Reply
Thu 29 Nov, 2007 11:54 am
I am puzzled by the claims of Culligan or Rainsoft that water can be treated without salt and no regeneration. That claim would be a miracle if it really works. The local plumbing company says that it will not work. Is there someone who has first hand knowledge and did their own water test after the water has gone through a Culligan water softener or a Rainsoft unit. We have sulfer in our water and I noticed (in fine print) that Culligan units encounter trouble when sulfer is present. I also noticed that Culligan sells WHOLE HOUSE FILTERS, BUT the fine print gives the gallon usage before the filter has to be replaced...According to their figures I would have to replace the filter each month!!! Please...someone help with an answer before I make a mistake in my new home.
Water can be treated for other things than hardness or with other equipment than a water softener, so I'm not sure what you mean but... if the thing uses 'salt', it is a water softener.
Or did you mean to say: No salt softener? If so... they aren't a softener because they don't remove any hardness but... they are supposed to make the water act as if it is soft water. The jury is still out but I'm testing a small one on my motor home. It makes a bit of a difference. It is not the same as if I used a softener.
For H2S gas (sulfur), you need either an oxidizing mineral filter or aeration, or chlorination, ozone or hydrogen peroxide system, not a softener.
Softeners are used to remove hardness, iron and manganese.
If you have your own well, before you do anything else, get a water analysis done for at least hardness, iron, pH and TDS (total dissolved solids), sulfates and manganese if possible. You may also want to have a Coliform bacteria test done too.
If you are on city water, you shouldn't have H2S but call the water company and complain unless the odor is in the hot water only.
I GUESS IT WILL BE A SALT SOFTENER...
Thanks for the info. We have sulphur in our water. The water company is well aware of it. It is being caused by the nearby open pit copper mines. The city well is about one mile from the mine tailings. We have to live with it. The water company says that it is not harmful, just smells and might cause some stomach distress to visitors.
I guess the answer is that if we want to soften our water we have to go with the salt softeners. We do have very hard water here and that is also known by the water company. We also have undissolved particulate matter in the water, also caused by the mines. Our arsenic level exceeds government standards, but a new treatment plant will take care of that in the coming years.
I called the water company regarding the hardness and they said that some people like the soft water and others like it hard. They did say that it is hard enough to shorten the life of faucets and hot water heaters.
The info from Culligan is very confusing and implies that it will soften the water. I am glad that you answered my questions. I may have been sold on Culligan if I hadn't asked questions here.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace