wrote in message
From realtor I've heard of maintenance problems with water softeners,
and also problems with the salt it adds into the water, not only
health problems in terms of sodium intake but also accelerated
corrosion e.g. of water heaters. Just not sure if the cure isn't
worse than the disease of having to replace valves and flush the water
heater and such...

Your realtor is wrong. We use softeners for our boilers at work to prolong
their life, not because it shortens it. As for health problems, thee may be
trace amounts of sodium, but it is about the same as you get eating a slice
of bread. Far less than the fries you had at lunch.