Are you considering a water softener for your home? Wondering how much does a water softener cost?
If your home has hard water, installing a water softener can be a great decision. A water softener works to reduce the hardness of the water coming from the local water supply by removing all unwanted minerals.
In this blog, we will share how much does a water softener costs to help you make an informed decision.
Why Should You Use a Water Softener?
Many times, you may feel the water is very hard. That happens when water has a high quantity of unhealthy mineral content such as iron or magnesium. Using a water softener helps you to stay healthy by getting rid of the unnecessary minerals in the water.
Unwanted Mineral Content
Using water with a moderate mineral level is recommended. The primary reason being that excess of minerals can be harmful for health, hair and skin. Like when you use a towel, a fluffy and soft one feels just right, similarly soft water also is better for your hair, skin, and frequent use.
Not Safe to drink
Hard water is not safe to drink, as it can imbalance your daily mineral content. It can add magnesium and calcium to your daily intake, as you consume it unknowingly. If you want to stay away from unwanted mineral content in your water, you can install a reverse osmosis system or a countertop water filter.
Makes Cleaning Difficult
Using hard water for cleaning purposes is not very effective. When you use soap with hard water for cleaning dishes or launder clothes, it does not do a very effective job. On cleaning silverware or glassware with soap and hard water, you may notice white or gray spots after it dries up. Using soft water for cleaning purposes does not leave a white film.
Unsafe for Plumbing Pipes
Hard water is not suitable for your plumbing system and water pipes. Over time, it can block the water pipes, create salt build ups leading to unnecessary and costly repairs.
Wondering how a water softener works:
How to Determine the Cost of a Water Softener?
Many factors affect the cost of a water softener system for your home. Manual regeneration softeners are the least expensive of water softeners. Their price starts from $400 and can go up based on the brand and features available. The installation cost of this water softener is around $100-$400.
Installing a timed water softener or a metered one is significantly more expensive, with an average cost of $3000. Some of the models that come with high-end features or automatic regeneration can go above $3000 as well.
As a homeowner, take a look if you have the right water pipes for the water softener plumbing setup. If not, getting them installed will be an additional one-time expense of $100-$400.
What are the Factors Affecting the Cost of a Water Softener
Many factors affect the cost of purchasing and operating a water softener. Even though, it’s a common plumbing project, its prices can vary from one city to another.
Water Softener Size
Different households have varying needs and will require different types of water softeners. Installing a water softener for a house is a lot like installing HVAC. Just like installing an HVAC for a larger home costs more than a smaller apartment, water softener installation also works the same way. Bigger homes will require larger water softener models.
At the time of ascertaining the right water softener size, your plumber will look at many factors such as:
- The daily water consumption of the household
- The water hardness level
- Number of water fixtures present in the home
So, if you have a greater number of water fixtures, increased level of water hardness, the price of a water softener will be on the higher side.
Level of Water Hardness
Some homes have more water hardness level than others. The water softening cost is directly proportional to the level of water hardness. In the case of increased water hardness, a more effective water softener model would be required.
Checking the water hardness level is simple. Do you get water supply from the municipality? Get in touch with the water department can give you a report on the water hardness level. In case you fetch water from a well, there are many water hardness test kits available to check the level of hardness, iron, and pH content of the water.
Different Water Softener Types
Size of your home, water consumption, and water hardness levels are the most important things to consider when you finalize a model.
Water softeners come in different types and varying price points. The four main types of water softeners are as below:
- Salt-free
- Ion-Exchangers
- Magnetic
- Dual Tank
Magnetic water softeners are the most advanced models available in the market. Though they are new, they are relatively inexpensive compared to the dual tank or salt-free models.
Want a more affordable but effective water softener model? Check out the Ion-exchanger water softeners that have been around for long and are quite popular with households too.
Cost of Installing a Water Softener
It is recommended to hire specialized water treatment professionals and plumbers to install or replace your water softener.
By getting multiple quotes from plumbing agencies or individual plumbers, you can certainly shop around for the most reasonable price quote.
We have a complete guide about hard water solutions if you are wanting something more specific.
How to Install the Best Water Softener for Your Home
Set it and forget it rule cannot be applied to any home appliance.
You will need to pay certain maintenance costs to install a water softener. All major home appliances, such as flooring, roofing, or an under the sink water filter, need regular repair and maintenance to help them operate smoothly.
If you have a salt-free water softener, your salt costs will be zero. A salt-free system will need you to add salt regularly. Adding salt helps remove the hardness from the water.
It is also recommended to clean the brine tank once a year to maintain its life span and effectiveness at softening the water. With frequent use, the salt buildup can increase in the tank and may lead to expensive repairs or breakdowns. If you want to know more about how to clean water softener, you can read our article: 12 Tips to Clean Water Softener
Since majority of water softeners come with a manufacturer’s warranty, your water softening company should be able to fix all the issues.
Installing a water softener has numerous advantages that you should consider before making a decision. When you choose one, you can also save money on costly repairs that arise from regularly using hard water.
