Water softener,,, any suggestion?

[Methodical4u]

Water softeners won't prevent spots, they simply exchange magnesium, calcium, and occasionally iron ions for sodium and potassium. However the spots from soften water would likely be less severe.


For 100% spot free washing, the CR System is definitely the way to go. The best price on one will be at Costco and you can buy the replacement resin by the cubic foot pretty reasonably here. How long the resin last will depend on the hardness of your water and what you use it for. If you just use it on the final rinse it should last a while. The city water at my house is around 180ppm, which is on the low side so mine last quite a while. There is a chart on the Costco site that shows the average amount of gallons you should expect based on your water hardness. You also want to rinse using a nozzle that restricts the water flow...the unit at Costco comes with one.

Hope this helps,
Rasky

Yeah, I was sooooo close to picking up on of those but I went with a double filter water softener. Which has the resin filters, but you do have to charge them back up by soaking them in a salt water solution over night. I'm thinking about getting a larger one for our new house which is 20"x4.5" I believe. You can also get filters for sediment, chlorine, etc, you can get a smaller double filter and use 2 different ones or whatever you choose. I'm going to call the town or just have an independent water test done to find out what's in the water here so I know the best route to go.

[Methodical4u]

and yes, you're right they WON'T prevent spots... they do a good job however of making them soft enough that they can be washed or wiped away easier. My wife and I's MS3 had water spots on the windows so bad I used alcohol, water, and some all purpose cleaner mixed WITH 0000 steel wool.