How to Select a Water Softener

The key to choosing the right water softener for your home is to know the condition of your source water (municipal water, well water or other sources). Most softening systems will not treat for waterborne pathogens (disease-carrying organisms) or chemical contaminants. Softeners remove or lessen the effects of hardness (dissolved minerals) in your source water.

Things You'll Need

• Sterile, 1-liter glass jar with tight-fitting cap

Instructions

Testing your Source Water

1. Open the tap or turn on your well pump and allow a free flow of water for at least fifteen seconds to clear any residue from your outlet.

2. Collect 1 liter sample and cap your sample jar.

3. Take sample to water testing laboratory. This will either be through your municipal or county water utility or a laboratory they recommend.

4. Have the sample tested for safety (acceptably low levels of organic, chemical and metal traces) and hardness. If there are organic, chemical or dangerous metal contaminants, you need a treatment system rather than a softener alone.

5. Check the report for water hardness. This is most often given as the amount of calcium (usually given in parts per million or ppm) hardness and total hardness. Hardness ranges from Slightly Hard (over 17.1 ppm) through Very Hard (greater than 180 ppm). A good softener will bring your treated water to below 20 ppm.

Choosing Your Softener

1. If your main concern with hard water is scaling (mineral build-up inside your pipes), magnetic softeners are the least expensive way of (in some cases) reducing the effect of hard water without removing dissolved minerals.

2. The most common method for reducing hardness is the ion-exchange softener. These systems trade calcium, magnesium and other ions with salt or potassium ions which do not cause scaling and are less damaging to laundry. Note: Keep any sodium diet restrictions in mind when looking at these systems as they may add sodium to your water.

3. Micro-filtration and reverse osmosis filters remove (depending on their rating) both dissolved minerals and other contaminants, softening and purifying your water. These systems are thorough, but may be expensive for treating all of the water you use for drinking, cooking, laundry and bathing.

4. You may consider a two-tier system. An ion-exchange water softener for all incoming water will soften all of the water, and an under-sink or faucet-mount filter can improve the taste and smell of water used for drinking and cooking purposes.

Tips & Warnings

• If multiple dealers serve your area, do not hesitate to request competing bids on softening systems. The more you know about your source water, the better you will be able to judge the effectiveness of the dealer's system versus the cost.

• After you have chosen a softening system, repeat the water test procedure with two samples. Compare the pre-softened water to the post-softener water to verify you are getting what you have paid to receive.

References

• Advantages and disadvantages of different types of water softeners
• More detailed breakdown of types of water softeners