What’s the deal with soft water??? Unlike a design trend piece or makeover reveal, this post is for those of you who are considering investing in a water softening system for your home and are genuinely curious about what it’s all about. It is real peak adulting, the quietest of luxuries that once you try it, is really hard to go back. In fact, most of Culligan’s clients are repeat customers – people who have moved to a new house and need that soft water back in their lives or who grew up with a Culligan system and can’t imagine going without it in a home of their own. But “softening your water” also sounds intimidating, expensive, and just, like, “how??” So I figured I’d break it all down for you.
We worked with Culligan when we lived in LA, where our water was VERY HARD without us knowing it. We accepted this as just part of life until we softened it and the difference was incredible. After we moved to Oregon, getting Culligan out to the new house was on our minds – so when they approached us to partner I was so excited, thrilled even, to have them install the system that I know benefits my hair and skin (and my entire home!) so much.
Why Would You “Soften” Your Water?
My #1 reason for wanting soft water at my house: Softer Hair and Skin! A water softener reduces the hard water minerals that make my skin dry and my hair frizzy. It’s science! On your skin, the combo of hard water (basically excess calcium and magnesium, FYI) and soap or shampoo can block your pores and/or not completely rinse off, which can prevent your natural body oils from reaching the surface of your skin. If your skin is more sensitive like mine, it might dry out, get itchy, red, or you might even get a rash. NO BUENO.
The same thing is true for your hair. The residue clings to your follicles, which makes your hair stiff and dry. If you feel like you need to wash your hair every day, your hard water might be a factor. (You can have Culligan test it for you – seeing the hardness levels can be eye opening!)
Soft water, simply put, is much softer on everything – less harsh. If you’ve ever had hard water and then stayed at a hotel with softened water, you’ve felt the difference. It’s like that every day here 🙂
Softened Water = Less Build-Up EVERYWHERE
If vanity isn’t your #1 driver in life (LOL), then you should also know that soft water helps so much with the cleaning (and longevity) of your bathroom, kitchen, and all water-using appliances in the home. When you are showering in, cleaning with, or washing hands in soft water, there is SO much less buildup on all the home surfaces and faucets your water hits frequently. Shower doors, tile, backsplash, stone, bathroom sink drains – anything that you typically have to scrub and squeegee is no longer covered in hard water residue.
Everything is WAY easier to clean and keep looking brand new. I know the hard water minerals don’t seem like a big deal, but over time they really build up on (and in) all the surfaces and appliances that water touches (including laundry!). Now that our water is soft, our home is cleaner. And I didn’t have to lift a finger!
What’s a Culligan Water Softener install like?
Ok, I was intimidated by the idea of getting a softener installed (just like I am anything I don’t fully understand) especially since we did it after we had finished renovating. I learned through this process that working with the pros at Culligan is such an easy process, whether your kitchen is fully renovated or in the process of being built! Their process is simple: A Culligan team member will come over, test your water (to make sure you actually need a system), and they’ll personally recommend solutions for you. They can answer any of your burning questions and, if you want to move forward (we did!), they can help you plan the best place for your new system (in our case, a basement but could be a garage or utility room).
Then, an expert installer spent about ½ a day hooking the system up to our main water valve. (I’ve been told that the timing will vary depending on the location of your system, your water source, and your pipes, but both of our installs – both in LA and in Oregon – took about 4 hours.)
The Whole Home Softener we got includes the salt tank and the accessories that make the system “smart” (so it can alert you when the salt needs to be refilled, etc). Honestly, the best thing about it is that both times we’ve had it installed, it’s been so seamless that I haven’t had to deal with it ONCE. Not one breakdown, one time I needed to troubleshoot, zero frustrations, and honestly, I haven’t even thought about it.
If you have a lot of specific questions, I suggest booking someone from Culligan to come to your home to assess. But in short, they install it once and then you can either opt in to them servicing it (we did) or service it yourself. It’s a real “set it and forget it” situation, at least it’s been for us.
Why Do People Love Soft Water For Laundry?
As you can imagine, if hard water adds buildup on tile and glass, hair and body, then washing all your clothes, sheets, and towels in hard water is also less good, shall we say. With soft water, your whites are whiter, colors stay brighter and your soft fabrics stay fluffier. Plus, you use less overall detergent to get the job done – up to 50% less detergent is needed for a washing machine running on soft water. It’s really a whole home situation where I find that softened water is even better for cleaning our tile and honed stone.
Hard Water Destroys “Live Finishes”, I.E. Unlacquered brass
If my #1 reason for loving softened water is hair/skin, it’s closely followed by the fact that it allows my beautiful unlacquered brass (i.e. live finish) faucets to stay beautiful. You see, hard water is AWFUL for live finishes because the minerals can accelerate the corrosion of unprotected brass surfaces (literally turning it green in the not-so-good way and then eventually causing them to crumble). It’s not immediate but it is a real thing (and a huge bummer). We noticed our faucets turning green around the base in our Los Feliz home before we softened our water and I freaked out. Since softening our water we have zero issues (while we still have to care for them in other ways). So if you have live finishes like we do in our kitchen, then you’ll want to think hard (LOL) about softening your water.
Does This System Also Purify Your Drinking Water?
Soft water is totally fine to drink, but Culligan also has a reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water filtration system that gets installed underneath your sink. We installed this in my brother’s house as they wanted a filtered drinking system and they LOVE it – the RO system can reduce more than 90 (!!!) contaminants and makes it easy to grab a glass of delicious, filtered water straight from the tap. (Imagine – no more schlepping your plastic filter pitcher to-and-from the fridge all day!)
We weren’t able to install this one at our house because our cabinet under the sink was too short (due to our farm sink and our tall-ish toe kick), so the box-like system didn’t fit. We still might put it in our corner cabinet and have it extend to our sink (it can be installed elsewhere and connected to your water line – even your fridge or ice maker can get the RO treatment!) but Ken was BEGGING for the RO system so we installed this one very easily in his kitchen. They are so happy with it (and it’s great for washing veggies, making drinks/ice, water for pasta, and of course, drinking water). So this is our experience and we have LOVED it. For all your questions, the Culligan customer service and sales team are so well versed in this stuff, and honestly just seeing them test your water can be super educational should you be uncertain if you want to invest in a water softener system or RO drinking water system. If you’re interested in finding out more about your home’s water and Culligan solutions, schedule an in-home water test with your local Culligan dealer today by tapping here.
How Much Does It Cost?
Culligan works with you to find the perfect solution for your water and home. This means the system + installs vary, so it’s impossible to say exactly what it will cost in your home until an expert has been out to test your water and assess your home. However, the brand does have flexible options to rent, finance, or buy systems – so you can work with them to get a solution that’s right for you + your budget. To get more information on what your home needs + pricing, tap here to find a dealer near you + schedule a free in-home evaluation with Culligan today.
*Photos by Kailtin Green
