I desperately need to get a water softener. I’ve got constant buildup on my bathroom walls, sinks/tubs, and fixtures. I can’t imagine what the inside of my pipes and water heater look like.
It was a good bonus year so I’ve decided to seriously look into a water softener. I’m familiar with the models that use salt or non-sodium pellets. I’m not too crazy about those since 1) need to keep the sodium levels down in our diet and 2) not crazy about the constant chore of adding pellets.
Can you guys tell me if there are any proven maintenance free options (low cost to run would be ideal as well)?
I read some time back (but can’t recall or find anything now) about a system that cost nothing to run and had no maintenance. There was a bit of an upfront investment cost for equipment. I vaguely remember it using some sort of magnetic principle to change ion properties of the minerals in the water. I didn’t actually remove the minerals from the water but it changed their properties so that you wouldn’t get any buildup on walls/fixtures, etc.
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See
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Yes I know somethings are too good to be true but that's why I'm asking. Personally, I never took chemistry and hated physics. I was more the bio fan so the magnetic softener was a little bewildering...hence that's why I asked. :-)
Kinetico is the cadillac brand no doubt but the two things to insist on are a metering device that only recharges based on the actual water usage and good quality piping on the brine flush and overflow piping. Sears uses that soft plastic chemistry set tubing. You need something that will not kink if you sneeze on it. I've tried a few of the alternative systems and never had one work, not even the $2,000 system with all the tanks and pumps. m------------------
"You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."
The magnetic ones don't work -- pure hokum. There is a unit (expensive) that mixes in air and swirls the water around in a tank full of plastic beads. It's at least plausible that it works. Not sure that it's "maintenance free", though.
But give the salt-type units a shot. If you're really worried about the salt (you needn't be) you can use potassium pellets. Kinetico is one of the better brands.
http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?id=1083
Read through that. You will better understand the softening process that work.
You won't end up with a high sodium diet from a water softener.
There aren't any that are maintenance free. The magnetic gizmos are bunk.
There are some realistic options, though. First, I only need about 3 bags per year of salt. I'm single and don't use a lot of water, though, but still it is not that difficult to keep up with.
If you know your hardness you can look up what the sodium content of the softened water would be. It may be within what you can drink.
Another common option is to soften only your hot water and water to bathrooms and laundry rooms. Keep the kitchen cold water and your outdoor faucets off the softener. That solves your scum problem without adding salt to your drinking or cooking water. Many people don't like the taste of softened water, either.
I have the test results from the water company. I'll dig them out and see if you guys can help me decipher them.
I definitely planned on bypassing the outdoor spigots. My house (based on your usage) would need ~12 bags a year (4 people). I guess that's not that horrible. I thought I would be going thru dozens of bags.
I was also worried about too much salt in our diet. After I had the softer put in I got some pipe and bypassed the unit to my kitchen sink and also my outdoor faucets Most of the water used for drinking and cooking comes from the kitchen sink.
What kind of soap do you use in the bath/shower?
When we worked over our bathrooms a few years ago, SWMBO insisted on clear glass for the master bath shower. Since we have very hard water, I agreed - with the understanding that she had to keep the glass clean.
That worked for about a month then she really raised hell about using a squeegee, etc, etc. Someone had told me that using those body washes instead of bar soap would make a huge difference, so we gave it a try. It was amazing!! Within a couple of weeks, almost all of the soap scum was a thing of the past. We haven't used bar soap for several years and only see minor water spotting anywhere in the shower.