Water softners

[Ciao Mickey]

Does anyone have one? Do they really work? How much do they cost to run per month? Can you recommend a brand to buy?

I have the most horrible hard water. We put in a new faucet not too long ago and it has water spots all over it that I can't get off. My white clothes are dingy, everything has water spots on it. It drives me crazy.

When I'm in Florida the water there is so nice and soft. Dirt doesn't stick to anything. The clothes are whiter and brighter. I love their lime green tinged water. Even the coffee tastes better.

 

[MaryKLady]

We've had one for years and love it. We wouldn't be without it. We never get water spots, you use 1/2 the amount of soaps and detergents and all your appliances last longer. My DH's cousin had a business and installed a used model for us. He said he gets them all the time..people get them and then decide they don't want it anymore so they have him take it back out. I couldn't tell you the brand or how much it costs to run...whatever it is, it's worth it!

 

[Harvest02]

We just got one last year and absolutely LOVE it! Clothes come out cleaner, your skin doesn't get dried out, your hair feels softer, and dished come out so clean in the dishwasher! I was getting so tired of the white film on the dishes and glasses. We paid $370 for ours(it's a Whirlpool). We picked it up at Lowes, and my DH and a friend of his down the street put it in for us. When we had our house built 4 years ago, we had connections put in for the water softener in hopes that we would get one eventually. It did take the guys quite a few hours to put it in, but we wouldn't be without it now.

 

[kors]

We have to have one...we have a well. The only bad thing is that ours is in the basement, and we have to fill it with salt all the time. Those bags are 20-40 lbs each!! I use half regular salt, and half rust remover.

 

[tinkarooni]

Oh yes we have one....LOVE IT! We had horrible white stains on my glassware, silverware etc. Looked dirty but was clean. The hard water was actually etching my glasses. We also bought the Whirlpool model from Lowes. My husband installed it in a few hours. Voila! Way cheaper than the ones that water softner places want you to buy and works just fine. The good water restored my silverware back to looking like new. I did have to throw away my glasses though. Not too expensive to use, didn't notice a difference on utilities. Salt is the expense and we have found ours at Aldis. We also make sure we turn it off when we are watering the garden or grass. The yard doesn't need soft water and no reason to waste the salt. Good Luck!

 

[WDW4TheGirls]

We love ours too! Ours is as old as our house (22 years) and is now on it's way out. It doesn't run on a schedule anymore as it seems to have developed a mind of it's own , but we love it so much that if I hear it running I will not do anything that involves water (shower, laundry, etc.). I will gladly wait so nothing gets stained or I don't shower in iron! I don't know the brand, but they stock plenty of them at Home Depot or Lowe's.

 

[hercamore]

Jeez, I don't know anyone w/o a softner here in SE MN. We have hard, hard water.

Try Sears...they make relaiable softners in all price ranges.

herc.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Thanks everyone for the information.

How often do you have to change the salt?

Should I stay away from brands like Culligan?

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I wouldn't necessarily stay away from a brand such as Culligan -- but just don't believe all the hype they are going to give you about their water softener. Their water softener is not going to soften the water any differently than any other water softener, but one can expect to pay a whole lot more for a Culligan than any other water softener.

Let's face it, water softeners are not rocket science. We purchased a Kenmore water softener from Sears. Just set it and forget it. You input the hardness of the water and it figures out the schedule according to the amount of water used. The light flashes when it needs more salt added.