Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
Forum Thread
Amazon Discounts, Deals and Coupon Codes

Water softener talk

16,512 854 December 3, 2018 at 03:43 PM Amazon
My new home doesn't have a water softener yet. I see there are less traditional options now, such as this [aquasana.com] as compared to this [amazon.com]. Have any of you gone to something besides the traditional "dump salt in a bin and let the soft water magic happen"?

Not well water, but I am sure I'll want a softener. I won't say money isn't am object, but I am not opposed to spending a little more now and saving more later.
About the OP
Minnesota Joined Jan 2007 Free hugs!
854 Reputation Points
29 Deals Posted
368 Votes Submitted
16,512 Comments Posted
Don't have Amazon Prime? Students can get a free 6-Month Amazon Prime trial with free 2-day shipping, unlimited video streaming & more. If you're not a student, there's also a free 1-Month Amazon Prime trial available. You can also earn cash back rewards on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases with the Amazon Prime Visa credit card. Read our review to see if it’s the right card for you.

Your comment cannot be blank.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Joined Sep 2017
L2: Beginner
> bubble2 43 Posts
10 Reputation
Burgerwars
12-03-2018 at 05:01 PM.
12-03-2018 at 05:01 PM.
I've never had a water softener. My water is always soft, never hard. If it was not, it would be ice.
Reply
Joined Jan 2007
Free hugs!
> bubble2 16,512 Posts
854 Reputation
Original Poster
uniquename
12-03-2018 at 05:59 PM.
12-03-2018 at 05:59 PM.
Quote from Burgerwars :
I've never had a water softener. My water is always soft, never hard. If it was not, it would be ice.
I suppose you don't get your pipes cleaned often? Shove a camera in there and let me know how clogged they are Smilie
Reply
Joined Jan 2010
Too cool for school
> bubble2 6,121 Posts
2,322 Reputation
ProfessorChaos
12-03-2018 at 07:29 PM.
12-03-2018 at 07:29 PM.
Quote from uniquename :
I suppose you don't get your pipes cleaned often? Shove a camera in there and let me know how clogged they are Smilie
Good advice.

Everyone should have a colonoscopy at the age of fifty.
Reply
Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,770 Posts
3,152 Reputation
komondor
12-03-2018 at 07:30 PM.
12-03-2018 at 07:30 PM.
I did my research a couple of years ago and went the conventional salt route other than a clogged tube and broken float for 70 bucks (ripoff but stuck) it has been trouble free for 3 years.. I used Pex Pipe and crimp connectors/sharkbite one size up since the fittings go on the inside I went with 1" pipe cost more and harder to install but I would rather do it once and right than wrong and twice.

I spliced into the copper pipes and put in 3 shutoff ball valves that way I could work on the rest of the softener without turning off the water.
Reply
Joined Jan 2007
Free hugs!
> bubble2 16,512 Posts
854 Reputation
Original Poster
uniquename
12-03-2018 at 07:48 PM.
12-03-2018 at 07:48 PM.
Quote from komondor :
I did my research a couple of years ago and went the conventional salt route other than a clogged tube and broken float for 70 bucks (ripoff but stuck) it has been trouble free for 3 years.. I used Pex Pipe and crimp connectors/sharkbite one size up since the fittings go on the inside I went with 1" pipe cost more and harder to install but I would rather do it once and right than wrong and twice.

I spliced into the copper pipes and put in 3 shutoff ball valves that way I could work on the rest of the softener without turning off the water.
No copper to seal with at the connection points per new codes. It looks super easy.

Big thing is the lack of salt. Seems about a two year payback, not bad at all. After four years I will nearly be making money to shower!!!
Reply
Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,770 Posts
3,152 Reputation
komondor
12-03-2018 at 09:04 PM.
12-03-2018 at 09:04 PM.
Reply
Joined Nov 2005
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 39,439 Posts
5,562 Reputation
Dr. J
12-06-2018 at 05:04 AM.
12-06-2018 at 05:04 AM.
We have a softener but it was here when we bought the place. It was difficult to get information on its operation but fortunately a call to the installer worked.

It's pretty much been issue-free, only needing yearly servicing and a bag of salt here and there. I usually get salt at around $3-4/bag thanks to SD (about twice that price retail), but I buy 15-20 bags at a time. I have to clean out the brine bin every now and then - over time, insoluble "stuff" in the salt accumulates at the bottom, it's not absolutely required to clean, but that's how I am.

Something to note depending on your situation, is that some municipalities have unique discharge codes around the brine effluent - I'm on septic, and it's against code to discharge into it (although I am not sure why you'd want to since I wouldn't think it'd be good for the bacterial balance); and of course you can't simply discharge into the woods laugh out loud . It's accepted however to discharge into a dry well. Anecdotally there have been some issues with home sales and compliance with new codes wrt discharge.
Reply

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Joined Jan 2007
Free hugs!
> bubble2 16,512 Posts
854 Reputation
Original Poster
uniquename
12-06-2018 at 07:38 AM.
12-06-2018 at 07:38 AM.
Quote from komondor :
look at consumer reports reviews
https://www.consumerreports.org/p.../overview/

And information here

https://www.uswatersystems.com/bl...softeners/
Forgot to thank you for the links. Based on reading a fair bit of that, I am going with tried and true.

Quote from Dr. J :
We have a softener but it was here when we bought the place. It was difficult to get information on its operation but fortunately a call to the installer worked.

It's pretty much been issue-free, only needing yearly servicing and a bag of salt here and there. I usually get salt at around $3-4/bag thanks to SD (about twice that price retail), but I buy 15-20 bags at a time. I have to clean out the brine bin every now and then - over time, insoluble "stuff" in the salt accumulates at the bottom, it's not absolutely required to clean, but that's how I am.

Something to note depending on your situation, is that some municipalities have unique discharge codes around the brine effluent - I'm on septic, and it's against code to discharge into it (although I am not sure why you'd want to since I wouldn't think it'd be good for the bacterial balance); and of course you can't simply discharge into the woods laugh out loud . It's accepted however to discharge into a dry well. Anecdotally there have been some issues with home sales and compliance with new codes wrt discharge.
City water, no well or discharge issues. I buy at least 8 bags at a time myself, because I hate dealing with it.
Reply
Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,770 Posts
3,152 Reputation
komondor
12-06-2018 at 02:40 PM.
12-06-2018 at 02:40 PM.
The Brine discharge is pretty salty and would be bad for most anything. I had cousin and when a professional company installed hers they had the discharge pipe just lay on the floor ending at the floor drain that was metal. Over a few years the brine at the metal grate and pieces fell into the drain, clogging it and causing a backup onto the basement floor.
Reply
Joined Jan 2007
Free hugs!
> bubble2 16,512 Posts
854 Reputation
Original Poster
uniquename
12-06-2018 at 03:55 PM.
12-06-2018 at 03:55 PM.
Quote from komondor :
The Brine discharge is pretty salty and would be bad for most anything. I had cousin and when a professional company installed hers they had the discharge pipe just lay on the floor ending at the floor drain that was metal. Over a few years the brine at the metal grate and pieces fell into the drain, clogging it and causing a backup onto the basement floor.
I'll watch for that. I am planning to get my water tested first so I can properly size it.
Reply
Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,770 Posts
3,152 Reputation
komondor
12-06-2018 at 05:17 PM.
12-06-2018 at 05:17 PM.
I paid extra for US made Resin it was not that much more and figured it was probably better quality.
I purchased mine here https://602abcwater.com/ I can't recall if I purchased thru Amazon or direct with them to tell the truth.
Reply
Joined Jul 2005
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 10,159 Posts
z2g
12-09-2018 at 11:28 AM.
12-09-2018 at 11:28 AM.
Our neighborhood has really high levels of "hard" water. So, almost everyone in my neighborhood has a water softener system installed. We held off for a long time because we weren't sure how long we were going to stay here. We finally installed it after living here for about 4-5 yrs because we decided to stay put and pay for private school for our kids instead of upgrading our house.

Overall, we're happy that we installed the water softener. Note, when speaking to water softener salesppl and watching their pitch, they'll often show you a demonstration of how much more sudsy it'll get with a little soap with softened water. HOWEVER, it's a bit of a lie because they will use totally softened water from a reverse osmosis system. Water softeners do NOT remove all minerals from the water like a reverse osmosis system. It just replaces the "hard" minerals with NaCl or KCl instead which is easier to clean.

Just wanted to make sure you keep that in mind. So, we still have water spots on our shower glass doors. But, it comes right off with a little wipe (we usually just squeezee the glass after each shower though). Whereas, before the water softener, the water spots needed CLR to come off.
Reply
Joined Jul 2005
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 10,159 Posts
z2g
12-09-2018 at 11:33 AM.
12-09-2018 at 11:33 AM.
Quote from uniquename :
Forgot to thank you for the links. Based on reading a fair bit of that, I am going with tried and true.



City water, no well or discharge issues. I buy at least 8 bags at a time myself, because I hate dealing with it.
I thought you were planning on getting it installed and haven't got it yet....hence, you posted this thread?
Reply
Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,770 Posts
3,152 Reputation
komondor
12-09-2018 at 01:58 PM.
12-09-2018 at 01:58 PM.
I don't have an issue with shower spots at all, do you have your softener adjusted properly?
Reply
Page 1 of 2
Start the Conversation
 
Link Copied

The link has been copied to the clipboard.