Poly Salt Free Water Softener Gen5/IC

I installed this several months ago.I used to have a problem with black gunk accumulating on my shower curtains. This seems to have solved that. I think my dishes are coming out of the dishwasher cleaner. So it does seem to be doing something useful.I don't notice an obvious difference in the taste of the water. I keep thinking I should bypass it, fill a glass with water, then re-engage it and fill a glass with water, and taste them side by side.Maybe others didn't have a problem with this, but I found installation a little tricky. There's a mesh cylinder that goes in the inside and fits in a ring on the bottom, you fill the cylinder with these chemical beads they send you, and then you screw the body into the top. Here's the catch: the cylinder basically just rests on the bottom of the unit. If while you're messing with it or trying to screw it in, it tilts or wobbles, beads will get under the cylinder, it won't sit right, and then the unit won't screw together all the way and you don't get a water-tight seal. It took me a while to figure out that this was the problem, and then a little more work to handle the thing just right so the cylinder won't tip over as I put it together. Note that the threading that connects the top and bottom of the unit has nothing to do with keeping it water tight. If you put it together correctly, the top presses against an O-ring in the bottom and the water never gets to the threads between the two halves. (While, the threading between top and bottom is necessary so you can tighten the two halves together to put pressure on the O-ring, but I mean the threads themselves don't make a water tight seal and don't need to.)

So to start off I want to give the definition of a Water Softener "noun1. any substance that lessens the hardness of water, usually by precipitating or absorbing calcium and magnesium ions2. a tank, apparatus, or chemical plant that is used to filter or treat water to remove chemicals that cause hardness" (Webster). So basically a Water softener should " lessens the hardness of water" or "treat water to remove chemicals that cause hardness". So I decided to invest in this to see if it was a true water softener. I also bought a hard water kit to see to analyze the before and after result. Prior to installation I tested my water and noted the hardness level and I repeated the test roughly 1 month after this product was installed. The results the exact same as my unfiltered water. Now I bet you're wondering why other reviewers state the build and scaling has gone down after they installed their filter. That's because this is a water conditioner not a water softener. A water conditioner is a salt-free water conditioner that does not make the water soft, it simply causes the hardness minerals to lose their ability to form scale. Don't believe me google water softener vs water conditioner. At the end of the day I'm fine with either but my problem is the deceptive marketing. If they would list this as a water conditioner I would have been fine with it but market the product by what it actually is and don't blur the lines between false advertising and fluffing

This review is aft 1+ year of use. At first we were not sure if this was even working or not. We still have to pump vinegar through our lines every 6 months or so. Last time I just disconnected this conditioner. The change was noticed within 2 weeks. I reinstalled it. It really does work. What everyone says about the joint leaking is correct. The threads on the stainless nipples are cut deeper than the conditioner. Use LOTS of teflon tape and this fixes it. Liquid teflon still leaked. If they would fix this I'd give it 5 stars.

I have this for more than a year and first thing noticed my Keurig stops popping noise when it starts to heats up. Although you will still see some white spot but it’s soft easily removed. My shower head doesn’t clog anymore. It’s been over a year and the spray of water coming out is still the same. Just like I said some white spot form but soft easy to remove. My sink faucet used to accumulate like a white stone inside and the water is restricted getting less water. Now with this it’s constantly same flow. BTW it's really hand tight! at first I had a leaky unit and I just added a lot of Teflon and stopped leaking. After a year when time to replace the beads I start to wonder where did I made mistake. I start thinking if I had the gasket in reversed so I analyzed it and started to realized that I might have reversed it so I put the gasket upside down and hand tight it and it's not leaking anymore. I didn't use Teflon tape this time.

I have owned my house for 25 years now. We have a good well but our water is a bit hard. Our old water softener wore out after many years ofservice but I really didn't like the idea of purchasing another softener that required buying salt all the time. I am so glad I found this salt free softener.I tested our water and it was a little over 20 in hardness. After I installed this Triple Action Poly salt fee softener it dropped to around 5. I can live with that and our water has no smell and no taste, we love it! I did have a small problem and sent the company an email to which they responded right away (even though it was the weekend) and sent me the parts to fix it free of charge.If you have a salt one get rid of it and save money, as it only costs about $25 a year in poly crystals to have really good water..

Getting the fittings in was a little bit of a struggle, but that's because the tolerances are so close so as to ensure a leak free connection. Simple, straighforward installation and have noticed an immediate rise in my water quality. Only 4 stars as of now because although this seems to be a Godsend for my water, time will tell. However, the level of support ensures that if I'm not satisfied, I don't think I'll have any trouble returning the unit. All in all, a good experience and that is a wad of cash to drop on a purchase online, sight unseen.