Failing system

[bandit]

We moved to Riverton UT in February of this year. Riverton has exceptionally hard water. We purchased a LifeSource Beotron softener which is NSF/ANSI 42 certified. We seemed to notice some early improvement in our dishes but now 5 months into owning this softener, we are seeing rings on our appliances and water spots all over. Were we hoodwinked into the claims made (i.e., should we have purchased a traditional salt softener)?

[greg-cws]

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience with the Lifesource system. My experience with that particular line has been less than stellar as a "salt-free softener" or even as a scale-prevention device.

The NSF-42 certification that they tout is an aesthetic improvement claim (appearance, taste & odor), so NSF isn't certifying them as a softener at all.

The only legitimate body that I know of that has acertification standard is DVGW (The German Association for Gas and Water). Their protocol certifies the device's effectiveness in protecting from scale build-up.

The Lifesource system does has a high-quality tank, control valve assembly and activated carbon bed, so it will serve you very well as a taste & odor filter for many years.

Water in Riverton is extremely hard and it can even have additional iron and other heavy metals in it, depending on the piping into and inside your home.

I've specified scale prevention systems that have worked very well in Riverton (Next ScaleStop www.notasoftener.com).

Scale prevention systems protect you from hardness build-up in pipes, fixtures and the water heater. I haven't seen any noticeable benefit from ANY scale prevention system as far as laundry or dishwasher soap is concerned though. The water is still hard, just unable to scale (stick to things).

If I was in your situation, I'd keep the Lifesource and use it for what NSF says it will do - remove tastes & odors from your water. Then I would install either a certified scale prevention system or a salt (sodium/potassium) based softener/conditioner.




Greg Reyneke CWS-VI
Intermountain Soft Water, Inc.
1-800-454-3429




DISCLAIMER:- I work for Intermountain Soft Water, we sell regular salt-based softener, as well as salt free technologies.