If anyone has one they like or works installing them, please shoot me a PM. We have a lot of lime in our water and it clogs sprayers, leaves scale on stuff, ruins dishwashers and water heaters... looking for some advice on choosing a system. ... maybe a whole house filter of some other type?

Call a professional.

I agree with WI Outdoors, call a professional. They can test your water and help determine what kind of system you will need.

I have a culligan system and it is great, but I don't think I would put one in today. They are just too expensive. It consists of a chlorinator, carbon filter, and softener. Mine was in the house when I bought it 25 years ago and it was 18 years old at that time. So its a 43 year old system. I have had it repacked once and have had to replace some valves and such but for it's age I can't complain. Last time I had a repairman out for it (probably 6 years ago) he said it would cost over 20k to replace it with the same system new. I would definitely go with a different brand rather than pay that price.

Yup....we have a Culligan self back washing system. We just have a big container we put

The blue bag salt in.

That's all I do...is check the salt level and add when needed

This system has been working for 31 years ..no problem.

Yup ..get a pro in there ...test the water and adjust from there.

It's cheaper than replacing the boiler... faucets...and appliances

Take a water sample and send to Bender lab. Find out the quality of your water. Some companies are famous for putting in $4-$5000 systems without a water sample. If your water is hard, a simple softener will do the job.

My rural water coop recommened soft water on the hot water side only.

We probably have the same type of water. I have put both of ours in(water softeners). First lasted 17 years, from Lowes. Current one is a Morton from Menards $400. You can do it yourself. Set it up where the water comes into your house so both hot and cold are taken care of. Can get some water hardness test strips from Amazon to see where to set it at.

Have a kinetico system it’s been in for close to 40 years it works so I don’t know if new ones are good or not.

We've got a water boss from menards between 4 to 500.you would want to run a separate line for drinking water if you don't already have 1.weve got a newer house so it has a separate faucet in the kitchen that has water for drinking plus the fridge.like mentioned there not hard to put in and you can buy test strips to check your water's hardness.you don't use near as much soap/laundry detergent with the soft water i can tell right away when iam taking a shower if we're out of salt but my wife doesn't notice.

I put in a Whirlpool water softener, it was super easy. I used the strips to set the correct level.

House live in now has Kinetico that was installed by previous owner. Had it serviced a year or so back and was told it would run around $5K to install today. Was floored it would be that much. Kinetico is a metered on demand system. it only cycles when set volume of water has been run thru it. That type seems better than on a clock, which runs if you are using water or not.

30+ years of custom homes and remods. Pretty much a very short list of considerations

1. Have your water tested first. Not only for hardness, but iron/other AND are you getting much sediment?? Additionally make sure it is sized correctly and if needed, always figure more - never less.

This will tell you if you simply need to soften the water, pre-treat through an iron curtain, or add a pre-treat filtration system.

For myself personally, we get sediment up from our well, iron is high, and water hardness is high 30's low 40's.

I have pre-filter on incoming line before the pressure tank, runs through iron curtain, softener, and I have a reverse osmosis system delivering to my master bath vanity and kitchen sink.

Top brands we installed over the last 35 years that last:

1. Kinetico $$$$ but will give you years of service

2. Hellenbrand $$$ longevity and serviceable

3. Aquasure - They have entry level cheap stuff and high end. You get what you pay for!

Everything else is a low grade consumer big box store scam. Expect to replace every few years.

I’ve got a water boss that is over 20 years old.Stopped working one time so I called customer service and they walked me through putting grease on a gear in the head unit.Pretty hard to beat that.

Leaning towards this one after I get the water tested of course.