Menards Water Softener Reviews

Meta: Menards water softener can help you save water and energy. Find out more about why you need a softener and some of the best in the market. Ever wondered why anyone would refer to water as hard? Well, hard water contains at least 60 mg of dissolved magnesium and calcium. Some places have a concentration of up to 180mg. Research done indicates that over 60% of American Homes have issues with hard water. You can detect hard water in your home if you notice clogged plumbing, limescale formation in appliances, white spots on dishes, and having a sticky feeling on your skin or hair. Also, you may see that the water doesn’t foam even when using soap.
Fortunately, you don’t have to struggle with hard water as you can reduce or neutralize its hardness with water softening. Here’s a detailed guide on how the water softener works, the types available, and a review of Menards water softener.

Water softeners are available in different forms. Some of the standard water softeners include:

Salt-free water softeners are water conditioners and do not remove anything from your water. Also, this type of softeners do not reduce any hard water minerals. These softeners make it difficult for the metals to form a buildup inside the pipes. Although these water units only help to reduce the limescale, they are ideal than staying without water treatment.

Salt-based water softeners, also known as Ion Exchange softeners are the conventional softeners and the most popular in the market. You’ll need salt for the softening to occur.

These type of softeners come in pairs and are ideal for houses that consume lots of water. With this type of softener, you can enjoy the soft water at any time of the day. When one tank go through regeneration to remove resin, the other softener is functional and gives you processed water. Although you may have to dig deep to buy this softener, you can be sure of excellent results in the long-term.

Magnetic water descalers are not as popular although they prevent limescale buildup inside your fixtures and water supply system.

Salt water softeners rely on ion exchange to function. These softeners use resin and do not filter out anything from the water. The ion exchange system is responsible for removing the metal particles and any contaminants from the water. Its magnetic force pulls the minerals away, which leaves you with soft water.

Your water from the main water supply line runs through a tank that has resin. The resins have little ionic beads which attract magnesium, calcium, and other contaminants from your water, leaving you with soft, clean water.

With salt water softening, the second tank is the brine tank that has fine particles of salt. The water at the bottom creates the salt brine. The salt brine goes through the resin tank to clean any hardness ions every few days. All you need bags of salt in the brine tank. The resin can last for up to 20 years without the need for a replacement.

You can now enjoy an extended lifespan of plumbing, reduced scale buildup, and a silkier feel of water on your hair and skin.

How to Pick the Right Water Softener for Your Needs

With multiple options in the market, it can be daunting to pick the right water softener for your needs. Here are some tips you need to know before making a purchase.

You need to decide if you need a one-piece softener or a two piece one. Although a two-piece water softener is economical, you’ll need enough space to fit the unit. Also, a one-piece unit is ideal for a small household as it uses less salt and water.

Pick a Unit with Spare Components

While name brands are excellent because of their presumed quality, some have unique parts that are rare to find. Some brands discontinue their units, and this can be difficult to get spare parts when needed. You should find a softener with available spare parts at your local store. When looking at the components, check to see if it’s easy to maintain.

Keep the Vital Features in Mind

Before rushing to buy any menards water softener, you need to look at specific features like:

The capacity of the unit

You need to figure out how much water you use on average to decide on the best softener. If you opt for a large capacity softener, the lesser the need to regenerate. Grain capacity starts from 16,000 and can go up to 96,000 for dual-tank softeners. The brine tank also relates to the size.

Size and Space of the Softener

It would be unrealistic to bring a big water softener if you have minimal space. Most homes work well with middle of the pack softener. You can get particular measurements of the product and compare this to the size of your area at home.

The Bypass Valve

The bypass valve is a critical component that allows water to bypass the softener, something that is useful when you need water for the pool or other activities. The pipe should be easy to operate and find.

Regeneration Setting

Figure out if you need a timed or a metered water softener. A metered system allows resin regeneration after using some amount of water. However, the timed device regenerates every few days depending on the projection of the water you’d use.

On the downside, you may run out of soft water if you use more than the projected water before the regeneration. Metered water softeners only regenerate when needed.

Best Menards Water Softeners for Your Money

Here are some top Menards water softener options in 2018.

The OmniFilter 40,000 grain water softener is best for homes with six or more people. It comes with smart reverse technology which predicts your water usage to ensure that you only get soft water when needed.

Unlike other softeners, the OmniFilter softener comes with digital demand electronic controller with simple three-step programming. You’ll need to set your salt, water hardness, and time and you’ll get your water in no time.

With the OM40KCS, you get a highly efficient unit with a high flow water unit that works to protect your appliances and plumbing from hard water. Also, you also enjoy reduced energy bills and conserve water.

The Morton 45,000 grain water softener is ideal for any household. It can reduce water hardness of 120 grains per gallon and 12 ppm clear water iron. With a 210 lb. Salt capacity, you get fully automatic demand initiated regeneration and self-cleaning sediment filter without any filters to change.

Also, this softener boasts of a commercial valve for extra high flow rates and standard plumbing connections. The reversible bypass valve works for the drain line and the plumbing going up or down. You also get a five-year labor and parts warranty, with an overall ten-year warranty. Morton 45,000 grain water softener has control panel features which show you the current flow rate, low salt indicator light, average daily water usage, and water management electronics.

The Morton 34,000 grain water softener comes with the Look Ahead technology which alerts you on your family’s water usage pattern and foresees future water needs. With this type of softener, you only get soft water when the need arises, saving you salt and water.

Furthermore, this softener can remove up to 110 grains per gallon of water hardness and 0 ppm iron. Also, it’s meant for families of six people or more.

The WaterBoss grain water softener is a must-have if you’re looking for something that provides whole house water filtration. The softener is ideal for a family of five or more. Also, the water softener can help reduce odor, bad taste, and chlorine from city water. You can enjoy the soft water without sediment or any build-up.

Furthermore, WaterBoss softener is easy to set and come with a two button controller with LCD. Other special features you can find in this softener is KDF media for chlorine reduction, WaterMizer Technology that monitors your water usage, and a sediment filter that reduces ferrous iron.

If you’re looking for a water softener with a compact design and ideal for small spaces, you may want to check out the 22,000-grain water softener. It comes with sediment and inbuilt dirt filter. Also, you only need 2.5 lbs. of salt and 14 gallons of water to regenerate, something that saves you money on the salt and water used.

With ¾ or I” connections, you can get soft water with reduced lead and chlorine content. The water softener uses ion exchange resin and mixed bed of activated carbon to reduce the amount of chlorine in city water.

Morton 27,000 grain water softener can remove up to 95 grains per gallon of water hardness and 7 ppm iron. Also, it’s ideal for families with four or more people. The best part is that you can use this softener for private well water and city water sources.

It also has a 175 lb. salt capacity and only regenerates when you need soft water. The 27,000 model comes with an electric demand initiated regeneration and a Recharge Now or a Recharge Tonight for when you need to use a lot of water. The reversible bypass valve works for plumbing and the drain line.

You’ll love the fact that this grain water softener comes with a 10-year warranty for the tanks and a year’s warranty for other parts.

The OmniFilter 34,000 grain water softener is best for two to four people. You have a guarantee of a quality unit for use on both city and well water sources.

ABC Waters 65,000 Grain Water Softener

If you’re looking for a high-quality water softener, ABC waters come with a 10% upgrade crosslink resin media with a service flow up to 13 gpm. The water softener is ideal for households with five to seven people.

Also, it comes with the newest version of fleck on demand metered 5600 valve and a standard black brine tank with safety float with a fleck bypass valve. Other technical details include a one male threaded yoke connection and its 205 cubic feet capacity.

The whole house system has two American tanks, mineral and brine tanks. Both tanks have a ten-year warranty. You can also get other colors on request. Manufacturers of this water softener use high-end components, and hand assembles the parts in Arizona. Customers get a phone, email, and facetime videos support for common questions on installation.

Menards Water Softener FAQs

Here are some common frequently asked questions about water softeners.

How do I measure the hardness of water?

You can measure water hardness in grains per gallon or milligrams of calcium per liter. A sample to a water test lab can reveal the water hardness.

What does the grain capacity mean?

The grain capacity of a water softener is the maximum number of grains of water hardness the unit can remove before regeneration.

Will a water softener remove iron?

Industrial softeners use ion exchange to remove dissolved ferrous iron.

Will the salt soften my water?

Most water softeners go through an ion exchange process which removes any minerals present in hard water.

Does Water Hardness Impact my softener purchase?

You’ll need to multiply the number of people in your home by the gallons of water they use daily to determine the required water softener size. Also, you need to multiply the number by the grains of hardness in your water, doing this gives you an idea of the number of grains you need to remove daily. Look for a water softener meant to handle that load.

What is Regeneration?

The water softener over time accumulates particles on its resin bed. When this occurs, the salt in the tank combines with incoming water to remove these hardness particles, a process called regeneration. Once the process completes, the water softener can provide a stream of soft water as usual.