need Water Softener for new house

[cohee]

Hi everyone,

New to TalkIrvine and hoping to learn from everyone here

We just bought a new construction house in Orchard Hills and will be moving in in about a month. New house will come with plumbing supply line loop in the garage for an aftermarket water softener system.

In researching, there are so many options for water filtration systems, softener systems, or combo systems.. I'm at a loss as to which type of system is needed for Irvine water, which brand/model, and general considerations for making this decision.
About the house: 3000+ sq ft, 4.5 bathrooms

Anyone with experience recently with water systems that can provide some recommendations? Thanks in advance! 

[Irvinehomeseeker]

i installed a Water Softener with carbon filter and an Reverse osmosis system. The company I got it from is Diamond Pure. Price was reasonable - this was about 3 yrs back. For new homes, i think a water softener is a great idea especially if you have a tankless water heater.
 

[moc]

i installed a Water Softener with carbon filter and an Reverse osmosis system. The company I got it from is Diamond Pure. Price was reasonable - this was about 3 yrs back. For new homes, i think a water softener is a great idea especially if you have a tankless water heater.
 

We also went with diamond pure..same system. Still works great two years later. Definitely worth it!

[Mety]

What's so big deal about water softener? I guess it makes your water less thick, but does it really matter to you guys? Maybe I need to try one. I almost did, but our water was not that thick so didn't go for it.

About Reverse osmosis system, we thought water purifier was a better investment so we did that instead.

[Cares]

Also vouch for Diamond Pure. Price was good and install was clean. They over charge for annual maintenance though. Just buy your own filters on Amazon and change it. It cost me $30 whereas there charge $175.

[Maserson]

+1 diamond pure.

Was opposed to water softener $ but now think it’s worth it. Less skin irritation and less calcification of water appliances.

Came with reverse osmosis under sink system. Don’t really care about this, I’m used to drinking tap water.

[moc]

What's so big deal about water softener? I guess it makes your water less thick, but does it really matter to you guys? Maybe I need to try one. I almost did, but our water was not that thick so didn't go for it.

About Reverse osmosis system, we thought water purifier was a better investment so we did that instead.

It has to do with the hardness of the water here in Socal. Do you get water spots/cloudy spots on glass that just won't come out? Those are hard water spots. The water softener helps keep everything looking nice and it's nicer on your hair/skin when you shower as well. It's not 100% necessary but definitely nice to have.

[Irvinehomeseeker]

Also vouch for Diamond Pure. Price was good and install was clean. They over charge for annual maintenance though. Just buy your own filters on Amazon and change it. It cost me $30 whereas there charge $175.

Thank you for this tip!

[LA2Irvine]

We also went with Diamond Pure - twin star water softener and RO system. In case you go with them, there's a coupon on Yelp that should still be valid for a small discount.

I had never owned a water softener or RO system before, surviving mostly on Brita filters. Having these as part of my day-to-day has been a game changer. No more build-up on the shower glass and water tastes way better.

Two tips to think about:
1) If you end up hooking the RO system to your refrigerator (for the water dispenser and ice maker) look into a bypass water filter for your refrigerator. Your refrigerator comes with a water filter so having both the RO system and refrigerator water filter leaves you with tiny ice cubes and low water pressure for the water dispenser. A bypass water filter from your refrigerator's manufacturer should fix this.

2) I'm sure 99% of people will disagree with this one (the guys at Diamond Pure did), but sometimes with newer builds the water line that goes into your garage also goes to your hose line/sprinkler line in the backyard. So if your water softener system uses sodium, your backyard sprinklers will be watering your plants with sodium water. According to our landscaper, some plants don't do great with sodium. An alternative is to use potassium in your water softener system but it's way more $$$.

Just a thought. Just about everybody else who I asked disagreed and said the sodium in softened water is so low that it should be fine for plants. But I didn't want to end up with a dead garden so I've been opting for potassium.

[cohee]

Thanks guys for the many timely tips and unanimous recommendation on Diamond Pure Since everyone really likes them, I will reach out to them to learn more about my options. Just to make sure I understand, the recommended set up from Diamond Pure is the water softener + RO system. This will soften and purify the water?

Many thanks again everyone

[Irvinehomeseeker]

We also went with Diamond Pure - twin star water softener and RO system. In case you go with them, there's a coupon on Yelp that should still be valid for a small discount.

I had never owned a water softener or RO system before, surviving mostly on Brita filters. Having these as part of my day-to-day has been a game changer. No more build-up on the shower glass and water tastes way better.

Two tips to think about:
1) If you end up hooking the RO system to your refrigerator (for the water dispenser and ice maker) look into a bypass water filter for your refrigerator. Your refrigerator comes with a water filter so having both the RO system and refrigerator water filter leaves you with tiny ice cubes and low water pressure for the water dispenser. A bypass water filter from your refrigerator's manufacturer should fix this.

2) I'm sure 99% of people will disagree with this one (the guys at Diamond Pure did), but sometimes with newer builds the water line that goes into your garage also goes to your hose line/sprinkler line in the backyard. So if your water softener system uses sodium, your backyard sprinklers will be watering your plants with sodium water. According to our landscaper, some plants don't do great with sodium. An alternative is to use potassium in your water softener system but it's way more $$$.

Just a thought. Just about everybody else who I asked disagreed and said the sodium in softened water is so low that it should be fine for plants. But I didn't want to end up with a dead garden so I've been opting for potassium.

on the 2nd item - Petaluma from IP has 2 water outlets for garden.  One dispenses soft water and the other regular water.   i use the second one to water my garden.

[Irvinehomeseeker]

Thanks guys for the many timely tips and unanimous recommendation on Diamond Pure Since everyone really likes them, I will reach out to them to learn more about my options. Just to make sure I understand, the recommended set up from Diamond Pure is the water softener + RO system. This will soften and purify the water?

Many thanks again everyone

RO is for drinking water.

[zovall]

Just to make sure I understand, the recommended set up from Diamond Pure is the water softener + RO system. This will soften and purify the water?

The softener will be one tank (or two if you also do a whole house carbon filter) and a brine tank (that contains the salt pellets you add every few months). This softener system will typically be installed in your garage or on the side of your house. This softens all the water that goes through it. And like mentioned above, if softened water goes to water your plants, you will want to use potassium pellets instead of sodium pellets.

Softened water is not purified. The RO (reverse osmosis) system purifies your drinking water and is typically installed under the kitchen sink. They will add a faucet at the sink that will provide the purified water. If you are able to run a line from the RO to the refrigerator, that would be good for getting purified water from the refrigerator and making ice from purified water (the comment above about refrigerator water pressure is something to keep in mind).

[zovall]

Soo.. In my old house, our water softener consisted of 1 large resin unit + 1 brine tank (I did not have a whole house carbon unit). Most of the units I see sold by Diamond Pure and others on Yelp are set up the same way (+1 additional unit if doing a whole house filter).

But, there are many units available on Lowes/Home Depot/Amazon that have the water softener in 1 unit total (resin and brine tank combined). I've got relatives that have such a unit and it has been working fine for over 25 years. Here are similar units by GE and Whirlpool:
https://www.amazon.com/GE-GXSH40V-Grain-Water-Softener/dp/B00D5YRZLU/
https://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-WHES40E-Softener-Built-Technology-NSF-Certified/dp/B07R3G7LTD/
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-48000-Grain-Water-Softener/3345284

In my new home, garage space is extremely tight and I have to sacrifice cabinet space to fit a softener in.
Does anyone have one of these units where the softener and brine tank are in 1 piece? How has that been working?

Any cons to these devices? I've gone down a rabbit hole researching people talking about Fleck valves vs Clack valves, etc and wanted to see what the TI hivemind has to say.

[hurijo]

Also vouch for Diamond Pure. Price was good and install was clean. They over charge for annual maintenance though. Just buy your own filters on Amazon and change it. It cost me $30 whereas there charge $175.

Is this just a pre-filter separate from the softener system?

Thanks guys for the many timely tips and unanimous recommendation on Diamond Pure Since everyone really likes them, I will reach out to them to learn more about my options. Just to make sure I understand, the recommended set up from Diamond Pure is the water softener + RO system. This will soften and purify the water?

Many thanks again everyone

If you get a quote from Diamond Pure, please share it. I've always been interested.