Please educate me on whole-house water softeners!
December 30, 2019 7:43 PM Subscribe
We newly live in an area of the country with very hard water. We're planning to have a water softener installed and I have been doing research, but I am unclear about what seems to be high price variability between different brands. E.g. why are this and this so much more expensive than this? What are the factors that I should be looking out for in making my choice, and what is impacting the pricing? Recommendations, including brands to consider or stay away from?
The two more expensive ones don’t require salt - the salt’s not super expensive but I think a whole-house softener will go through maybe 40 lbs a month at $5-10 per 40-lb bag, plus you have to haul and store that salt.
posted by mskyle at 5:34 AM on December 31, 2019
posted by mskyle at 5:34 AM on December 31, 2019
The "filtering" medium in a water softener requires periodic maintenance. When I was a kid, that required 10lbs of salt and a lot of water. Different units require different amounts of user attention. The most expensive units may use a slightly different process that doesn't require supplying salt or the same amount of user intervention.
Check out the operation/maintenance cycles of the various options.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:37 AM on December 31, 2019
Check out the operation/maintenance cycles of the various options.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:37 AM on December 31, 2019
E.g. why are this and this so much more expensive than this?
The first two examples are more than just softeners. They are also water filtration systems. They are also salt-free systems.
The Whirlpool unit in your third link is a standard water-softener that you find in homes all across the nation. It uses bags of salt (contrary to popular misconception, your drinking water doesn't flow through the salt. the salt is used to flush and clean the filtration resin bed when the system recharges)
posted by Thorzdad at 5:38 AM on December 31, 2019
The first two examples are more than just softeners. They are also water filtration systems. They are also salt-free systems.
The Whirlpool unit in your third link is a standard water-softener that you find in homes all across the nation. It uses bags of salt (contrary to popular misconception, your drinking water doesn't flow through the salt. the salt is used to flush and clean the filtration resin bed when the system recharges)
posted by Thorzdad at 5:38 AM on December 31, 2019
For a good explanation of the difference between normal water softeners with salt and the salt-free systems (which aren't actually softeners but "conditioners"), check out this link.
posted by Paper rabies at 9:57 AM on December 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Paper rabies at 9:57 AM on December 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, all! Very helpful - appreciate the input!
posted by ClaireBear at 9:05 AM on January 1, 2020
posted by ClaireBear at 9:05 AM on January 1, 2020
When I read about no-salt water softening, I wanted to call out bullshit, because I was thinking about those quack magnet devices.
But apparently there now are real water conditioning systems available. If you want a little more background info than Paper rabies‘ link offers, I found this edu link helpful.
posted by mmkhd at 2:51 PM on January 1, 2020
But apparently there now are real water conditioning systems available. If you want a little more background info than Paper rabies‘ link offers, I found this edu link helpful.
posted by mmkhd at 2:51 PM on January 1, 2020
When I read about no-salt water softening, I wanted to call out bullshit
"This innovative product produces an oscillating electronic field using a unique and complex modulating frequency wave form that changes the physical shape, size and charge of the calcium molecules."
It does hit buzzword bingo for a late nite Miracle Product infomercial.
But, as I said above I’m very satisfied with mine.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:26 PM on January 1, 2020
"This innovative product produces an oscillating electronic field using a unique and complex modulating frequency wave form that changes the physical shape, size and charge of the calcium molecules."
It does hit buzzword bingo for a late nite Miracle Product infomercial.
But, as I said above I’m very satisfied with mine.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:26 PM on January 1, 2020
My BS detector went off screaming too. Looking around I found an explanation for what they do that is at least plausible. TL;DR: the claim is that calcium carbonate exists in two forms, calcite and aragonite, and that AC magnetic fields will catalyze nucleation of the less-troublesome calcite crystal structure.
That's not an explanation that I can immediately confirm or repute, not being a chemist or solid state physicist, but it's at least not total nonsense.
(It also suggests that these devices will not be helpful if there is a significant hardness contribution from sources other than CaCO3, which seems likely in many areas' water supplies.)
posted by GSV The Structure of Our Preferred Counterfactuals at 8:43 PM on January 1, 2020
That's not an explanation that I can immediately confirm or repute, not being a chemist or solid state physicist, but it's at least not total nonsense.
(It also suggests that these devices will not be helpful if there is a significant hardness contribution from sources other than CaCO3, which seems likely in many areas' water supplies.)
posted by GSV The Structure of Our Preferred Counterfactuals at 8:43 PM on January 1, 2020
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The primary reason I installed it is that I've put in a rain shower head with 400 tiny nozzles and I didn't want to spend my life clearing them out. It's been a year now and there continues to be little or no calcium buildup. I'm happy.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:59 PM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]