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Reply to: Hi, just a homeowner here w/nothing to sell; just a suggestion you might consider. I am installing a new water system in my "new" (renovated) house (moving in in May, hopefully!) and here is what we are doing. We have well-water for our outdoor faucets so not an issue, but I certainly would have bypassed them if it was via our town water. For our potable water (town source) we are installing a major Aquasana whole house filter first off the main. Why? B/C I am what my DH calls a "water snob" and only drink bottled water or extremely well-filtered tap water. Our town water is supposedly perfectly fine to drink, so our filter is probably overkill, but I feel better doing it anyway. From the water filter, we are having two branches. One will go to the softener, which will then feed conditioned water to the majority of the plumbing in the house. Sending filtered, chlorine-free water through the softener is better for the softener resins (extends their life) and is more healthful for your family since chlorine is harsh on skin and hair, and when airfied in water mist, is not healthy for you to breath! The other (non-softened water) will supply filtered water to the following devices in my kitchen; * a water chiller and * an instant hot (both of these will go to a small dual temp faucet at my kitchen sink for drinking and cooking water) * my fridge ice-maker * my Miele Excela DW, which will soften the water only to the degree it determines is needed (approx 5 grains of hardness is best for use w/dw detergetns). (I have had major etching on my glassware in my current home due to very hot water and long cycles in zero-hardness water. Lots of threads about this issue in the Appliances section if you are interested.) This way, we minimize the amount of extra sodium we consume while still enjoying the wonderful benefits of softened water for our hair, skin and plumbing fixtures. Hard water is water that is full of minerals that are GOOD for you and drinking distilled water (reverse osmosis) denies your body of a major source of minerals your body needs. It is better for you to drink hard water than RO water. Just something else for you to consider as you contemplate your investment in optimal water for your family! Best wishes! Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Aquasana WH filter if you are interested

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Reply to: While I'm not a huge Kinetico fan, I would also wouldn't generally recommend staying away from them. HOWEVER, in this instance, I would avoid your particular Kinetico dealer as he quite simply does not know what he is talking about. He may have a fine product, but he cannot be trusted to set it up correctly or to assist you if you have any problems down the road. Yes, you absolutely have to bypass the exterior faucets if you use sodium choloride for regeneration and intend to water plants from those faucets. The sodium will kill your plants, both interior and exterior. Even with potassium chloride regeneration, it is recommended that you periodically water with other water, so bypassing exterior faucets is a good idea regardless. RO water is fine for interior plants - just be sure to fertilize regularly. If you go with Ecowater, avoid any softener that includes carbon in with the resin. I don't see a 2500 on their website, but do see a 2502 that looks fine. The 3500 appears to have carbon included. There are many reasons why carbon should not be mixed in with softening resin: 1) Carbon depletes faster than resin ages. Good softening resin should last 15 - 20 years. Carbon will not. If you are actually relying on the carbon in the softener to remove chlorine, you will, after 1 - 5 years, have to have the carbon and resin replaced (carbon is cheap, resin is expensive) or install a separate carbon filter. Good $$$ for the vendors, bad for your wallet. 2) GAC (granular activated carbon) is abrasive and will damage your resin, reducing resin life. 3) If the GAC mixes with the resin rather than staying in a layer on top (and it will mix - their specific gravity is pretty close), it is no longer protecting your resin from chlorine attack. If you decide you don't want the extra expense of an RO, and honestly they are rarely necessary for city water, you could also have a small bypass line installed to an extra faucet for drinking water and plant watering. It depends on what you prefer, taste-wise. Some don't like the taste of hard water/some don't like the tastelessness of RO water.

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Reply to: The major difference between all the softeners you list is that the Kinetico is a twin resin tank softener and all the others are single resin tank softeners. Another difference is that the Kinetico requires no electricity and that saves you a little $$$ off your electric bill. That difference means that the Kinetico will provide soft water 24/7 and regenerate at exactly the instant it is required day or night or in the middle of a shower. It switches service from one resin tank to the other. For that reason the Kinetico is very efficient in it's water and salt use. Single resin tank designs regenerate using a "mathematical guestimate" with a # of reserve gallons added in and usually at 2AM. Some feel that there's no reason for soft water 24/7 but many say why not? Considering the size of your family and water use if it were my money I'd go for the Kinetico and then the ECOwater second with the Culligan a distant third. Seems that all three dealers enjoy good recommendations from your neighbors so that's a toss up. I've been using KCl (potassium chloride) for 10+ years. It works perfectly, my wife's flowers and plants thrive, my septic tank and leach field are happy, and not a hint of sludge. I believe that Kinetico recommends the use of KCl. click here for some facts about KCl and plants

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