Pentair Water Softener Reviews

For over 40 years, Pentair has been one of America’s go-to sources for clean, crisp, and pure household water. This is because Pentair specializes in in-home filtration systems that can be installed directly to a household’s water supply or underneath individual sinks. If you are unsatisfied with your local water but don’t want a large and conspicuous water filter in your house, Pentair offers discrete solutions for purifying and softening your water. But, what is the catch? In this article, our experts tested various Pentair systems to determine whether it
lives up to the hype and if you should consider buying one.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details, it is important that we first explain what a Pentair water softener is and how it works. To answer is not so simple. This is because there are several kinds of Pentair systems available that vary in function and mechanics. When water is in the ground, it collects particles and other chemicals that naturally get added to it. While these adulterants are usually safe, they can make the water taste unpleasant or feel abrasive on our skin. Two of the most popular chemicals are magnesium and calcium, which turn water “hard” if they are heavily concentrated.

The Pentair water softener system is a mechanical appliance that is part of a home’s plumbing Regardless of the system that Pentair installs, all of them do the same thing—swap out the calcium and magnesium for sodium through a process known as “ion exchange.” Whether it is located underneath your sink or on top of it, a Pentair water softener uses a tank of brine solution and sodium ions and infuses it into your water supply. The positive ions from the sodium mix with the lesser-charged minerals in the water and repel the unwanted minerals intoa separate holding tank. Automatically, the system flushes the used brine and regenerates itself.

Water softeners take “hard” water (i.e., water having more than 7 GPG or grains per gallon of dissolved minerals in it) and removes some of the excess calcium, manganese, or magnesium carbonate chemicals. Typically, water hardness is measured in parts per million (PPM) or grains per gallon (GPG), with harder water having a high ratio.

Hard water can make soap and laundry detergent ineffective, make our skin itchy and uncomfortable, and even erode the iron in our pipes and faucets. That is why water softener systems are being championed by companies like Pentair and Culligan. Although there are no direct health risks associated with drinking hard water, it is still a good idea to soften your water if your water tests at 7 GPG or above. This is because there is some preliminary research from the National Institute of Health (NIH) that indicates that water hardness may contribute to cardiovascular mortality. Plus, softer water simply tastes better.

While there are many Pentair water softener reviews available online, none seem to articulate what makes Pentair unique. In other words, they fail to explain why Pentair is a better choice than its competitors, such as Culligan, Ecowater, or Kinetico. Luckily for you, we provide our rationale below.

For one, Pentair is a family-owned company that has been in business for over four decades. The water softening industry in America has only caught the eye of the public, for the most part, in the last twenty years. This implies that Pentair was among the first companies to pioneer and perfect the water softening procedure long before other companies followed suit. Pentair also relies on trusted brands and product lines when installing water treatment systems in homes. For example, they use GE, Fleck, Everpure, Wellmate, and Autotrol to operate their systems, which makes them even more reliable since each of these brands is well-respected within the industry.

There are more than a few shady characters in the world of water filtration. Even some of the big-name brands in the industry lack basic certification and safety inspection papers. That is why we trust Pentair because their products are certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) and NSF International standards, which are some of the most stringent in the world.

Currently, Pentair is the only water softening company that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Pentair PLC trades under the symbol PNR and has seen consistent year-over-year growth as of late. This makes us a bit more confident in the longevity and financial security of the company.

Although prices are subject to change, and ultimately vary by location and geographical region,
we have listed their basic Freshpoint Filtration System prices below:

If you are interested in Pentair’s Freshpoint Reverse Osmosis Systems instead of a basic filtration system, you should expect to pay a bit more. We have listed the prices for their osmosis system below:

Lastly, you might want to opt for an inline water filter system. These systems are beneficial because they attach under the sink and effectively become part of your house’s plumbing. We listed the prices for their household inline systems below:

Our readers should note that the prices above to do include taxes, nor do they include installation fees. Rather, the prices reflected in the lists above are for the Pentair equipment only. For an exhaustive list of Pentair water filter and softener prices, see the official Pentair Filtration & Industrial 2018 Price List.

At the time of writing, there are no coupons or deals for Pentair water softener products or installation services. However, we recommend checking in with the official Pentair website to see if any seasonal deals are in effect before making any purchases.

Hard water is a very common problem in the United States. If you are part of the 85% of the country whose public water supply qualifies as hard (i.e., >7 GPG), then you can benefit from softening your water. We recommend treating your water if your water scores 5 GPG or higher. This is because you will notice an immediate improvement in the taste of your drinking water, and your skin will feel smoother and softer after you get out of the shower.

Although these may seem like superficial reasons to invest in water softening, we think that the investment pays dividends if you consider how inexpensive most inline Pentair water softeners are. If you drink a lot of water, and like your water clean, pure, and great-tasting, we think softening your water is a good idea (especially if your water reaches 8 GPG or higher).