to occur at night. If softened water is needed during the regeneration cycle, this can be problematic.
If the down time of the water softener is an issue, or if a family is large or lives where water is particularly hard, it may be smart to consider a dual-tank water-softening unit with two resin tanks. With a dual-tank unit, when one tank is in use, the other is regenerating. As a result, softened water is being supplied continuously, without any break in service. And because these units operate on demand, they can be sized smaller than single-tank units.
When shopping for a dual-tank water softener, keep in mind the space it will require. Install it where it can serve the main inbound water line so it can supply the entire house. It will also require a drain for backwashing. If you choose a model that requires electrical power, be sure a circuit is located nearby. For more about placing your water softener, see How to Install a Water Softener.
Also look for features such as NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certification and a solid warranty on the control valve and mineral tank such as three years for the valve and 10 years for the mineral tank. A good water softener should last at least 20 years.
Water softeners are sold in several sizes, each rated by the number of grains of hardness they can remove from water between regenerations. The idea is to get a unit that will go at least three days between recharges. Ideally, the water softener can also handle periods of larger-than-normal water usage.
Before leasing or buying a water softener, become acquainted with its features and controls. For example, check out what controls the regeneration cycles, how long each cycle takes, and the amount of water and salt needed for recharging. Be aware that even fully automatic types require occasional refilling with salt. Several different methods are used to control the cycles, but the two main types are:
Water softener timer controls. Clocks or electronic timers automatically recharge the unit at a preset time and day, based on your average usage. This type may fall short if you have unusually large water usage on a particular day. They also waste sodium and water because they regenerate whether or not recharging is necessary. They usually do this in the early morning hours.
Softener DIR controls. A more sophisticated method, called demand-initiated regeneration (DIR), senses when the resin needs recharging, either electronically or with a meter that measures and calculates usage. A demand-initiated regeneration system saves on salt and regeneration water because it does not recharge unless necessary. In addition, it provides for abnormally large water usage.
Get at least two quotes from different water softener companies. And be sure the quotes are based on exactly the same type of considerations: regeneration cycle, type of controls, level of service, and, of course, warranty on both the control valve and the resin tank.
Some softener firms provide a service where they regularly exchange exhausted with charged units. This type of service is a good bet if you live in an area where waste water from sewers is recycled for municipal watering because sodium may be considered a pollutant.
Across the Indianapolis area, many homeowners deal with hard water. What this means is that the water supplied to their home is fairly dense with mineral content, including calcium and magnesium. There are a number of consequences to hard water, including potential damage to your appliances, your plumbing fixtures, even your hair and skin. Fortunately, there is a simple way to turn that hard water into soft water: Invest in a good water softener. 041b061a72