An industry leader, the Clack Corporation offers a series of products for all your water needs. Learn what a Clack water softener has to offer and how it matches up to the competition before you buy. This review has everything you need to know.
Hard water causes a slew of problems around the home that can be irritating and cost you extra money every month. If you’re looking for the best water softener system for your home, we have everything you need to know to find the right water softener for you.
Explore the comprehensive buyer’s guide to see what you should be looking for in a home water softener and learn what real reviews say about using the Clack water softener, one of the leading options on the market right now.
What to Look For in a Water Softener
- Portable RV / Boat / Car washing water softener...
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- Regenerate in minutes with table salt or rock...
- XXL size with 32,000 grain capacity, Includes a...
- Exclusive ABCwaters warranty, instructions and...
Before you spend a bundle of cash, make sure you know and understand the details that go into purchasing your own water softener. Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or have simply never needed to purchase a water softener as of yet, the following essential information will help you understand what features you need and how water softeners work.
Water softeners were made for the home as a solution to hard water problems, which contains high levels of many different types of dissolved minerals. Some of the most common minerals found in hard water include:
Why Hard Water Isn’t Ideal
The problem with hard water in the home is that it can be detrimental to household appliances, causing them to perform worse than ever. Eventually, you need to replace appliances quicker than usual and the decreased lifespan means you’re spending more money on appliances every year. This especially affects dishwashers and washing machines, which cause soap and detergents to not lather and perform poorly.
Hard water can also cost you more money long-term. It causes mineral deposits on the hair and skin, blocks pipes and water tanks to drive up your energy costs, stains any material it touches around the home, and reduces the effectiveness of all household appliances, especially washing machines.
How to Know You Need Softer Water
Softer water, on the other hand, feels different. You can easily notice a difference, even with an unskilled eye. However, there are some easy ways to tell if you need a water softener.
Limescale or lime deposits may build up around your sinks, faucets, bathtubs, showerheads, or toilets, leaving a stain. Your skin may feel dry and itchy constantly, especially after taking a shower. Your home appliances may also be affected, and your laundry may not come out clean. If you notice streaks on your clothing or kitchenware after washing, you may consider purchasing a new home water softener.
If you’re ever unsure how hard your water performance is, there are kits available to test your water. They don’t cost much, and they display an answer in minutes, so you can easily check your water’s performance. You’ll want to look for water below 17.1 mg/l or ppm for soft water, but very hard water can reach numbers as high as 180 or more.
Types of Water Softeners
Water softeners also come in two main types: salt-based and salt-free water softeners. There are pros and cons to both types of water softener, and perhaps the main argument for using salt is that it softens the water in a traditional sense. They are great for larger capacities and extremely effective, but they also remove the healthy minerals from the water, cost more, and aren’t as environmentally friendly.
Salt-free systems, on the other hand, are smaller. They won’t take up much room or cost an arm and a leg to buy. They don’t require salt, making them more environmentally friendly, and they don’t remove the healthy minerals from your water. However, they condition the water rather than actually softening it. Tankless water softeners like these are compact and small as well.
What Is a Clack Water Softener?
In 1946, a father and son duo opened their own water exchange business in Wisconsin. Today, they have facilities in California and Arkansas as well as Wisconsin and customers throughout the entire world. Clack offers an entire line of water products to serve all your needs, and their products range were made for many uses, including:
Unlike traditional water softeners, salt-free models like this won’t actually soften the water. They condition the water and inhibit minerals from attaching to your household appliances rather than removing things like sodium and magnesium particles from the water. The water is still hard, but the ions can’t bind to pipes or appliances.
Soon after installing your Clack water softener, you will notice your bathrooms no longer show signs of mineral deposits. The best part is that your energy bill will reduce by 10% and you can save up to 50% of what you were spending on shampoo and laundry detergent.
Your appliances will also last longer, and you’ll even notice a difference in the softness of your hair and condition of your skin, especially if you suffer from eczema. Your clothes may look brighter and lighter, and you won’t even need to use harmful chemicals to eliminate lime if your use Clack.
What Makes Clack Water Unique?
Clack attempts to stay ahead of the times, using new innovations through technology and materials to continue to find the best options for their customers. They are always striving to improve, and their existing products are continuously tested and redefined to improve their durability and performance while saving customers a bit of cash along the way.
Clack strives to produce the best products in the industry, and as a leader in the manufacturing and distributing of water treatment products for over 70 years, they offer quality solutions that are reliable. Not only are they an industry leader, they offer customers the ability to time and control the Clack system using a meter.
A Clack softener with a meter may be one of the most expensive options out there, but the meters are one of Clack’s best features. They allow you to automate the control and calculate your water consumption. Because these systems avoid wasting water unnecessarily, it will only allow you to run a regeneration cycle after enough water in the resin bed has been consumed.
A timer for the controls also helps offer reliable and consistent service, and they are extremely ideal in environments where soft water isn’t a wide-reaching problem that affects many people.
You won’t be able to run it all day though, as a recovery cycle kicks the systems offline for at least two hours during the day. However, you can program the system to recover while you’re away during the day or when you know you’ll need less soft water. Manually setting the time allows you to have soft water when you need it.
Pricing Information
The water softeners Clack offers run around $500, which is a relatively standard price for many water softeners that are similar in nature. The larger model you buy, the more money you should expect to show out. Larger capacity models and models with more features will cost more than others.
There are Clack systems available from a Clack distributor. This ensures your model comes from a proper source and services up to company standards. Because Clack wants to keep online sellers from redistributing their products, they can be hard to find online.
You can always purchase your Clack needs from their official website. However, you may find them online on sites like eBay or Amazon as well. The company has stopped selling their valves online entirely, however.
It’s important to point out that this price also doesn’t include the cost of having the water softener installed. A professional plumber may be required to install it for you, adding service fees to your overall cost. You will also need to pay for maintenance and upkeep to keep your water softener working well. If you have a salt water softener, you will also need to purchase salt to make the system function.
What the Public Thinks of Clack
People who buy Clack seem to be extremely happy with their choice. Users say they’ve had little to no problem using Clack or replacing parts. Most people had their water softeners up and running within three to four days, even do-it-yourselfers who installed their models themselves.
Clack offers great customer service if you have problems, make an excellent product, and deliver straight to your door. The materials they use are the best and the design of the product creates a reliable and strong water softener for your needs.
In fact, if you enjoy doing the work yourself, Clack may be the best option. When it comes to replacing seals, spacers, pistons, and more, the Clack is way easier than Fleck and many other competitors on the market today.
How Clack Water Compares to the Competition
Although Clack is a good water softener, it does have some competitors that are better. There are more expensive options out there, but Fleck is a good competitor that matches up to Clack pretty seamlessly. Both are top choices for do-it-yourselfers and families with up to four people.
Fleck, for example, is ranked the number one choice for water softeners on Amazon. They are a best seller due to their competitive prices and insanely easy installation and low maintenance requirements, cutting back the fees you may spend on upkeep or installation with a professional plumber.
Fleck, when compared to other models, is a good capacity model that works well for an average home. Their 5600 SXT model offers customers easy installation and setup and is overall the best value for the price you can find.
The best part about Fleck, the reason it is so much better than Clack, is because the system can essentially take care of itself. You can set it up and forget about it. Where Clack needs proper maintenance, Fleck is great for handling very hard water and requires little from you. If you have between one and four people in your home, you’ll never have any issues.
- Digital Metered Water Softener for Low Salt Usage
- Ships Loaded with the Resin Already in the Tank
- Great for City Water
- Made In USA Structural Tank Ships Loaded With...
With either Clack or Fleck, you will notice a lower water usage and thus lower running costs on your utility bills, but Fleck may actually cut bills more. Fleck also offers a tried and true design, whereas Clack’s model has only been on the market for around eight years.
Clack has a hand up on Fleck when it comes to repair and programming. Users say Clack is easier in both these regards, and the instruction manual offers everything you need to know. Some people even say a child could be given directions to program Clack over the phone and complete the process easily.
Fleck’s 5600 and 7000 receive good reviews all around while Clack information can be harder to find online. However, Clack models are often harder to find online than Fleck in general.
If you plan to complete the installation yourself, you may save some money going with Fleck. Although, either Fleck and Clack are great options. The two competitors are neck and neck with many features for the price, and customers love them both.
What We Think
Overall, a Clack water softener will offer exactly what you need at a great price. Customers notice a stunning difference between their old model, even if they’ve used water softeners from other top competitors, and the pricing is decent.
Depending on whether or not you choose to install the water softener yourself or call in a professional plumber, it could either be a costly or inexpensive choice. However, if something breaks, you won’t need to spend a ton of money replacing parts. You will also save on upkeep fees and other maintenance tasks, especially if you can do the work yourself.
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