[unluky]

YES - I was a die hard NO water softener guy when I bought my current house. I am on a well, so I kind of need one. I bypassed it for a day thinking of removing it - that sucked. But now after 15 years - I LOVE them. I have another house on a farm that is on rural water (already cleaned and conditioned) and I find myself missing my WELL water when I am there due to the softener. Nothing soaps up like a water softener. Washing my dog at the farm is 10 times the chore it is at home. He soaps right up and washes super clean easily.

I'll never have a main residence without one again - and I DIDN'T want one, so it really changed my mind. The salt is a plain, but the new blocks they have a MUCH easier and make that part much less a hassle.

I'd stay away from a service though - they always cost more. Buy one and have a plumber put it in (if it's over your head) and then just buy your salt at wal-mart etc.

I'll never go back.

[floridaorange]

That's fantastic / any specific brands - i can prob install…. is just connecting to water heater what you did?

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Love/hate relationship with ours. When we had it put in, the water here was really hard. You could not get suds from soap and our drinking glasses were all dull and clouded. My skin was always dry. Our water wasn't smelly like Florida water, but it was still hard. Then we got the softener. Major change. Suddenly you could easily work up suds. But that squeaky clean feeling when you got done with a shower was gone. The water left you feeling like you hadn't gotten all the soap off. This is a common issue and in reality, the "squeaky clean" feeling is the mineral deposits on your skin. That "slimy" feeling is actually how clean skin should feel. I got used to it. Wifey could not.

The other issue we had was with the salt back flush. This is a requirement to clean the filters, and it isn't supposed to get into your drinking water. But if the system had just finished back flushing and you took a drink before a good bit of water had run through the system, you got a slightly salty/copperish taste. I rarely drink tap water, so it wasn't a big deal with me. But Wifey drinks tap water all the time and she wasn't happy with that issue.

Eventually we tried bypassing the system for a week or two and then turning it back on. The transition period was good. No salty taste and no slimy feeling. But once the hard water was out of the system, we were back to the aforementioned issues. So about 6 months ago we bypassed it entirely and haven't gone back. The water doesn't seem as hard as it used to be when we first moved here, so maybe they're treating it differently now.

If I could do the system over, I'd have them split the water system so only the water going through the water heaters was softened. That way showers would be a mix of soft and hard water, which would probably be perfect. Plus the dishwasher and laundry would all have softened water. But the drinking water wouldn't have the occasional nasty taste. That wouldn't help much with the Florida sulfur issue, though.

Originally Posted by M_Six

Love/hate relationship with ours. When we had it put in, the water here was really hard. You could not get suds from soap and our drinking glasses were all dull and clouded. My skin was always dry. Our water wasn't smelly like Florida water, but it was still hard. Then we got the softener. Major change. Suddenly you could easily work up suds. But that squeaky clean feeling when you got done with a shower was gone. The water left you feeling like you hadn't gotten all the soap off. This is a common issue and in reality, the "squeaky clean" feeling is the mineral deposits on your skin. That "slimy" feeling is actually how clean skin should feel. I got used to it. Wifey could not.

The other issue we had was with the salt back flush. This is a requirement to clean the filters, and it isn't supposed to get into your drinking water. But if the system had just finished back flushing and you took a drink before a good bit of water had run through the system, you got a slightly salty/copperish taste. I rarely drink tap water, so it wasn't a big deal with me. But Wifey drinks tap water all the time and she wasn't happy with that issue.

Eventually we tried bypassing the system for a week or two and then turning it back on. The transition period was good. No salty taste and no slimy feeling. But once the hard water was out of the system, we were back to the aforementioned issues. So about 6 months ago we bypassed it entirely and haven't gone back. The water doesn't seem as hard as it used to be when we first moved here, so maybe they're treating it differently now.

If I could do the system over, I'd have them split the water system so only the water going through the water heaters was softened. That way showers would be a mix of soft and hard water, which would probably be perfect. Plus the dishwasher and laundry would all have softened water. But the drinking water wouldn't have the occasional nasty taste. That wouldn't help much with the Florida sulfur issue, though.

If that was my wifey - I'd be making the same face as your profile pic :

[iminhell1]

I'm just curious how deep of well you need in wherever you guys are?

My well here is around 280 feet down. There was fair water higher but this vein is used by most nearby. Flow was something like 30 GPM.

[vreihen16]

Our well is under 50 feet deep, and we consider it non-potable even though it passes all tests and is UV treated.

Every one of our neighbors drilled $10,000 deeper, and hit smelly sulphur water.

Ask me why I don't mind writing the checks for bi-weekly water cooler jug deliveries.....

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

I'm just curious how deep of well you need in wherever you guys are?

My well here is around 280 feet down. There was fair water higher but this vein is used by most nearby. Flow was something like 30 GPM.

I believe our well is 100 ft. and is used only for irrigation. We have city water for the house.

[unluky]

I think mine is 280 deep, but hits water at 100. I'm next to a lake, so don't have to go far for water, but wanted to future proof it a little.