We used to live in the country, we collected rain water in the
cistern, and my wife hated to wash her hair in it. We started
showering at a friend's house that had that 'awful' city water.

Recently, when we got a visit from the RainSoft rep, I declined
for several reasons.
http://www.bobvila.com/wwwboard/messages/11360.html
I suggest you look at this site before you take the step.

wrote in message
...
I live in an area that gets Lake Michigan water and conventional
wisdom typically says the water's pretty 'good' and a softener is
unnecessary.

When I visit my suburban mom and drink her softened water, or take a
shower, I cannot stand it. It tastes funny, I feel slimy and my hair
doesn't seem clean.

That said, I'm becoming a bit of a laundry fanatic and wonder if I'm
crazy to start looking for a small softener that would sit directly in
front of my washer and laundry tub and handle that water only?

~Hera