Anybody tried Rain Soft water softner ?

[Robyn55]

Does your system seem to be working ok? We've had our current water softener for over 10 years (it replaced one we rented when our house was built). I only recall one service call perhaps 5 years ago. Can't remember exactly what the problem was. The people who installed our current system have never recommended any type of regular service. Robyn

[slimsim]

My mother has had Rain-Soft for about 5 years now. I'm pretty sure I was living with her in college when the guys came by to try to sell it to her. I told her 'hell-no' dont do it, but the guys here in NE Florida were pretty consistent. My poor mom did not have a chance. I don't recall how much she paid, but it was way to much.

They come out every year and want to change her light bulbs or something. I tell her that is BS, a new bulb doesn't do anything an old bulb can't unless its burnt out, but they insist on changing them and charging her for it anyway.

You can get a water softener from Lowes for 400$ and just pay somebody to install it that for probably less than $500.

[SmallTownUSA]

Originally Posted by spaceguy

I signed up for a RainSoft softener demo at Home depot. They did an excellent demo at our house but finally quoted a price about 7000 for installation of water softener, air purifier and a tap near sink.

Anybody tried this softener. How much we can spend on this?

I used to sell RainSoft years ago. It is NOT a water softener. Water softeners work by adding salt to the water. Water softeners don't filter the water. A RainSoft system removes over 99% of all water contaminates, including flouride and chlorine. This is especially important when we are finding a growing level of contaminates in ground and surface water from manufacturing, and medications in municiple water. I believe this is only going to get worse and not better. Do yourself a favor, buy RainSoft. We are moving in the Spring and that will be the first thing to go into the new house. It's been years since I was a rep, but I will never forget all the disgusting water I encountered along the way. It will improve your quality of life and health to bathe, drink, cook and clean with pure water.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by spaceguy

I signed up for a RainSoft softener demo at Home depot. They did an excellent demo at our house but finally quoted a price about 7000 for installation of water softener, air purifier and a tap near sink.

Anybody tried this softener. How much we can spend on this?

Tired of water softener Threads, but other than that.....Nocatee.

[timetraveler20]

I purchased a Rain soft system back in 2005 & was very pleased with it as well. The only thing I did not like was the price. $8000 I think there are other systems that can give u the same results. That's only my opinion. I have not shopped around to find out for certain. Good luck.

Cris

[Robyn55]

I don't remember the name of the water softener we have - but can look at it if anyone is interested. And I know we didn't pay anything near $8k for it - more like $1k. $8k is more like what you'd pay here for a new HVAC system - not a water softener. Royn

[houseconfused]

I know this is an old thread, but I'll put in my $.02. After doing some research about water softeners, I formed the opinion that the cheaper the better. That being said, don't get all junk.

For a household, I don't think you ever need to spend over $3000. They are all basically the same; A brine tank that holds the salt solution, and a resin tank that is used to "soften" the water. There are different quality resins if you want to get into the specific's of each system, but most people aren't comparing the resin. I found that the more expensive systems have a mixed bed resin tank that incorporates carbon and maybe one other component. The thing about the carbon is that it's life is much shorter than the resin and you will loose the benefit of having carbon in the tank. If you want carbon, add a carbon filter (most commonly used to remove chlorine and scents).

One of the most important components of the system is the "head". The head is what controls when the resin tank is "refreshed" by running the salt brine through it. There are units out there you can buy and there are the "custom" units that folks like Rainsoft, UDI and Culligan are using. Compare the components, flow rates and timer mechanism. Some are purely time based and will refresh every x days. Others measure the flow and refresh based on the number of gallons softened.

In my mind, there are two things you should really concern yourself with.
1. What type of head is it and how much salt will I consume for x gallons per day?
2. What type of media (resin and other components) is in the tank and how many grains will it serve? What is the life of the resin?

If you are looking for a Culligan system, DM me and I'll send you the rep I dealt with. If you are looking for the most bang for your buck, look no further than this guy: HardAss Water Conditioning - <META name="y_key" content="2d5bed288bf5c314" />

In the end, I ended up getting a used system from my FIL and installed it into my water loop. I also put in a under the sink reverse osmosis system. My ice cubes come out crystal clear now!

[Robyn55]

Just FWIW - the unit we have is "demand" based - works on consumption - not on time. Works fine. I think there's a lot of garbage when it comes to selling things like water softeners. Robyn

[goodman_us]

we got the rainsoft water softener called the silver series ( has one brine tank and one resin/carbon tank) and were down $2500 in 2007 . But the system works just ok . Its not a wonder cure but it does take care of the hard water . I know that Home depot and others have systems that cost around $800 and do the same stuff. We did not have the knowledge at the time of purchase and were pressured by the sales representative who came for a demo to get the system. The real catch is the authorized dealer here charges $155 for service , which basically is changing few washers in the tank , and feels like a daylight robbery . So if you are handy with doing stuff on your own or know a good handyman who could service your system , go for it , otherwise stay away from RainSoft.

[EricBoyd]

We only pay ~$105 for our annual service.