How To Choose The Best Water Softener For Your Home

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There are also some systems that are easy to install and are maintenance-free and we’ll explain them in greater detail below. With these systems, there’s no modifications required to the plumbing and there’s no drain required. As these systems don’t use salt, you also won’t have to deal with any maintenance issues.

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What is a Water Softener? 

We hope that you’ve found this article helpful and learned more about water softeners. When it comes to deciding on what’s the best water softener for your home, start off by figuring out the hardness of your water. From there, you’ll be able to determine which water softener would work well with your needs. Other things you’d need to consider include the number of individuals in your household, the amount of space you have along with cost and ease of installation. 

1. Deposit on appliances 
2. Cause your laundry (especially your white shirts) to become discoloured. 
3. Cause dry skin and limp hair. 
4. Can be destructive to your plumbing system, fixtures and appliances. 
5. Can cause clogs and even reduce the water pressure in your home. 

What are the Types of Water Softening Systems? 

If you’re worried about not knowing how to install this water softener, you’d be happy to know that it comes with full instructions along with a video. It’s also efficient, not overly expensive and comes with an LCD display that will provide you with information about the system. This water softener can also be used with both well and city water. Perhaps the only drawback of this water softener is that it’s relatively bulky in size and won’t be suited to households that don’t have a whole lot of space. In terms of warranty, however, you’ll get a 10-year warranty on the tanks and a five-year warranty on the valve by purchasing this grain water softener.  
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Cons:
Other than removing iron, this water softener will also remove manganese, calcium, magnesium along with a range of other minerals during the filtration process. In addition, it can also filter out sand, rust and even sulfur. Some other key features of this water softener include a bypass valve and a cone that will prevent resin from entering your pipes when you’re not using this system. It will also regenerate automatically to help prolong the life of the resin, and you can set the controls to regenerate at a certain time. Those who have used this water softener are pleased with the easy-to-use touchpad controls and how simple it is to maintain the system. While installation isn’t as straightforward as some of the other systems, a professional plumber will be able to assist you with no issues at all.
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How Does a Water Softener Work? 

If you’re someone that’s always on the go, this water softener will do the trick. Not only is it compact, but it’s also salt-based and can produce at least 40% more soft water than units of the same size. Built for those that have RVs, this 16,000-grain unit will regenerate with two boxes of common table salt in less than 30 minutes and provide you with enough soft water for up to 40 days. As it’s compact it won’t take up too much space and it also comes with high flow rates. 

Here’s a basic overview of how a water softener works:

1. Your water softener is installed at the main water line so that when water comes in, its first point of contact is the water softener tank.
2. The main tank consists of tiny resin beads that’ll attract the hard water minerals and retain them in the tank. During this process, the hard water minerals will also be exchanged with sodium.
3. Softened water will then leave the tank and continue through the rest of your pipes to wherever you require it. 
4. After you’ve softened a certain amount of water, you’ve got to clean the resin beads of hard water minerals and recharge with more sodium.
5. This regeneration process can take about two hours, and most systems allow you to program when you’d like these two hours to take place. 

What to Look Out for in a Water Softener? 

1. The first thing to consider is how much water you use. This is highly dependent on the number of individuals you’ve got in your family. If you’ve got a larger family, you’d probably need a saltwater softener with a larger resin capacity.
2. The next thing to consider is your available area. If your intake pipe is too small, you can’t purchase a water softener that’s overly large. Most households are fine with an average sized water softener which consists of an iron tank and a brine tank. If you decide to go for a dual-tank system, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got sufficient space. If you’re unsure, you can always ask the manufacturer for specific instructions and details.
3. Another thing to think about is the bypass valve. This valve is useful for instances where you don’t need softened water – such as filling a pool. If you choose to get a bypass valve, make sure that it’s both easy to operate and not difficult to find.
4. The regeneration setting is another thing to consider. You can choose to either have it metered or timed. With the metered system, the resin will automatically regenerate after an amount of water that you’ve indicated has been used. With a timed system, it’ll usually regenerate every couple of days depending on how much water you would use. 

What are the Advantages of a Water Softener?

Cons:

1. As softened water doesn’t have minerals in it, it tastes better than hard water. Some experts also believe that drinking softened water is better for your health.
2. Softened water is better for both your skin and hair. Not only will your skin and hair be softer, but you’ll also have less issues with itchy and dry skin.
3. Soft water also makes it easier for you to clean your home. With soft water, there’s less of a likelihood that your dishes and glassware will come out with spots on them. Your clothes will also be both brighter and whiter, and you won’t have to deal with grimy scum or stains that are left behind by hard water.
4. A water softener will also help with prolonging the life of appliances such as your dishwasher, washing machine, water heater etc. as mineral buildup can cause these appliances to deteriorate and lose their efficiency.
5. You’ll also see some improvement in the lifespan of your pipes and reduce instances of clogging. Hard water cases scaling which can restrict water flow in your pipes. Over time, this can lead to reduced water pressure and clogging issues. A water softener will help prevent these issues from happening and even reduce the existing amount of scale in your pipes.
6. Finally, you’ll also notice energy efficiency improvements with a water softener. With this appliance, your washing machine, dishwasher and other appliances will use less energy. At the same time, your heating bills will also decrease over time.

How Do You Install a Water Softener? 

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1. Turn off the water on your main water line and drain all of the water out. You’d also want to switch off your water heater.
2. Then, cut into the main line at your preferred location and install a bypass valve so you can bypass the water softener system if necessary.
3. Once that’s done, go ahead and use the compression fittings that come with the water softener to attach pipes that’ll help feed water into and out of the system.
4. Then, you’ll go ahead and attach the drain hose, before connecting the overflow tube to your system’s brine bank.
5. After that, you’ll flush the system to remove any debris before turning the system on and setting it to a backwash position.
6. Then, go ahead and slowly open the valve to release any air before adding salt to the brine tank and setting your regeneration schedule.

While it might be a small system, it’ll still effectively prevent any rust stains or scale buildup in pipes, appliances and fixtures. Not only does it have an easy to carry handle that allows you to move it around with ease, it also comes with a large opening that makes it easy for you to add salt. Additionally, it also comes with high-grade resin and is built for both quick and simple regeneration. The only con with this particular system is that it isn’t big enough to handle large amounts of water. 
Alternatively, you can opt for a salt-free water softener. These require no maintenance and will neutralize minerals within the water through crystallization. If you’ve got very hard water however, these may not be as effective. 

How Do I Know Which Water Softener to Get? 

There are four different types of water softening systems and we’ll discuss each of them in greater detail below:

1. How hard is your water? To figure this out, you can send a water sample in for testing or purchase a test kit and do it yourself.
2. How many gallons of water do you use a day? 

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To install your water softener, you’d want to follow the steps below: 

10 Best Water Softeners

1. Springwellwater FutureSoft® Salt-Free Water Softener

How it works is that the water descaler uses an electromagnetic wave to alter the adhesion properties of the minerals that can cause hard water. These waves will then travel through the coils that are currently wrapped around your water pipes. If you’re not looking for an overly bulky unit, you’ll be happy to know that this particular water descaler is very small and compact. It’s also eco-friendly as it doesn’t use any electricity, and there won’t be any salt or harmful chemicals released. While this is a great system, it won’t work if you’ve got metal pipes or if you’ve got water that’s extremely hard. Warranty wise, you will get a lifetime warranty on this product along with a 100% money-back guarantee for a 12-month period. 
Fleck water softener is suited for medium to large households and comes with a digital metered system that’s incredibly easy to use. What’s great about this system is that regeneration is also automated so there’s virtually no maintenance required after you’ve installed the system. As it has a 48,000-grain capacity, it’s ideal for softening extremely hard water. Upon your purchase, you’ll get both a bypass valve along with all of the other parts that you need. 
Dual water tank softeners are some of the best out there because they come in pairs. That means you’ll not only get a brined tank, but also two large iron tanks. These are suited for households that consume a lot of water as it’ll provide you with soft water no matter the time of day. While dual water tank softeners are more expensive, you don’t have to wait for the resin to regenerate, and you’ll be reaping fantastic results in the long-term. 
This particular water softener from Whirlpool is great for households that have about one to four individuals and can remove up to 8ppm of clear water. Not only will it help to get rid of stains, ferrous iron, calcium, magnesium and other minerals, but it’ll also remove any build-up that you may have on your plumbing and faucets. It’ll automatically calculate how much salt and water is required to regenerate and will only use what’s necessary. As it comes with a low-salt indicator, you’ll also know whenever the salt needs to be refilled. 

9. Alternative Water Softener Salt-Free for Whole House

It’s cost-efficient and easy to maintain as there’s no draining or backflushing needed – you’d just need to replace the filters every three months for the best filtration rate. In terms of installation, you’ll get everything you need with your purchase, but you might want a professional to assist you with installing all the components. You’ll get a 10-year warranty with this purchase, and it’s a highly rated product. Individuals who have purchased this no longer have a buildup of lime around the kitchen sink or shower walls, and they love how the water tastes good from every faucet in their home. 

• Removes excess calcium.
• Withstands heavy use.
• Resistant to impact.
• Little maintenance.