Yes they really work. I too have city water but couldn't be without one after having one.

I second posting on the plumbing forum. You should be able to pull all your water results off your city's site. Reading through past threads will also help you know what information you'll need so someone will help you determine sizing.

I went with a Clack valve. Fleck is also a well respected valve.

Thanks! I'll repost on plumbing forum!

Oh YES they work! I lived a few miles the other side of your mountain, and understand your issue.

It helps eliminate the calcite scum on shower glass, sinks and your laundry comes out cleaner ... as does your hair and body.

Yes! Installing one made a huge difference in our water and effect on clothing, appliances, fixtures, etc. We rent exchangeable tanks through Culligan because home water softeners are banned in our area

Thank you lazy_gardens and smm5525. So I am reading about kinetico which seems to have a fairly good reputation. But I am reading that people do NOT soften the water at the kitchen sink? That is one of the main problem points! Is this true?

Generally people do an RO system for the sink to remove the salt from softened water. We are in midst of remodel so haven't used the RO yet but when I definitely noticed the salt taste when cooking with the softened water. The RO will be connected to the fridge dispenser as well as a bev faucet at sink for cooking and drinking. The main tap of kitchen will still be softened.

Does kinetico provide the RO system? Thanks!

I have no idea. I know for us, Culligan offered to sell or rent it to us but we ended up just buying a system through Pirch. The RO system we have it only for the kitchen sink.

This this is what we purchased.

http://www.waterinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HousePure-HP-RO1000-specs.pdf

The softener tank we rent through Culligan and they change it every two weeks. We are not allowed to install a water softener in the home, which sucks.

When we had a basement, my husband was able to configure our plumbing so we had hard cold water at the kitchen tap, but our hot was soft. I can't drink soft water so it was wonderful. Now, we are on a slab so everything needs to be soft. We don't drink the tap water here though, it doesn't taste good. Water softeners make such a huge difference that I don't see any downfalls to having one.

Yes they do. I can't stand to bathe in hard water, When I travel I can't wait to get home to take a soft water shower. The is above even the desire to sleep in my own bed.

There are a lot of water softeners out there with a lot of bells and whistles. We found the type with a resin tank separate from the salt tank is the way to go. This is our opinion after 45 years of water softener use. Much easier to service and the valve and module are right there to access or switch out if need be.

We're about to tap into a hard water line for the pot filler and fridge during our remodel. That will be for cooking and drinking as well as filing the dog bowl. Right now we buy bottled water for those things. I will be so glad to get rid of the bottles. Our water softener guy suggested a water filter for that line. Our city water tastes awful.

Yes they work. Well water here.

Ours had something go went after a decade and we didn't realize it right away and it ended up taking longer than expected to get fixed. During that time my clothes, toilets, sinks, and hair all took a beating from the hard water. I think ours is culligan.

We had a whole house softener (don't soften the outside hose bibs or the drip system!) and a COSTCO RO unit and tank under the wet bar for connecting to the refrigerator and a RO tap for filling the coffee pot.

It worked out well, because the dishwasher got the softened water and the refrigerator's water and ice dispenser got RO water.

I'll pile on and say water softeners do make a big difference.

But, just to confuse you, we know a few people who are now putting in water conditioners instead of softeners. Unless we find out why we shouldn't, I think that is our plan too.

I thought I would add some info on Water Softening. I have been in the kitchen/bath/plumbing business since 1977. I tell every customer about water softening and the issues around it. There is a place for Water Softening, but not for drinking! Softening is the exchange of naturally found minerals for salt (sodium or potassium chloride). Salt softeners are not filtration devices. Softening has many disadvantages, and is not safe for the environment or people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart and kidney issues.