# Do I need a water softener? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894 "2025-03-20T23:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/1 "2025-03-20T23:24:57Z")
My plumbing company is recommending a water softener with an option for a filter. He said that we had hard water which would shorten the life of the copper pipes (house is 30 years old). The filter would also take out most of the chlorine. Here are the testing numbers he got: Chlorine 2.0 ppm Hardness: 12 gpg TDS: 210 They are recommending two options: WaterCare CareSoft Elite Resin Softener ([https://www.watercare.com/products/water-softeners/caresoft-elite.html](https://www.watercare.com/products/water-softeners/caresoft-elite.html)) plus WaterCare “One” Tank Cartridge Filter ([https://www.watercare.com/products/specialty-solutions/one-filtration.html](https://www.watercare.com/products/specialty-solutions/one-filtration.html)) Total $5666 installed Install a new 1354 WaterCare CareSoft Elite RC ([https://www.watercare.com/products/water-softeners/caresoft-elite-rc.html](https://www.watercare.com/products/water-softeners/caresoft-elite-rc.html)) Total $3985 installed I can’t tell if I really need this (yes I have hard water, but so what?) or whether the plumber needs to make a boat payment. NOTE: I am not asking about whether these prices are reasonable. I am asking about how to determine if I even need this. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/2 "2025-03-20T23:44:54Z")
Are your clothes and dishes stained? Does the taste bother you? Does soap not lather? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/3 "2025-03-20T23:56:24Z")
Almost nobody “needs” a water softener. Many people “want” them or have them. I’ve certainly enjoyed mine over the years. If $4K is whogas money, I expect your life will be improved with a softener. If $4K means you put off the replacement car for 4 years, do without the water softener. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/4 "2025-03-21T00:01:37Z")
I hate water softeners. I never feel clean after a shower with them. Also, I think they are pretty environmentally unfriendly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/5 "2025-03-21T00:05:53Z")
They can be turned up to the point the water feels utterly unnatural. Which I agree is unpleasant. Many techs do that because they sell more supplies that way. But they can be used to offset nasties in your local water, leaving you with what amounts to nearly pure water without dissolved geo-origin gunk in it. For that they are sensible modern conveniences. I suspect the environmental harm of water softeners used properly pales to insignificance beside the environmental harm of how much fresh water each of us heedlessly uses every day, softener or no. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/6 "2025-03-21T00:09:22Z")
Jesus–here’s what we bought for our insanely hard water–like 165 grains: [Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/pep/AQUASURE-Whole-House-Filtration-with-64-000-Grains-Fine-Mesh-Water-Softener-Reverse-Osmosis-System-and-Sediment-GAC-Pre-Filter-AS-WHF64FM/313348402?cm_mmc=ecc-_-THD_ORDER_CONFIRMATION_BOSS_STH-_-V1_M1_CA-_-Product_URL&ecc_ord=WG35457892&ecc_id=8609704b552f91ae0a2f5d7cc4809389661864fc06ab2fd76b3304e8acc3ad9c). Works great and installation was like half a day? It was during our build, but still–an inlet, an outlet, and a purge. That’s kinda the big deal–the brine has to go somewhere, but if you can gravity feed it, no big deal. The RO system is great for coffee and tea and the whole house filter is key. Unless you don’t have access to your water system, even a full day should do it. And they’ve had phenomenal customer support. We lived with hard water for a long time in CO and you get used to it in the shower, but I got sick of everything being rimed up. Replaced faucets and tea kettles many times. Now I feel weird showering under hard water! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/7 "2025-03-21T01:54:43Z")
That was my experience. Moving from a serious hard-water area with zero treatment to a semi-hard water area with softener was night and day. Both as to perception of water chemistry while using it, and as to long term maintenance effort of plumbing facilities in general which was frankly slashed, ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/8 "2025-03-21T03:07:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Are your clothes and dishes stained? Does the taste bother you? Does soap not lather? No, no, no. We have excellent water quality here (I used to play in a band with the county’s director of water quality). None of those are a concern. The big selling point was extending the life of the pipes. And I don’t know how big a problem that is given the level of hard water we have. He warned me that eventually pinholes would start to pop up everywhere. Sounded like sales pitch bullshit to me, but I’m not a plumber. I have been in places that have soft water, or use water softeners, and after I rinse soap off my skin it still feels slimy, like the soap isn’t washing off. I’ve been told that the minerals in hard water creates friction, which is what gives you that “squeaky clean” feeling. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/9 "2025-03-21T03:08:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > long term maintenance effort of plumbing facilities in general which was frankly slashed Can you elaborate on that? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/10 "2025-03-21T15:11:20Z")
We are on a well. And in our part of Ohio, the water is hard and full of iron, so having a water softener is pretty much a necessity, IMO. When our old Culligan water softener finally failed around 2015, I went to Lowes and bought a Whirlpool unit for around $500. Installation was pretty simple, and did it myself. It worked fine for about five years, and then failed. And I discovered why: I never cleaned it with [Res Care](https://www.amazon.com/ResCare-All-Purpose-Softener-Maintain-Filtration/dp/B0057FQJVM) on a regular basis, and I never replaced the [venturi screen](https://www.amazon.com/WS03X10073-Screen-Softener-Venturi-Assembly/dp/B08B2VFVXL) on a regular basis. So it was my fault. I bought another one in 2020, but _now_ I am keeping up on the PM. It’s been working great. Best $500 I’ve ever spent. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/11 "2025-03-21T15:21:18Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I have been in places that have soft water, or use water softeners, and after I rinse soap off my skin it still feels slimy, like the soap isn’t washing off. I’ve been told that the minerals in hard water creates friction, which is what gives you that “squeaky clean” feeling. I _hate_ our water in its natural (hard) state: the sinks and toilets become unsightly with iron stains, and the soap & water is not sudsy/foamy when taking a shower. I love out water softener. YMMV, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/12 "2025-03-21T15:37:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They can be turned up to the point the water feels utterly unnatural. Yep. We got one (wasn’t sure we even needed it either) and it was terrible. We had them come and turn it way down, and now we’re quite happy with a little softening. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/13 "2025-03-21T16:49:23Z")
Doesn’t sound like you _need_ a water softener. If you live in a hard water problem area it might increase the value of your home, but I’d ask a realtor about that instead of a plumber. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/14 "2025-03-21T17:02:17Z")
First, go to your water utility’s website and check their tests, they usually do them quarterly or something like that. They should have a hardness measure for your location. Second, get a second and third quote for a softener install if you think you need it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-a-water-softener/1015894/15 "2025-03-21T17:04:39Z")
We got a whole house water filter system along with our softener. Where we live, that’s a nice thing to have. Not sure if it’s an integrated thing, or just two things we got at the same time.