Silco Plumbing

Salt or Salt Free — Which System Does Your House Need?

If you have spots on the dishes, scale on the faucets, or soap that will not lather, you’re probably a good candidate for a water softening system: salt or salt-free. Now you’re probably asking yourself: “Do I need a salt softener, or a salt-free system?”

There isn’t one answer that fits every home. In Kalispell and throughout the Flathead Valley, mineral-heavy water is common, and two different systems get put in for it. While they tackle the same problem, they are not the same thing.

That’s because the right system depends on your water, your house, and what you want the water to do.

Here is the difference, and what to have ready when you call.

1. What Hard Water Is Doing in Your House

Hard water rarely announces itself. It shows up as small annoyances that all point the same way:

• White spots on dishes and glassware
• Scale on faucets and shower heads
• Soap and detergent that will not lather properly
• Dry skin or dull hair after a shower
• Laundry that comes out stiff or scratchy

Mineral-heavy water also works on everything it runs through. It can narrow fixtures and show up as low pressure. It can leave sediment in a water heater. Given enough years, it works on the pipes themselves.

2. A Salt-Based Water Softener

A salt-based softener is the traditional answer to hard water. It takes everything including the minerals out of the water. With everything gone, the water feels very soft.

A salt-based system often is not run to the drinking water– there are smaller filters specifically for drinking water. It usually feeds the bathroom and utility-room lines instead: showers, sinks, laundry, and the appliances that scale hits hardest.

What you take on with a salt-based system is salt. You keep it stocked, and you pour it. Nothing about that is difficult, but it is a habit, and the system suffers when the habit slips.

3. A Salt-Free System

A salt-free system, also called a saltless system, works the other way. It conditions the water rather than taking the minerals out. The minerals stay in, which is why it is often the system homeowners choose for drinking water.

What you get instead is no salt: nothing to store, nothing to lift, nothing to pour. In exchange, the filters have to be changed on schedule. That part is not optional. A salt-free system with tired filters has stopped working while still looking like it is on.

While conditioned only water does not have that super soft feel you would get from a salt-based softener, it still provides benefits to your skin and hair and does not leave them as dry as when leaving your system untreated.

4. Same House. Different Choice. Different Job.

One household may want the softest water they can get in the showers and laundry, and they do not mind keeping salt on hand. Another may care more about drinking water and not storing bags of salt. It is normal for those two houses to end up with different systems.

The choice usually comes down to:

• How hard your water actually is, measured rather than guessed
• How many people live there and how much water they use
• What you want your drinking water to be
• How much upkeep you want to own — salt to pour, or filters to change

5. If You Already Have a System

If you have already bought a unit, we can install it and make sure the connections are right. If the system you have is not performing, the first job is working out whether it needs service or replacement.

What neither system will fix. Both systems work on the water coming in, and while they help prevent blockages from sediment, they don’t actually benefit the waste going out. Slow and blocked drains are a separate problem.

What should you have ready when you call? You don’t need to know which system you want. Just tell us what you can see:

• What the water is doing: spots, scale, dry skin, stiff laundry, or something else
• Whether you are on city water or a well
• How many people live in the house
• Whether you already have a softener or a salt-free system
• Photos of the existing unit, if you have one

Can you tell me which one to buy over the phone? Usually, though not as a final recommendation. The right system depends on your water and your house, and some of that is easier to see in person. You can still call us and get a straightforward conversation about what may matter for your particular home.

Water Softeners in Kalispell & the Flathead Valley. Silco Plumbing helps homeowners with hard-water systems in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and surrounding areas—salt-based softeners and the questions that come with choosing one. Have questions? Ask us. You don’t have to figure out which system you need before you call, and you can send a message instead of calling.

406-471-1851 | silcoplumbingmt.com