Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would like to know too! The water is so hard here in Livingston. All of our appliances have hard water stains. Our cat had elevated levels of calcium in her blood, which is usually indicative of cancer. We switched her from tap to bottled water, and her levels went back to normal. We don't drink the water either.
I used Sears for mine. They offer a 5 year all inclusive guarantee. It is expensive, but these water softenter units have a tendency to break after a few years, no matter who the manufacturer is. I got their best unit, which was about 7 or 8 hundred dollars, plus the 5 year guarantee for another three. THEN, if your house isn't set up for a water softener, their plumber has to set it up for another $700 bucks.
The local Culligan guy gives the worst service. We were advised by a few people not to go with him. Having this done was definitely not cheap, but Sears is still cheaper than the competitors, and it works great!
After calling around to far too many installers and plumbers, it's sad to say Culligan was by far the most reasonable around here. Went with them despite the warning above. Did the install today and they were great.
I'm contemplating adding a water softener as well but at this moment, I'm not sure of which one (hard vs soft) is better.
I always thought soft water was the way to go. However, a small amount of googling showed that:
1. epidemiological studies can't prove hard water form kidney stones
2. hard water is better than soft water for drinking (contain more calcium & magnesium and less sodium than softened water)
3. softened water also increases the probability of leaching heavy metals from pipes, etc
4. softened water has a very slimy feel to it!
What other advantages does soft water have over hard water (other than increasing the life of appliances and look of washed dishes)?
After calling around to far too many installers and plumbers, it's sad to say Culligan was by far the most reasonable around here. Went with them despite the warning above. Did the install today and they were great.
can you post what you found as far as pricing? i'm looking to do this as well.
The Sears and GE (including those sold by Home Depot) water softeners are all the same electronically and mechanically (just the tanks are different sizes). Instead of separate valves, they use a teflon-coated rotor and rubber and plastic seals to control regeneration. Works, but the rotor and seals need to be replaced every few years. I'd recommend something else.
If you already have one, the parts are here: Softenerparts.com
You normally want the seal kit and the rotor,
Whichever one you get, you want a three-valve bypass with three metal gate valves, NOT the plastic one-piece bypass some softeners (including the Sears/GE) come with. Why? Because with the plastic bypass you're one #55 O-ring away from a flood. And if the installer pinches that O-ring slightly during installation, it WILL fail. Yeah, I found out the hard way (and no, I didn't install it myself). Had to shut the water off for the the whole house, then run around on Sunday searching for someone with the proper O-ring and silicone sealant.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
