Water softener recommendation required

[guraaf]

We moved to Bay Area, California and our water from CalWater is horrible. Very hard and smells too. We are thinking of getting whole house water softener:

1. Kinetico
2. EcoWater
3. Puronics
4. Clearion
5. Culligan

Any idea about these brands? They range from $3500 to $7000 including an under-sink R/O system as well. Any other brands? We don't want to spend a lot of money but do want something that just works and doesn't require a lot of effort in maintenance.

Thanks for your ideas.

 

[WilliamM2]

Had a Culligan, constantly broke down, and used 2 bags of salt a month. Would NEVER recommend. All those prices seem ridiculous.

We replaced it with a Whirlpool for $350 from Lowes. Uses roughly 1 bag every 2.5 months. Been working perfectly for 10 years now, and we have very hard well water. Only maintenance is a screen that needs removal and cleaning yearly, takes about ten minutes. I think I've done it three times now, I forget to do it.

 

[DooKey]

My house has a Kinetico and I'm very happy with it. It's super efficient with salt use. Mine also has charcoal filters that really reduce chlorine smells. I highly recommend it since it works even if the electricity goes out.

 

[Greenman]

Had a Culligan, constantly broke down, and used 2 bags of salt a month. Would NEVER recommend. All those prices seem ridiculous.

We replaced it with a Whirlpool for $350 from Lowes. Uses roughly 1 bag every 2.5 months. Been working perfectly for 10 years now, and we have very hard well water. Only maintenance is a screen that needs removal and cleaning yearly, takes about ten minutes. I think I've done it three times now, I forget to do it.

The RO filter is a bad idea in CA, they waste a lot of water.

 

[WilliamM2]

The RO filter is a bad idea in CA, they waste a lot of water.

I didn't say anything about an RO filter. Never had one.

 

[Greenman]

I didn't say anything about an RO filter. Never had one.

Sorry, quoted the wrong guy, OP mentioned it.