ZeroLot
New member
Ok my vetting is done. I met with a couple of vendors and researched more online.
I was debating between salt-free and salt water softeners. After much research it seems that salt-free ones tends to run into trouble during the REGEN process and has caused a lot of problems for people who get them. REGEN does take extra water to flush out the system. About 30 gallons for every 1500 gallons of softened water, give or take a few hundred gallons.
We looked into Waterboy Salt-free and Life Source Salt-Free but there seems to be a lot of mixed, confusing, and info on their systems. There's even people saying that vendors sell fake salt-free systems. I decided not to take a risk and have concluded that customer service is my priority when it comes to my water softener.
I heard horror stories of people's laundry room being totaled because the water softener messed up the processing of water in the washer and caused water to damage all the flooring in the house. I've decided that is NOT a risk I am willing to take. I'd rather spend the extra money here and get a reputable company that will service their tanks and parts. Rayne has excellent warranty on their systems ... ask recommend by Lucky on TI.
I chose to go with Rayne's Salt-based softener + conditioner ... as 2 separate tanks. Customer service as Rayne has been great and the ability to rent for 3 months really helps ... after the 3 months we can then decide to continue to rent or pay the pro-rated amount to own.
I did consider 3M and they were very competitive and less than Rayne. Rep was great too with great service. But 3M doesn't offer the softener + conditioner as 2 separate tank units.
Irvine Water Company doesn't use chlorine in their systems anymore. They use chloramine (chlorine + ammonia). After much research online the only carbon-based system that has a chance at removing chloramine is a GAC (granulated active carbon) filter. It turns out the coconut shell carbon filter from Rayne is a GAC so it can do a pretty decent job cleaning out chlorine or chloramine. Plus the coconut shells makes the water taste sweet AND it's much cheaper to replace than a regular carbon filter.
The old 80's and 90's water conditioners all have coconut shells as their carbon filter because that was the technology back then. Now there's more refined carbon filters out there but it's also more costly to replace.
For our water softener tank we've decided to mix half salt + potassium to get the added health effects. Salt or Potassium removes all calcium and magnesium in the water. So with a half and half system, we can drink the water from any tap in our house + it's safe enough to water the plants in our garden. If it's all salt it is not recommended to water plants with the water. I would use all potassium but I can't afford that every month.
I am debating whether or not to go with 3M for our Reverse Osmosis system. We discovered our Caesarstone countertop is not drilled for a reverse osmosis faucet so we may need professional installation for that.
So that's my vetting process and if you are interested in Rayne water too, ask for Carlos. He's the lead tech at Rayne. He knows a lot about softeners and conditioners.
I have friends who buy water softeners from other companies and have a plumber install it too. But the rent to own option at Rayne really earn our confidence and business.
I was debating between salt-free and salt water softeners. After much research it seems that salt-free ones tends to run into trouble during the REGEN process and has caused a lot of problems for people who get them. REGEN does take extra water to flush out the system. About 30 gallons for every 1500 gallons of softened water, give or take a few hundred gallons.
We looked into Waterboy Salt-free and Life Source Salt-Free but there seems to be a lot of mixed, confusing, and info on their systems. There's even people saying that vendors sell fake salt-free systems. I decided not to take a risk and have concluded that customer service is my priority when it comes to my water softener.
I heard horror stories of people's laundry room being totaled because the water softener messed up the processing of water in the washer and caused water to damage all the flooring in the house. I've decided that is NOT a risk I am willing to take. I'd rather spend the extra money here and get a reputable company that will service their tanks and parts. Rayne has excellent warranty on their systems ... ask recommend by Lucky on TI.
I chose to go with Rayne's Salt-based softener + conditioner ... as 2 separate tanks. Customer service as Rayne has been great and the ability to rent for 3 months really helps ... after the 3 months we can then decide to continue to rent or pay the pro-rated amount to own.
I did consider 3M and they were very competitive and less than Rayne. Rep was great too with great service. But 3M doesn't offer the softener + conditioner as 2 separate tank units.
Irvine Water Company doesn't use chlorine in their systems anymore. They use chloramine (chlorine + ammonia). After much research online the only carbon-based system that has a chance at removing chloramine is a GAC (granulated active carbon) filter. It turns out the coconut shell carbon filter from Rayne is a GAC so it can do a pretty decent job cleaning out chlorine or chloramine. Plus the coconut shells makes the water taste sweet AND it's much cheaper to replace than a regular carbon filter.
The old 80's and 90's water conditioners all have coconut shells as their carbon filter because that was the technology back then. Now there's more refined carbon filters out there but it's also more costly to replace.
For our water softener tank we've decided to mix half salt + potassium to get the added health effects. Salt or Potassium removes all calcium and magnesium in the water. So with a half and half system, we can drink the water from any tap in our house + it's safe enough to water the plants in our garden. If it's all salt it is not recommended to water plants with the water. I would use all potassium but I can't afford that every month.
I am debating whether or not to go with 3M for our Reverse Osmosis system. We discovered our Caesarstone countertop is not drilled for a reverse osmosis faucet so we may need professional installation for that.
So that's my vetting process and if you are interested in Rayne water too, ask for Carlos. He's the lead tech at Rayne. He knows a lot about softeners and conditioners.
I have friends who buy water softeners from other companies and have a plumber install it too. But the rent to own option at Rayne really earn our confidence and business.
Thanks.
