RESIDENTIAL WATER SOFTENER SYSTEMS

We sell Hellenbrand, Clack and Fleck control valves.

We service most major brands including: Hellenbrand, Clack, Fleck, Autotrol, Masters, Culligan (some), Pentair, US Water Systems and others. Give us a call. If you are not sure what you have, we will come out and evaluate it for free. If we can work on it, we would then schedule a service call. If we can’t, we can refer you to someone who does.

The softener is a 3-part system. The mineral tank, the valve on top, and a separate salt tank. Inside the mineral tank are millions of tiny plastic beads. These beads act like a powerful magnet. When your hard water or iron enters the mineral tank – the beads hold onto the iron and hardness. When the beads are full, the valve puts the water softener into a cleaning cycle. It uses the salt in the salt tank (called a brine tank) to scrub and “recharge” the beads. The cleaning or “regeneration” happens every 3-10 days, depending on your water usage and level of iron and hardness.

YES!  Your water softener works 365 days a year providing you with conditioned water. It goes through a regeneration cycle with moving parts about 40-60 times a year. And at time of install or since your last service call, the unit is programmed for peak efficiency based on YOUR specific water tests (which we do at your home). For best results, a yearly tune-up is essential, ESPECIALLY, if you have iron or iron bacteria in your water.

Yes. We deliver solar salt crystals, salt pellets and potassium chloride (salt free). Deliver includes adding salt to the brine tank and making sure the salt tank is not bridged (rocked up) – when we have access.

Hard water leaves scale. Lots of scale. Scale coats everything – your hair, skin, clothes, coffee pots, tea pots, dishes, silverware, glasses, utensils, dishwashers, appliances, shower walls, tubs, pipes, heating elements, washing machines, and more. That means dry itchy skin, frizzy hair, higher energy bills, appliances that fail prematurely, clogging of pipes, foggy and cloudy glasses and shower doors, more time scrubbing and cleaning, higher carbon footprint, soap scum, cloudy ice-cubes, dingy, grey, scratchy and stiff clothes, clothes that lose their shape and don’t last long, you use a LOT more soaps and detergents.

So, what are the benefits? Saves you money because every appliance will last longer and work more efficiently because the scale isn’t interfering with everything. You will use about 1/3rd less soap and detergent. Reduces electric bills. Cleaner hair and softer skin. Brighter and softer clothes. Cleaner dishes. Less cleaning. You will LOVE soft water. A water softener is the only appliance that practically pays for itself.

Check out this in-depth but concise study on the benefits of a water softener. https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/WQRF/ResearchStudy_BenefitsOfSoftenedWater_ExecSummary.pdf

A brine tank is a component of a water softener. It looks like a big garbage can. Its job is to store salt (or potassium chloride) and when the times comes - to make brine (salt water). The brine “cleans” and “recharges” your water softener. Depending on the system you have, the brine tank will either be dry until right BEFORE the cleaning cycle or it will always have water in it. A general rule of thumb is that the digital systems will be a DRY tank and the non-digital systems will have water all the time in the brine tank. A DRY brine tank is considered a better, more advanced system. Pro Tip > . Only fill the brine tank half full.

You want to know what THE BEST water softener is because you don’t want to waste your money or have problems down the road. But when you do your internet research, don’t be fooled by “reviews” that are really advertisements.
Take for example, this review: “11 Best Water Softeners – (Reviews & Ultimate Buying Guide 2019)” At first glance it looks legitimate. But when you go to the end of the “review” it says “© 2019 Water Filter Mag. All Rights Reserved. waterfiltermag.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.” It DOES have some good tips at the end of the article, but as far as which is THE BEST? That is just marketing.
So, what SHOULD you do? I tell my friends to follow these 6 tips:
1. Find a company that has been around for at least 5 years. This is a long-term relationship with no dating. Pick one that will last.
2. Choose a softener with a Digital Valve. It gives YOU important information – but even more critical – it gives the TECHNICIAN valuable diagnostic and performance information.
3. Choose a system with a separate brine tank – NOT one that has a built-in brine tank. Techs hate working on those. It leads to expensive service calls.
4. Try to avoid proprietary companies like Culligan, Ecowater and Lowes. Not to say that their products are bad, but if you don’t like them later – you can’t leave. And no one else can get the parts. Plus, most technicians stems from Lowes as a short-term throwaway item.
5. Do NOT buy a Saltless or Salt Free System like Pelican or EasyWater. They do NOT remove the minerals that cause hard water. Check this out: https://answers.angieslist.com/Do-Pelican-NaturSoft-Salt-free-water-softeners-work-salt-type-water-softeners-q38845.aspx.
6. Ask a technician what they would install in their homes – top answers are: “Hellenbrand Systems, Clack Systems, Fleck Systems”. Why? They last long and are easy to service.

Saltless systems are NOT water softeners – they do NOT remove the minerals that cause hardness. Those minerals (calcium and magnesium) can ONLY be removed with a water softener which uses ionic exchange. Take a look at these Angie’s List reviews on Pelican Water Systems : https://answers.angieslist.com/Do-Pelican-NaturSoft-Salt-free-water-softeners-work-salt-type-water-softeners-q38845.aspx. The Water Softeners are preferred. Pro Tip > Don’t want to use salt? Use Potassium Chloride in your water softener. That is your best salt-free alternative.

Hellenbrand ProMate 6 with high backwash and vortex mineral tank. It is mechanically built to handle high iron problems and has unique features that keep the softener cleaner than other brands. This means a longer life and less service calls. Second best for lower iron is the ProMate 1. Similar features but not as good as the ProMate 6.

No more than 6-8 inches from the bottom of your tank. The water level does vary depending on the size of your system. Bigger systems require more water in the brine tank. But NONE of the systems need a brine tank half full of water. If you have that much water, call for service. It’s usually a clogged injector in the valve itself.

Yes. But it depends on how much iron, hardness and manganese you have in your water. For the average household with an average amount of hardness, iron and manganese in the water (8 grains), the amount of sodium added to one 8-ounce glass of water is 15 mg of sodium. An 8 oz glass of milk averages 114 mg of sodium.

Yes. But hardness levels above 3 grains can lead to scaling problems throughout your entire home.

If you give your water softener a much-needed annual tune-up AND you start with a quality water softener, then:

• 20 plus years - If you ONLY have hard water from a well
• 15-20 years - If you have hard water from city water
• 5-10 years - If you have well water with iron or iron bacteria in addition to hard water
• 1-5 years – If you neglect your water softener

Just like any other appliance, over time, the components break and get worn, electrical problems occur, and it just stops working.

Regular maintenance is a KEY factor in the life of your water softener. AND iron bacteria must be addressed with a well chlorination.

There is much debate about that. CT does not allow you to discharge your water softener wastewater to your private septic tank. You must install a designated disposal system which does NOT get pumped out, inspected or monitored. It’s like a giant bucket with holes buried in your ground. It seems that any time there is a problem, the water softener gets blamed, regardless of the cause. Tens of thousands of people have discharged to their septic tanks without ever having a problem. Most septic companies will say it is bad to discharge because it can produce sludge. But then why have the “sludge” go to a system that you never pump out? Isn’t the best place to pump anything out your septic system? Many independent sources have stated there is no evidence of harm to a septic system, but if you live in CT, you must install a designated disposal system (dry well). For an in-depth review, check out: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/watershed/Pages/GWSofteners.aspx.

No. Per the State of Connecticut, a water softener must discharge to a designated disposal system, aka dry well.