# Keep or remove water softener???



## Dzarate29 (Oct 18, 2013)

Just moved into a house that has an old softener that was installed in 1978, and it looks like it hasnt been operational in years.....unit is unplugged and the valve is set to bypass the softener alltogether. The town I live in is a small rural community and about 5 years ago they replaced their water system 100% with a new tower and added an iron filter. The water is chlorinated as well. I have talked with a couple neighbors and they do not have softeners. Would it be best if I sent a sample of my water to a lab for testing before I make a decision? Thanks


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## bud16415 (Oct 18, 2013)

Water testing is always a good idea. When I have my water tested they never seem to come back with a 100% report on everything. But they can give you a general idea and if you have concerns about looking for something they will do tests for that. In general if you are on city water I wouldn&#8217;t be too worried and if the house was lived in right before you I wouldn&#8217;t worry. I just bought an old house with city water and old very old piping that hadn&#8217;t been lived in for 2 years. The plumbing was such a mess I cut the supply line at the wall and went 100% new with PEX the drain lines were fine. I never had a test done and we don&#8217;t have a softener and I don&#8217;t see a need for one. Most likely you won&#8217;t need yours unless the water is hard and you don&#8217;t like hard water.


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## kok328 (Oct 18, 2013)

That would be a good start.  If you decide you need a softener, replace the existing one.  Softeners today versus 35yrs ago, are much more efficient.


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## Speedbump (Oct 19, 2013)

With the unit being unplugged and bypassed, I would guess it's probably too far gone to make repairing it pay off.  

It depends on where your water comes from as to how hard it may be.  Well water can be quite hard where lake or river water is quite soft.  About 7 grains hard on average.  Well water; from 3 to 45 grains hard in my experience.  

You said they have an iron filter which makes me believe it's well water.  There wouldn't normally be iron in lake water.

It never hurts to have your water tested, but a test for all 400 and some odd things that could be in your water is cost prohibitive.  Hardness, PH and Iron are the main things in well water.  Chlorine, Ammonia and Fluoride are the main things in city water.  City water is normally safe in all other respects.  So is well water from a good deep source.


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