"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
.. .

"GotBonus?" wrote in message

Culligan asked us to use the "tester" they left us which consists of a
vial and some soapy liquid to shake up with the water and it does
"lather" better than when they came in.

Shouldn't we be "feeling" the softness? This just doesn't seem to be
there/seem right.

It may need some adjusting if it is not soft. There are other types of
kits that will tell you if it is soft. Othes will tell you just how hard
it is. One has a blue liquid you drop into the water and if it is soft, it
says blue, if hard, it turns pink. OTOH, some people like it to have some
minerals and not soft, just reduced.

If you keep this or change to another brand, yo will want to do some
testing to check it periodicaly, so the kit will not be wasted.

I have very hard water and a softener that is functioning properly. I
don't *feel* the softness but glassware comes out of the dishwasher without
water spots which isn't the case if I let the softener run out of salt.

I do test the hardness at infrequent intervals using a chemical test kit
with a blue dye indicator as previously suggested. These are somewhat more
informative than the old soap-test routine. Culligan should be able to
supply one. They are also available at aquarium supply stores. You would
want the one that tests for *total hardness*. Usually about $5.00. Not
difficult to use.

SJF