Water Softeners

[Clodfobble]

Having lived in our current house for just over six months, we have gradually and reluctantly come to the conclusion that we probably need some sort of water softener. I don't know if the previous residents somehow managed without one, or if they just took theirs with them, but the buildup on all the appliances, plumbing, and dishes is undeniable.

Preliminary research shows this to be an incredibly skeezy industry. Two-thirds of the purveyors turn out to actually be selling magnetic water "conditioners," which I'm already convinced are a scam.

Anyone here use a water softener? How much of a pain in the ass is the maintenance? Are they really worth the prices I'm seeing, or should I just get used to dumping vinegar down all our pipes everyday?

[Bullitt]

My parents' house has well water, with a salt based water softener (I don't know if there's any other kinds). Our water smells like rotten eggs, and it feels like soap doesn't ever completely rinse off, though it does, you just still feel "slippery". The only maintenance I've seen needed is the changing of our various filters, though that's more due to having well water, and the buying of salt pellets that look like giant, white guinea pig droppings to dump into the softener itself. They come in big 50lb bags that at a quick glance looks like driveway salt.

[Beevee]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

My parents' house has well water, with a salt based water softener (I don't know if there's any other kinds). Our water smells like rotten eggs, and it feels like soap doesn't ever completely rinse off, though it does, you just still feel "slippery". The only maintenance I've seen needed is the changing of our various filters, though that's more due to having well water, and the buying of salt pellets that look like giant, white guinea pig droppings to dump into the softener itself. They come in big 50lb bags that at a quick glance looks like driveway salt.

Sounds like an artisian well to me. We have a rental water softener for which we pay CA$33.05 a month tax included. For that we get service included and have called them in twice in four years. As previously mentioned, salt crystals have to be added as needed.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

My parents' house has well water, with a salt based water softener (I don't know if there's any other kinds). Our water smells like rotten eggs, and it feels like soap doesn't ever completely rinse off, though it does, you just still feel "slippery".

Clearly some sulfur in the water.
In Japanese hot springs that "silky" feeling is well respected. (Feels "slimy" to some though.) Maybe your folks could open up a Japanese-style spa?

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

They come in big 50lb bags that at a quick glance looks like driveway salt.

It's a good thing I've visited up north in the winter a couple of times, or this analogy would be completely and utterly lost on me.

[BigV]

Heat softens water. See also phase change.

[BrianR]

My folks had one, no smell but we did have that slippery feeling. I got used to it though. Salt was needed about every two weeks. The unit cleansed itself without human intervention. Didn't need service once in fifteen years.

Dunno about the cost, it came with the new house.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Water softeners all use salt, to back flush the crap that the magic pellets clean out of the water passing through. This is done by a timer (usually in the middle of the night), anywhere from daily to weekly, depending on the water.

You should have a professional test the water for contaminants, like sulfur, dissolved iron, etc, and choose the right magic pellets for your water conditions.

A good softener will probably be between $2 and $3 thousand installed.

Then if you want to get crazy, a reverse osmosis filter will clean it up real nice.

[JuancoRocks]

Sears carries quite a few water softeners. We just replaced our old one (15 yrs) with a new digital electronic one from Sears for $399.00 with a $125.00 installation. Has a 4-5 year warranty and seems pretty inexpensive on salt usage. A couple of bags (40#) a month.

They will test your water hardness and adjust the cycle settings based on hardness. We had 21 to 24 grains of hardness. Lots of calcium.

If you do it make sure it does both hot and cold water and your fixtures and appliances will last a lot longer. We used to replace 20 year faucets about every 5 years. Since we installed the softener we have not had to replace any fixtures.

[Clodfobble]

Our community website says our hardness is 15, but our most recent water bill claims it's only 10 right now. Which doesn't sound all that bad to me...? Certainly not compared to some of the numbers I've seen anecdotally. So now I'm left wondering why the hell I'm getting such crazy buildup on the dishes and the toilets and such, maybe it's not a typical hardness problem after all.

Either way, Mr. Clod was researching options and came up with something salt-less, I forget what it's called, but it claims to be specifically for borderline hardness like ours, and somehow it causes the calcium particles to actually clump together in larger grains, such that they are too big to stick to surfaces and build up. All on a tiny scale, of course, but like sandy water instead of cloudy water, or something.

[barefoot serpent]

probably some kind of flocculation.