Comments for Best Water Softeners

Comment on What is wrong with my water softener? Salt is HARD and won’t go down? by "0"

"0" — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:17:06 +0000

That’s called a “Salt Dam”. It happens when your pellets get moist and turn hard. Once that happens, only the salt pellets under it will be used up, and the rest just hangs up there.

Once you have the dam cleaned out, be sure to buy a good quality salt pellet that says “Won’t dam” or words to that effect on the bag.

That should solve your problem. It just happens. Good to check it now and then and punch on the pellets to be sure they are not holding themselves up there, recreating your original problem. Usually you need to add pellets every two to four weeks anyway, dependent on how much water you use.

Comment on What is wrong with my water softener? Salt is HARD and won’t go down? by poppajoe49

poppajoe49 — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:08:08 +0000

If the salt is that hard, it is likely that your husband found the softener wasn’t functioning properly, and turned the bypass valve so the softener isn’t actually doing anything.
Sometimes people don’t know how to clear a salt bridge, and figure the softener is broken, so they just bypass it.

Comment on Water conditioner – descaler vs Water softener? by rottendog93

rottendog93 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:59:51 +0000

In the 80s these were clamp on magnets, now they are electromagnets.
They were bogus in the 80s, and most likely are today, with the LED lights on the little box to make them look hi tech.
The softener is tried and proven over the last 60 or so years.

Comment on What is wrong with my water softener? Salt is HARD and won’t go down? by Kim R

Kim R — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:34:25 +0000

Yeah, it’s probably clogged. Those things are such a pain. Maybe a call to a local handyman can get things moving again, but always for a price. Sigh. Sorry I can’t be of more help. I guess the more salt you can chip out of there, the less time the repair guy will spend doing it for $50 an hour or whatever they charge these days, so hang in there, and best wishes!

Comment on What is wrong with my water softener? Salt is HARD and won’t go down? by tzweeb

tzweeb — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:14:03 +0000

sorry for your loss. running a home and all the things that go with it, is a tough job.
and now im really sorry about the sears thing, i work there doing service and we get overbooked all the time, but that doesnt excuse us not calling you to reschedule if we cant make it.
now for your softner, the salt may have whats called a salt bridge and yes you do have to remove the salt or at least get a hole thru it so when it cycles it can dissolve. if yours is installed properly it should have an overflow hose going to the drain, this is the second hose hooked up to the side of the tank. that will allow water to run out if it gets too full. the reason i say this is you can run water from your garden hose into the unit to flush out the hard salt until it is gone.
if you want to contact me at i can give you more info to get this thing working.
one more thing, does your tank have water that you can see in it? there should only be about 4 inches of water in it.

Comment on Any water softener recommendations? by hillbillynamedpossum

hillbillynamedpossum — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:21:30 +0000

a water softener wont make the water taste better….it will actually make it taste worse. sounds like you need a filter ststem. at any rate, dont buy it at lowes or home depot. go to a local business and get a good one if you decide to use one

Possum

Comment on Any water softener recommendations? by pandy37050

pandy37050 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:10:36 +0000

We also have nasty well water. We had a Rainsoft representative come to the house and they test your water for free and give you an analysis even if you don’t buy their product. They offer financing and whether you own your home or rent the softener can move with you. Maintenance is minimal and you will NEVER go without a softener after you are used to it! I never knew coffee could taste so good! Also when your water is softer you use less soap products, etc. And it cuts down cleaning time especially in the bathroom.

Comment on water softener installation? by gas man

gas man — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:57:51 +0000

its very rare to have a 1/2 line from your meter. you can use a reducing coupling 3/4x 1/2 to go up to 3/4 inch,,it should work fine.

Comment on Any water softener recommendations? by warren914

warren914 — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:14:06 +0000

Get your water tested before hand. Without this knowledge you will not know what size and type water treatment system to purchase. Installation is relatively simple. Cut the main input line to the house, connect to the water softener input, and then the output line connects to the house. I installed two 1 micron particulate filters at the input of my water softener to help keep it clean. I’ve also decided to use iron removal type salt due to a small amount of iron in the water.
Have a look at some of the pictures on my web page.

Comment on KINETICO WATER SOFTENERS VS HARVEY’S WATER SOFTENER by lionkingsupermario

lionkingsupermario — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:05:19 +0000

A lot of this data is old and relates to the old Kinetico models, not the 2020C which is the current version. This offers the same performance of 17 litres of water per flush, with improved capacity too!