Water Softeners / Filtration
- Thread starter Daserop
- Start date
I have worked on the industrial side of water treatment for many years (ChE, ISU) but have offered advice on homeowners units as well. I have also installed several softeners. My best advice to you is to stay away fom the Culligan, Kinetico, etc. dealers since you will pay 3 times (or more) for a softener that will not provide any better water quality than a unit purchased from Menards or Sears. Install it yourself if you can, or find a buddy who knows how to do copper soldering or deal with the plastic piping that you may have. It's not that tough. One question to ask yourself: Do I really need a water softener? We have Des Moines city water here in Ankeny and there is really no need to have a softener. I'm not familiar with CR water. Good luck!
I have had a softener sitting in a box in my basement for years, brand new. Just called a plumber and he said it would cost about 3-4 hundred to install due to running new lines to the outside faucets. Im thinking about just doing that myself. He charges $65 an hour, is that bad? Its one from menards we bought years ago but never installed.
For a quick price reference I charge $25 hr plus parts for side work & our shop rate for work is around 45-50 hr. You can get it done cheaper, it's not like your in a big hurry.
My water softener has a slide valve on the back to bypass the softener when I want to water the lawn. I push it, then go water the lawn and if I forget to reset it back to softened water, I remember the next morning when the water feels funny in the shower, reminds me to flip it back to softened side. nothing really hurt that way.
For a quick price reference I charge $25 hr plus parts for side work & our shop rate for work is around 45-50 hr. You can get it done cheaper, it's not like your in a big hurry.
Thanks for the info, this guy is a brother of a friend and this is his fulltime job. I will look around for sure, but you are welcome to come over whenever you get time. Ill pay you in cash, beer and Ill even read you posts from the Conference expansion thread while you work! Helluva deal!
Water softeners were a frequent discussion on a Rockwell Collins electronic bulletin board. This is what I recall from the comments. Stay away from the cheaper units from Sears and Menards, they don't last very long.
As someone else said Culligan's and Kinetico are too expensive.
Many people recommended Witte in Marion, I have used The Waterworks in Fairfax for many years.
There were a few negative comments about Witte from new home owners when the previous home owner was renting the water softener from Witte. Usually the prior home owner did not disclose it was a rental unit and Witte became very obnoxious in trying to get his water softener back.
