Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Culligan Estate 2 - question

Hi. I am new to this forum and looking for some help. We have been without soft water now for a month and need to make a quick decision as our skin keeps getting more and more dry.

We bought our house in 2004 and are pretty sure that this Culligan water softener (Estate 2) was new at the time the house was built in 2000. We are trying to figure out if it would be worth the $250 or so it could cost to fix this system or if we should just opt for a new more updated system. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is there somewhere I can send a sample of my water to see how much chlorine is in it? If we decide to get a new softener we may go with kinetico and they are suggesting a dechlorinator. They didn't find any chlorine in our water but they said it can vary from day to day. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!

Getting accurate tests is always advisable. If you are on Municipal water, there is a great cahnce that you have either chlorine-{Cl} or chloramine-{NH2Cl} (ammonia and hypochlorous acid) in your water.

I have tested many water at many city water supplied homes where no chlorine was registered. Um! Kind of scarey, in a way. And yes, levels can vary according to season and even day to day. Our town 'shocks' the system during the heavy influx of tourists during the weekends and much less during the off season.

The distance from the water plant also plays on the Cl concentration. It is good if your chlorine level is between 0.5 and 1.2 ppm at your faucet. This assures the disinfection is complete. But that is where I prefer it ends. Hey, want a bourbon and bleach?!

So ridding your water of that bleachy smell, and taste, has wonderful aesthetic value but there are other aspects that I care little for, as well. It is a volitile chemical, which means it can is little effected by freezing, evaporation and solidification.

In other words, it enters you body when you drink it, absorbs into your skin when you bath in it and that steramy shower lets it enter your lungs while drying your skin and hair. It's a very durable chemical and that's why it is chosen to put inot our water supplies so it does its best to last until it gets to your home.
http://environment.about.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/chlorine.htm

There are four common types of dechlorinators: replaceable cartridge, up-flow tank, backwashing filter and combination softener/dechlorinator. Each has its benefits and shortcomings.

Kinetico makes a unique combination filter/softner but doesn't mix the carbon media with resin as many other brands may do. There are some problems when you mix media like those.
There are two versions to suit your particular needs: 4040 and 4060 models.

I'll stop here but will try to help answer your questions later,

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Wow. Thanks for all the info on chlorine. I read that link as well which was very interesting. I am also interested in purchasing a water filter too and was excited to see in that link where I could go to research different ones.

That is interesting that the chlorine doesn't show up at the tap sometimes. Very scary to think about what could be in the water. I guess we never know till we test.

I know you said you would try to answer some more of my questions later, so I will try to be patient and not start asking tons more questions too. You seem very knowledgeable and I so appreciate your time. Mainly I am curious if you know where I could send in a water sample and what you think about fixing an 8 year old culligan softener (Estate 2) versus replacing it.

I am off to look up those two models you recommended to me.

Thank you again! I am grateful for your time. :)

Oh...and I did speak with a water official for my city who told me that we should have 1.2 parts per million of chlorine in the water. I told him that our water smells of chlorine and he said that typically that can mean there isn't enough chlorine in the water. (Doesn't that sound strange?) We are very close to the water plant (within a mile or so). With all that said... I will be very interested to see what the test results say when and if we get some done.

Anyone else have any advice/ opinions for me? I am still trying to figure out if we should fix our softener or just replace it. This hard water is getting out of hand and I need to do something soon.:eek:

Bumping this to see if anyone else has info on the Culligan Estate 2 water softener. It is 8 years old and I have service scheduled for this Tuesday. Is it worth fixing???

We have pressed the red button and pushed the manual recharge lever and it won't even do a manual recharge now. I really don't want to spend $500 to fix the thing if it won't last me. HELP PLEASE! TIA.