We had one in our last house and after a year removed it -- for several reasons. The water from our new well tasted fine, so we really didn't need it. Also, it required three filter cartridges. Two were reasonably priced -- maybe $20. The third one we had to special order through Sears and with shipping it came to something like $120 -- once a year!! The other thing was that it made noises. Not honest, upright clicking noises like Superchick described -- but noises that could best be described as far*ing noises!! Honest! When we had guests hanging out in the kitchen, anyone standing by the sink got funny looks on their faces and sorta moved away and said, "What was that?" Since our water tasted good without it, we just yanked it and put in a second soap dispenser in the hole. I never missed it for a minute!!!

Both companies are a little right and surprisingly wrong. Could be inferior copper or PH problems which can result in pinhole leaks in copper pipes. If neither has mentioned checking the PH of your well water then they are both of questionable competence. Why do you think your sodium # is high? High TDS is not necessarily sodium but is total dissolved solids. Is 26.5 hardness gpg or ppm? Where you start is... get a comprehensive water test from an independent lab. An independent lab has no agenda and won't be trying to sell you water treatment equipment. This is a MUST DO because without it everything is a guess. A quickie water test from a water softener company won't be as accurate (and possibly not as competent) as from a certified independent lab. Hit the Yellow Pages and call at least three local INDEPENDENT water treatment pros. You've already called the big dogs (Kinetico or Culligan) for comparison. DON'T TELL THEM YOU HAD YOUR WATER TESTED. Give each an opportunity to offer suggestions and provide you with a quote to meet your water treatment needs. IGNORE ANY THAT DON'T TEST YOUR WATER THEMSELVES as they can't speak intelligently to water treatment without knowing what needs to be treated. Ask lots of questions. Softening the entire house or just the water heater? Warranty, parts & labor or just parts, how long and on exactly what? Install, permits required, licensed plumber? Routine maintenance and costs? Do they stock parts? Response time for emergency (water leak) calls? If they don't explain things to your satisfaction that is a good indicator of how you'll be treated after the sale. After they've gone use your water test to compare with theirs. Are all your treatment needs being addressed? Ask your neighbors if they have any water treatment experience. They might tell you who's good or who to avoid. Come back here and post the specific recommendations and hardware components with the costs and we'll give you our opinions.

Kara, There is not a softener that will fit under your sink that is worthwhile, besides you would need two as the hot water and the cold would need to be softened separately. Your choices are to get a whole house softener or two individual cartridge filters with activated carbon and filter media however, one must be rated for higher temps of the hot water which are considerably more $$. The filters may help on some items but for calcium and lime hardness a central softener is your only choice. The low end of your hardness isnÂt bad, but 10 ppm IÂm sure you will notice the spotting.

It definitely could and in fact the discoloration around that area and the pattern of the hole looked to me like an electrical arc pattern more than a pressure leak/blow from the inside. It just doesn't make any sense that that copper would fail with a "pop" in such short time after installation. I'm no expert, but the walls of the copper around that area look normal thickness and if it was a burst from internal pressure I would think the pattern seen would be more outward and (from what I've seen in past) linear, not in a clean arc like that. Fascinating. Hopefully others with more expertise will chime in and I'd have the whole unit looked at personally before I'd trust it - if there is something wrong with the copper the same thing could happen in your wall or somewhere else. If there's something wrong with the electrical wiring or unit itself, that could kill someone.