Is a Hybrid Water Softener Right for You?

Our Hybrid Water Softener is a combination of a whole house water filter and high efficiency water softener. You get soft, filtered, bottled water quality from every tap in your home.

That means you protect your plumbing and appliances, but also get cleaner, better tasting drinking water.

You also do the job of 2 water systems with 1 machine. That means less maintenance, less space, and lower cost.

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

Could it be the only water system you need? Maybe.

Let’s take a look at what you can expect a hybrid water system to do.

Filtered Water at Every Tap

Our Hybrid Water Softener can be customized for different water problems. A popular “city water version” uses carbon filtration to improve taste and smell.

Carbon water filters can also remove:

• Chlorine, ammonia and other disinfectants
• Disinfection byproducts like haloacetic acids
• Volatile organics like vinyl chloride
• Herbicides, pesticides, and many pharmaceuticals

Every city water supply in the Twin Cities uses chlorine. It’s a powerful disinfectant (more information on chorine). Removing chlorine improves your water quality and has several benefits:

Whole House Chlorine Filter Benefits

• Better smelling and tasting water
• Helps dry, sensitive skin and hair
• Protects appliances and plumbing fixtures
• Extends life of water softener

Less Water and Salt Waste

Water softeners remove hard water (dissolved rocks). This protects your home from scaly buildup that damages glassware, clothing, plumbing and appliances.

Many water softeners still require heavy amounts of water and salt to operate.

A High Efficiency Water Softener does the same job – but with a fraction of the water and salt.

Compare a family of 4 with 20gpg hard water (similar to Minnetonka, MN water hardness):

You’ll save over 600lbs of salt a year and almost 10,000 gallons of water.

That amounts to roughly $140/yr savings. You’ll spend less time hauling salt and minimize running out.

Many customers with an HE water softener only fill salt 1-2x a year.

This is better for the environment.  Plus it safeguards you against future regulations. Inefficient water softeners are already being banned in communities with water shortages.

What a Hybrid Water Softener Won’t Do

Most water in Minnesota is also high in total dissolved solids (TDS). These can include salts and metals like arsenic, copper, and sodium.

High levels (above 100ppm) can affect taste and clarity of ice. High TDS water makes cloudy, white-colored ice cubes that leave “floaties” in the water when they melt.

A Hybrid Water Softener will make your water taste BETTER, but it won’t purify your water to the level a Reverse Osmosis system will.

Residential Reverse Osmosis remove up to 95% of salts and metals. You get pure drinking water, and much clearer ice cubes.

A Hybrid Water Softener does not kill bacteria or virus. Microbes affect about 900,000 people a year in the United States. So the risk is pretty low. If this is a concern, an Ultraviolet System is the tool of choice.