Any recommendations for total house water softener/filtration system?
Posted by JayceThompson101@reddit | plano | View on Reddit | 19 comments
Hi everyone, I recently went to costco and spoke to EcoWater. They are quoting me around 6.4k (discounts and costco credit taken into account) for a total house water softener and a reverse osmosis drinking filter for my kitchen sink. The maintenance is around $250/year for new filters which is a lot. Is this a good deal or has anyone else found better deals out there for much cheaper. I think paying 6.4k seems extremely excessive.
Same-Condition-6724@reddit
Look at shell water and call softh2o to install
filters-24@reddit
This brand is not reverse osmosis, so it doesn't demineralize. They don't sell softeners. https://www.pureeffectfilters.com/#a_aid=Eau00
https://www.pureeffectfilters.com/#a_aid=Eau00
la-fours@reddit
You can build your own system using components from Amazon and get a plumber to install, there are plumbers that specialize in water treatment installations. That’s what I did and I spent a fraction of the cost of a name brand system. The big names make their money off consumer ignorance.
Check out AFW Filters on Amazon for parts.
Brookenium@reddit
Our water here is not hard, and you'd be washing money on a softener. Typically washer softeners are for those on ground water, our water is primarily surface water.
For drinking, you can get a really good RO system for a few hundred dollars. Installation is super easy and most people can DIY it with 0 issues.
https://www.amazon.com/APEC-Alkaline-Drinking-Water-ROES-PH75/dp/B00I0ZGOZM
thephotoman@reddit
Your first sentence is wrong: North Texas has very hard water. The bed of Lake Lavon, our primary water source, is limestone (read: significant calcium content and a kind of rock that’s partially soluble). As a result, when you test the water that comes out of your tap, you’ll find that we have about 12 to 15 grains/gallon of bivalent cations (like calcium or magnesium) in our tap water. For the record, anything over 10 grains/gallon is considered “very hard”.
Yes, I’ve tested my own water. Doing so is not difficult.
Brookenium@reddit
Plano's water is averages 8.6 grains/gallon, yours may be a bit harder due to your pipes. No idea where you're getting 12-15 from.
It's slightly hard, sure. But IMO you're not getting savings value out of a water softener. Even just the cost of salt isn't going to cover any potential scale buildup.
You can do it, but it's not worth the cost IMO
RO at the tap is (generally always is). And it's only a few hundred. Save the thousands on a water softener, it's not needed in our municipality.
thephotoman@reddit
I’m getting that number from my own routine measurement of what comes out of my tap. It affects how good my coffee is, and I usually wind up remineralizing distilled water to get the right TDS. (People with fish tanks also do such monitoring, and they’d likely back me up on this.)
Additionally, the top end cut of “slightly hard” is at 3.5 grains/gallon. By citing a figure of 8.6 grains/gallon (don’t know where you’re getting that number), you’re already conceding my point that you’re badly underreporting how hard our water is when you say it’s “slightly hard”.
Furthermore, having hard water creates other problems: it increases the amount of time I spend cleaning my bathroom and kitchen. It’s a core source of armpit crust on shirts. It’s bad news all around.
Brookenium@reddit
So at home hardness tests aren't that accurate, so recognize you might be reading high. But also your coffee example and fish tank example are better solved with an RO filter. A softener is only necessary to reduce pipe scale in your home's pipes.
You're not getting substantial buildup at 8.5 grains/gallon. It's just simply a bad value proposition. You might need a clean out every decade or so, but that's less than a water softener.
Your not getting crusting or anything like that at this hardness rate. That's an issue with very hard water which is not Plano.
There's a reason most people don't have water softeners here. These homes are over half a century old and aren't having scaling issues. I grew up in a hard water area, this ain't it.
Although I'm not an expert on residential water, I'm a chemical engineer with significant experience in water chemistry. And part of that is judging if new equipment is worth the cost. You're not going to save money with a water softener. And you won't see any other substantial benefits.
thephotoman@reddit
I am getting crusting, though. I’m not sure why you’re so confident that I’m not.
You’ve also not provided a source for your claims that our water is only at 8.6 grains/gallon of TDS, merely attempting to discredit my consistently observed results. Post a source.
Brookenium@reddit
Sorry, I edited above, but it's Plano's own water testing. It's the sampling they have to do by law that goes through certified labs.
Lurcher99@reddit
I'm the referee right now, trying to keep the downvoting at a minimum as this is a great discussion! Thanks to both of you for keeping this civil - though would love references!
Brookenium@reddit
As mentioned, the source is Plano. Water testing data is a matter of public record.
This site has a compilation of averages:
https://www.aquatell.com/pages/water-hardness-texas
1millerce1@reddit
Only the truly stupid would pay that for such a small problem (our water is only marginally hard). If you are really bent on purchasing via a big box, try Lowe’s or Home Depot.
To alleviate health concerns (sodium from ion exchange - the other kinds don’t work), install next to the water heater. And for that money, you could replace the water heater to make room for it in a closet.
thephotoman@reddit
Our water is not “marginally hard”. It’s very hard. Source: I test my water. It’s always over 10 grains/gallon, which is officially “very hard”.
This is because Lake Lavon has a limestone bed, limestone is somewhat soluble in water, and limestone is a calcium-based mineral.
1millerce1@reddit
MMKay... Let's review some facts.
The calculation and interpretation via:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/SS540/pdf
Relevant Quotes:
Hardness is usually reported as equivalents of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) and is generally classified as soft, moderately hard, hard, and very hard.
Table 1. Water hardness classifications (reported as CaCO3 equivalents) used by the U.S. EPA (EPA 1986). Classification CaCO3 equivalent (mg/L)
NVLAP qualified Water Quality Lab test results for Total Alkalinity (weekly, you can look your particular street/neighborhood up here):
https://www.plano.gov/1742/Drinking-Water-Quality-Information
My latest (as is most of Plano) is 80, hence, on the lower end of moderately hard.
thephotoman@reddit
It’s good to know that you’re not gaslighting me.
But it’s bad to know that the City is. Because if what they’re reporting is true, my shower head (replaced a few months ago) wouldn’t already have significant crusting. But it does.
When routine testing, both with home equipment and having pros do water analysis in my home (done annually) gives me such a wildly different result than the official figures, I must presume that the official figures are bullshit.
1millerce1@reddit
(shrugs) Feel free to take Plano City to court over their test reporting. Many have started to try (discovery) but I've never heard of one success story.
Etex1984@reddit
EcoWater filters are awesome. Like anything, you get what you pay for.
Txag1989@reddit
I lived in Plano/Allen for about 35 years. Same water for both cities. Never felt the need for any of that. You are wasting your money if you pay for this.
I now have well water. 3 bed/3bath/2 kitchen 4200 sq ft house. I got the well tested. It had coliforms (no ecoli), some sediment, and high arsenic. Paid for equipment for sanitation, whole home softener, whole home arsenic filtration, and RO at the kitchens. That cost about $7k, like you. Most filters don’t need changing every year. Some only every 10. I buy salt (softener) and bleach (sanitizer) at the grocery store. Again, you would be wasting your money in Plano.