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Water Softener Recommendations

1,631 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 4 days ago by waterchick
FunnyFarm14
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2:26a, 2/12/25
AG
Ok..... Wife's hairdresser has recommended to get a water softener put in (we're N. Zulch city water). Being that I realize I am not in charge and have already lost the argument about not doing it, I'm looking for recommendations.

Culligan comes up on a google search. Are they any better than the home depot DIY?

Lastly.... Having never had one of these. Do I put them inside? Or just before water enters the house outside?
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happyinBCS
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6:16a, 2/12/25
Have you measured the TDS you can get a gauge at Home Depot Is the water hard? Most water in the Brazos valley is soft due to high salt content

I just measured mine 450 TDS tap water and 45 TDS out of my RO system this is city of college station water and most of the solids are salt because the water is pretty soft
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EBrazosAg
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7:29a, 2/12/25
AG
I am not aware of any hard water in this area. The issue is soft water. Not hard.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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ElephantRider
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8:03a, 2/12/25
AG
Just to echo the others, most of the water around here is very soft.
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motherrunnersBCS
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1:22p, 2/12/25
Put a filter on the shower, not a water softener.
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Animal Eight 84
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9:06p, 2/12/25
AG
Put in a rainwater collection tank.

Do a trial with a clean container and catch some rainwater. Let her try washing her hair with it. May have to put it in a pitcher and wash over a sink or tub.
May give the results she is looking for.
That's what women did many years ago.
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Belton Ag
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In reply to happyinBCS • 9:17a, 2/13/25
AG
happyinBCS said:
Have you measured the TDS you can get a gauge at Home Depot Is the water hard? Most water in the Brazos valley is soft due to high salt content

I just measured mine 450 TDS tap water and 45 TDS out of my RO system this is city of college station water and most of the solids are salt because the water is pretty soft


Why do that when you can have your hairdresser come out and tell you what you need?
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Rex Racer
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In reply to FunnyFarm14 • 9:29a, 2/13/25
AG
Like the other posters, I have never heard of ANYONE in my 36 years of living here complain about our water being too hard. Is your hairdresser insane?

Take a black mug and run some tap water in it. Let the water evaporate and then look inside the mug. See all that white stuff? It's salt.

We have a filter on our shower that does the trick.
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Tim Weaver
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10:50a, 2/13/25
Yeah. We have an RO filter for drinking water. Would be nice to put sediment and charcoal filters on the house input side, but haven't done that yet. I bet those charcoal filter would need changing out monthly.

I keep shrimp and tropical fish so I measure the TDS coming out of the faucet. We can be anywhere between 250 to 500 ppm of dissolved solids. I get 12-15 TDS out of my RO filter.


*Dang I just came back and read this! My touchscreen typing needs some help! lol.
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FunnyFarm14
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5:10p, 2/21/25
AG
Thanks for the help.... I knew I wasn't crazy. Wife and hairdresser definitely are. She still drives 3+ hours to the south of Beaumont to get her hair done....

Water Filter. System recommendations? Or just a canister filter to change?
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happyinBCS
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5:22p, 2/21/25
Lampo water
let him install a RO for all your drinking water and ice
best price in town
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Roxie146
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7:51p, 2/21/25
We use a RO system in our home -14 gallon tank to 5 faucets in our remodeled home- Apec system from https://www.freedrinkingwater.com - go look at their systems- been using their systems for over 10 years- initially to reduce salt-

Easy to install and easy to change your own filters.

As many have said- we don't have hard water - we have too salty water - horrible on plants and fixtures …..
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Esteban du Plantier
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8:21a, 2/22/25
AG
Ok, nobody has given a decent explanation on hard vs soft water.

We have high dissolved solids, but it's salt and sodium bicarbonate.

Hardness is caused by calcium and magnesium. These minerals cause scale and also bind to soaps making them less effective.

A water softener replaces calcium/magnesium with sodium ions.

We have loads of sodium ions and very little hardness minerals.

So your water is already very soft.
.
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reineraggie09
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3:19p, 2/22/25
AG
We went with Nuvo, it's a citrus based softener. No adding salt. We really like it. Change out the canister about once every 6 months. We got the filter system as well since we are in Navasota and the pipes have all kinds of gunk in them.
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FunnyFarm14
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10:18p, 2/23/25
AG
First off this is the wife...

1- we are in North Zulch NOT THE BRAZOS VALLEY and the water is NOT soft out here like it is in BCS.

2. For everyone talking smack about my hair dresser- she has done my hair for 20+ years and knows how it normally feels and hears my concerns with my hair and skin dry since we moved out here.

I have always had well water until we got this crappy city water. Our sons skin is dry as well which has not been his normal previously either.
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Belton Ag
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In reply to FunnyFarm14 • 6:22a, 2/24/25
AG
FunnyFarm14 said:
First off this is the wife...

1- we are in North Zulch NOT THE BRAZOS VALLEY and the water is NOT soft out here like it is in BCS.

2. For everyone talking smack about my hair dresser- she has done my hair for 20+ years and knows how it normally feels and hears my concerns with my hair and skin dry since we moved out here.

I have always had well water until we got this crappy city water. Our sons skin is dry as well which has not been his normal previously either.
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waterchick
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9:02a, 2/24/25
From https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water:

"Hardness is caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by a variety of other metals. General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard."

Total hardness for North Zulch MUD is 3.68 - 3.94 mg/L as calcium carbonate. I found that by looking up North Zulch MUD on Texas Drinking Water Watch: https://dww2.tceq.texas.gov/DWW/

I don't have recommendations for your hair, but if North Zulch MUD is your water provider, the water is "soft."
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