Whether a water softener is worth it depends far more on your water than on the softener. On very hard water, the case is strong. On water that is already soft or moderately hard, it may not be needed at all. Here is how to decide for your own home, without guesswork.
Install Water Softener is an independent referral service, not an installer or plumber. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local water treatment pro who can contact you and prepare a quote.
Start with the number
Find your hardness. On city water, it is in your utility’s yearly water quality report; on a well, it comes from a lab test. The U.S. Geological Survey grades water from 0 to 60 mg/L as soft, 61 to 120 as moderately hard, 121 to 180 as hard and more than 180 as very hard. One grain per gallon is about 17 mg/L.
The range across the country is wide. Some utilities soften their water at the plant to about 10 grains per gallon and call that suitable for all home uses, while others report a typical 15 to 20 grains per gallon. The same softener is a very different purchase in each of those places. Read your own utility’s yearly report, or test your well, before you decide.
Then look at your home
Hard water shows itself in ways the agencies describe the same way:
- Soap scum, and soap or detergent that will not lather, so you use more of it (USGS)
- Deposits on dishes, glassware, fixtures and basins, and scale on pipes (water utilities)
- Scaling in pipes and water heaters, and on plumbing fixtures (utility water quality reports)
If you have a hard or very hard figure and these signs in more than one room, a softener addresses the cause. If your figure is moderate and you see little of this, you may be happier spending on something else.
What it is not for
A softener is not a health device. Utilities say hard water is not a health hazard, and call using a softener a matter of personal preference that may not improve the safety of water. If you want to remove something for health reasons, such as lead, you need a treatment certified for that, not a softener. See softener versus filter.
The costs that are not money
Worth it also means living with it. A salt-based softener needs salt topped up and a service on the maker’s schedule. It sends rinse water to the drain each time it regenerates. It adds sodium to the water in exchange for the hardness it removes, as water utilities explain; if you are on a sodium-restricted diet, they suggest asking your doctor. And utilities note some softening systems can make water more corrosive to a tank water heater’s anode, so settings matter.
| It leans toward worth it if | It leans away if |
|---|---|
| Your hardness is hard or very hard on the USGS scale | Your water is soft or moderately hard |
| You see scale and soap scum around the house | You see little sign of either |
| You are planning plumbing work anyway | There is no sensible spot with a drain and power |
| You are happy to keep salt topped up | Sodium is a concern and you have not asked your doctor |
What an install involves
If the answer is yes, the next question is the install. A softener goes on the main line before the water heater, with a bypass valve, a drain line and power for the control head, and it is programmed for your hardness. Many cities require a plumbing permit. The homepage and the whole house installation page explain the job, and the sizing guide shows how the size is worked out.
Decided a softener is worth it for your water?
If you already have one
Sometimes the question is whether an old softener is worth keeping. Test the water coming out of it. If it reads soft, it is doing its job. If it reads hard, see softener repair for the checks and the repair-or-replace question.
A fair way to decide
Get your figure. Look at your fixtures. Ask a pro to size a system from that figure and put the quote in writing, with the upkeep explained. Then weigh it against what hard water is costing you in soap, cleaning and scale. That comparison is yours to make, and it is easier with real numbers than with a sales pitch. If you would like a pro to look at your water and your plumbing and give you those numbers, send the form with your ZIP code; asking commits you to nothing.
