Water Softener

[treillw]

Any good backpack water softeners out there?

No really, I need one for the house. Would you pay somebody to install one, or just plumb one up yourself? I believe installation would be very easy. I haven't looked into it, but all I think I have to do is cut the water line and route it through the softener - already had a professional show me where he'd put it.

Is there any setup beyond that?? Good brands? Other pertinent info?

Thanks!

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Pretty easy if you have any skills at all. Just make sure you bypass any fixtures you only want cold city water from,. Say out side hose fitting for watering plants. Maybe on cold water facet inside for non soften water for coffee and cooking.

 

[treillw]

Bump

 

[Titan]

Depends on the size of your house and water hardness.

You can get an all in one unit from big box stores but they usually have 3/4 or smaller valves. You might lose quite a bit if pressure.

I went with a separate brine tank unit with a fleck valve. It has 1” valves and I have no problem with pressure loss. Super hard water here also.

Plumbing is easy, just put it in line. Make sure you aren’t softening outside faucets though.

I also added an RO system under the sink for drinking water and ice maker.

Sometimes you will see water conditioners being listed as “salt-less” softeners. They do not soften the water, but are supposed to keep the minerals from adhering to pipes and fixtures. I have No real world experience with those.

 

[EJDXT21]

Westinghouse. Expensive but worth it. They will likely do the install for you. But We have moved twice since we got ours and I have moved and installed it myself at both new locations. The system we got also came with filtration system under the sink for drinking water.

 

[SWOHTR]

We have a GE 40k grain unit we bought from HD. It's been good. If you lack plumbing experience and it's an initial install I'd recommend a plumber install it for you. Just make sure they don't hook the drain and overflow up to the same line.

We soften all of the water in our house (hot and cold) but not outside faucets. Water in SoCal is incredibly hard, but you'll find that in any desert area or area that draws its water from reservoirs (aka "sumps").

If you're curious about your water hardness, buy a test to do it. Don't get one of the free ones from a box store. It is not finite enough. It would be like trying to use a globe to navigate your way across the states...scale is not correct.

In a longer-term house, I'd get a more permanent unit, ie not an all-in-one.

 

[BadDogPSD]

I got quotes from a couple different national brands that were ridiculously high... $5k, and just under $6k. This was for a softener & RO system for the kitchen.
Found a local independent guy that did it all for just over $2k. I don't recall the brand at the moment, but it's quality & made in USA.
Edit: it's a Clack softener