You can find a lot of useful information in water softener reviews but you should keep in mind that most of these reviews were probably not written by people who have actually installed them or used by the people reviewing them. These reviews can still be helpful, but you will want to keep a few things in mind while making your decision on which water softener to get. I relied on water softener reviews before I purchased one online and did a self-install. The review was not inaccurate, but there were a couple of things that I would have liked to know ahead of time.
Fortunately I did get a water softener that worked well and had all the features I needed. What kind of threw me, and what wasn’t covered in the water softener reviews, was the importance of things like having a bypass (even if one is included in the unit) and to think seriously about drainage of the waste water.
If you’re going to have a professional plumber install your water softener you don’t have to worry about these details too much. But it’s still good to know how it ties into your home. You can save a bit of money if you’re willing to take on some plumbing tasks. It’s not terribly difficult, but things can get pretty wet if you get it wrong.
The unit I ended up with was a “smart” unit that had a processor built in to keep track of how much water was being used and when to regenerate. The regeneration process is noisy as the unit will flush large amounts of water through the resin bed. Also, soft water is not available to the house during the regeneration process (our unit had an internal bypass so we could still get water) so the ability to schedule what time of day the regeneration process takes place is very handy.
One more thing that water softener reviews may mention but that I want to also point out here is that you want to isolate your lawn sprinkler system (if you have one) from the rest of your house water. There is no need to spray softened water out onto your landscaping. It will just use up the salts in your softener system and is probably not good for your plants anyway.
Before you spend the money on the hardware and installation you want to be absolutely sure that hard water is your problem. Usually people decided they need a water softener based on orange stains on fixtures and deposits in the plumbing. If you have these signs, and if your neighbors also have softeners, then it’s a pretty safe bet you need one too.
If you don’t see the obvious signs in your home but you still suspect hard water you can get your water tested. In some areas you can give some water to the local hardware store for them to test. In other cases you may want to get a kit online and send it in yourself to get the water tested.
Get water softener reviews from someone who has actually purchased and installed them. Also get some insight on the new and effective water softener filter.