Water Softener vs Whole House Water Filter

Hard water can leave spots on glass, make skin feel dry, and carry odd tastes. If your water has any of these characteristics, you will need to invest in a water softener or a whole home water filtration system. While these sound like similar products, they each solve a very different problem, and knowing the difference can help you avoid the cost of buying the wrong equipment and get your family good water in the meantime.

What a Water Softener Actually Does

Water softeners remove hard water by removing the buildup of calcium and magnesium in pipes and water heaters and replacing them with sodium or potassium. This is done through a process called ion exchange. This is commonly referred to as a water softener.

There are many positive changes you will notice after this process, such as better lathering, softer laundry, spot-free glassware, and a longer lifespan for your appliances due to less hard water buildup. However, this process does not remove chlorine, sediment, unpleasant tastes and odors, or contaminants from your water. A water softener changes the behavior of water rather than the cleanliness and safety of your drinking water.

What Does a Whole House Water Filter System Do?

Instead of addressing just a few issues, like point-of-use water filters, whole home water filters are designed to treat a much broader spectrum of water problems. These filters are installed at the point where the water main enters your residence. Whole house water filter systems treat water contaminants that you can see, smell, or taste, such as chlorine, chloramines, sediment, rust, and various odor-causing and hazardous chemical water contaminants. The entire plumbing system in your house receives treated water. For the reasons stated, whole home water filters are significantly preferred over point-of-use water filter systems, such as water filter pitchers or faucet filters.

You can expect a whole home water filter to improve your water quality, make it taste and smell better, and eliminate potentially hazardous water contaminants. On top of that, it treats every water outlet in your home. It does not, however, treat hard water. Whole house water filter systems do not address scale.

Water Filter vs. Water Softener

To put it simply, a water softener treats the texture of your water. It addresses hard water. Whole home water filters treat the quality, safety, and cleanliness of your water by removing water contaminants and undesirable tastes and odors. Each of these systems is designed to protect your plumbing and your appliances.

That is also why they do not compete. White, chalky buildup on faucets, spotty dishes, dry skin, and so on mean you have hard water. That takes a water softener. A smell of chlorine, a metallic or earthy taste, or cloudy water means you need a whole home water filter.

The same goes for cost and maintenance. A whole house water softener needs salt or potassium to maintain it and requires a regeneration cycle now and then. A whole home water filtration system needs much less maintenance and simply requires the media or cartridges to be replaced on schedule. Both systems are easy to maintain, and using the right system for your water chemistry means you save money on both the system and its maintenance.

Do You Need Both Systems?

For most, the answer is yes. Hard water and poor water quality often go together, and this is especially true for municipal supplies, which have both hard and highly chlorinated water. Well water can contain sediment, iron, and hardness. This all means you may need both a whole house water softener and a whole home water filtration system.

The best first step is testing your water. A simple test can show how hard your water is and what other contaminants may be present. Then, instead of guessing, you can invest in the system you need the most-a softener, a filter, or both-for your home.

The Bottom Line

Water softeners and water filters are not the same. Deciding which one to get depends on the issue you want solved. Softeners deal with the hardness of water to help protect your home, while filters deal with the contaminants in your water to help protect your health. Understand your water first, then choosing the right home water filter system, with or without a softener, becomes easy.

Want to discover what's actually in your water? Get a free water test with a customized recommendation for the best option for your home.