I just tore down my dishwasher, looks like hardwater/calcium scale build-up is eating it up. Obviously I need a water softener. I have looked at salt-free designs as well as the standard water softeners that use salt. I'm not too crazy about using salt because your skin abosrbs it when you take a shower.

Any ideas as to good reliable water softener brand that doesn't use salt?

Why no salt?

Don't waste your time with the salt-less designs. If you want the water softened, the ion-exchange (salt) softeners are the only way to go.

Does your house have hookups for a water softener already? If not, are you handy enough with plumbing to add in the connection? If not, count on paying a plumber big bucks to add in the hookup.

If you're on municipal water, contact your supplier for a hardness rating. Hardness can be rated in grains per gallon or ppm. How hard your water is and how many people live in your house dictates how much capacity you need in a softener. Harder water + more people = bigger softener.

If the dishwasher is the only place you're seeing scaling, make sure your water heater is turned up to 140˚. If it's running low, the soap won't dissolve and will coat everything inside with a white chalk, especially the strainer in the bottom and the heating element.

Our water here is hard enough to sink your teeth into. My neighborhood is fed from a well, we have water hardness here of 32 grains per gallon (547ppm). A softener is pretty much a requirement unless you like rock formations on any sort of plumbing fixture.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

? What about the reverse osmosis typ ? .

Where I'm at you can close to hammer nails with the tap water, it only occasionally meets Federal specs.

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Where do I look to see if there are hook-ups for a water softener? The hot water heater is in the garage.

In hard water areas, RO filters are *EXTREMELY* expensive to operate, very wasteful with water, and suffer a very short membrane life. Around here, a typical undercounter style will only last about a month without a softener to take out some of the mineral content first.

If you have hookups for a softener, you'll have a loop of pipe sticking out of the wall or a set of 2 or 3 valves with a drain. It may look as though someone was going to connect a sink and "forgot".

If your water heater is in the garage, that's a good indication that the water main enters there somewhere. Typically houses plumbed for softeners have the outside sill faucets separated off from the soft water supply.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

I used the potassium tablets in our softener for years and they work great. More expensive but a bag lasts about 1.5-2 mos regenerating about twice a week. One thing I found-don't fill the brine tank full with "salt" only put in one bag max. It will eventually cake and need to be taken apart and cleaned. Also setting the water level in the brine tank to max helps. Since we moved and on city water don't need a softener but it doesn't taste like well water-I miss how our well water tasted.

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Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

Thanx for all the info ! .

Softened water has many benefits ~ tastes better, less soap in the washing machine, less stains in sinks / toilets, less water spots on your car when you wash it, on and on.....


I wish I could afford a whole house softener system .

Maybe one of these days .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Is San Diego, water still nasty? Had a aunt in National City.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Two things I have found over the years....

Always keep about 80 pounds of salt in reserve. You don't want to check your salt levels late at night and find you need to buy more.

Choose who you buy your system from not only on price but also on their reputation for service. Someday you will need it and most of the stuff you can do yourself. A good service company will give you instructions over the phone on how to reset your system.

I would recommend AFWFilters AIS10-25SXT to anyone. Simple installation. It works very well. After installation, there is not even any strange smell in the water.

I just tore down my dishwasher, and it looks like spam deposits are eating it up. Would the AFWFilters product help in that regard?

Stop eating spam, imagine what it does in your guts!

I'm safe, as I never remove it from the can...

Interesting as so many hate it whilst others simply love it .

I find it's rarely properly prepared, when used as a meat extender on foods I find it very good , not so much when used in slices .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better