On May 17, 4:54*pm, "Arklin K." wrote:
Following up on the crud on my pool walls, I called a water softener
company over who arrived today to give me a $6,000 quote to put in a
water softener system in my garage.http://www.kinetico.com/assets/pdf/P..._Softeners.pdf

Kinetico model 2060 home water system (two tanks + a brine tank, no
electricity, self cleaning) $600 installation + $5400 including tax.

Here is a picture of the 'crud' on my garden hose:
*http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8281448.jpg

The guy tested my water at 12 to 14 grains of Calcium (he said he tested
a neighbor at 25 grains plus half a grain of iron which he says makes it
30 grains). He said a grain is 17 ppm so 14 grains is about the 200 ppm
calcium hardness that Leslie's Pool tested the well water at.

He said up to 3 grains is soft, 6 grains is medium and 9 grains is hard,
so, he said, mine is super hard.

He provided a litany of bad things that will happen, from bubbling hot
water tanks with a foot of calcium on the bottom to clogged pipes and
dirty shower stalls, spotty dishes, dirty clothes, and dirty cars.

The only things I 'see' are the pool has Calcium on the walls, and the
kitchen kettle gets a white coating on the bottom after a week of use. I
also hear the hot water tank bubbling (which he says is due to chunks of
the foot-thick coating cracking and then the water hits the super hot
bottom of the hot water heater and turns into steam).

While these are not good things, can't I get a home water softener for
less (much less?) than six thousand bucks installed?

Oh, he said I could rent it, at $600 installation + $55 a month.



The county changed our water recipe sometime last year and now we have
a lot more calcium and lime deposits than before. We have a water
softener - for the whole house - and it had always worked just fine.
It still does for the most part but I have scrub to get the white
spots off the sink and use Jet Dry in the dishwasher. My neighbors
have the same problem -- and they have water softeners, too. The
point is -- don't expect the water softener to stop your problem. It
may make it less -- but that's not for sure. And my water softener -
from Home Depot - was installed by my late husband. He was not the
greatest handyman so if he could do it you probably could, too. He
replaced another one -- so it wasn't something he had to do from
scratch. I don't remember the exact cost but do know it was no where
as expensive as what you are paying. It's a GE. Suggest you get
several bids --