Compare Brands Water Softener.

Save Hundreds, Even Thousands of dollars and get a comparable, if not FAR superior Water Treatment System from us for a mere FRACTION of the cost. Save on water softeners, conditioners, well water filtration systems, city water filter systems and drinking water systems; including reverse osmosis drinking water purifiers from $199!

With Premium Brands it is not always what the specs are because most are similar in overall quality. It comes down to who the water treatment system companies are and how do they do business. Do they know what they are doing? Do they care? Who do you believe? We have the answers for you. If you are considering a new water softener, water conditioner, well water filtration system, iron filter, sulfur filter, drinking water filters or anything else. WE have the answer for you even if you never buy a thing from us. You should read this WHOLE page before you move on to anything else.

Replace: Culligan®, Ionics®, Kinetico®, Rain Soft®, Hague®, Water Resources, Rayne®, Eco Water® etc.

Replace their water softeners, water conditioners, water filtration and water purification equipment with our high quality Budget Water® brands made from only the highest quality National Name Brand components. And replace those high priced “Proprietary” brands at a fraction of the cost. For example: We are NOT Culligan®, but the same companies that provide components for most of the Premium Brand in-home sales companies make them for us as well including Fleck, Autotrol, GE, Clack, Structural and the other Premium Brand component makers. But we charge as much as 80% less for a same or SUPERIOR quality water treatment system. Available nationwide. DYI: We are great for the do-it-yourself person as well; though we can refer you to an installer in your area if needed.

Water Softener- Water Conditioner Information and General Price Comparisons:

We do not represent any soft water or “Conditioned Water” companies mentioned here other than Budget Water®. If any company mentioned has a trademark or logo they want shown here, just let our webmaster know at: webmaster@budgetwater.com, they will accommodate you in any way possible in most cases. We think most of the companies we mention here are reputable as a rule. Most have quality equipment as well. But each individual water treatment dealer, in each city and town, is only as good as its dealer. We see a lot of manufacturers with great equipment who have independent dealers or sales people representing their products who do a really poor job. Most of them at least try to get it right. For these companies selling in the home is a tough and competitive business. We can usually tell the difference between a good application and a bad one for you if you describe your water and what they offered. Remember we are never allowed to ask you to buy anything or pressure you in ANY way. We just answer your questions and give great advice. If you decide you want to buy something just let us know.

Have you had one of those local companies come in and try to sell you a water softener and a drinking water system for $3000-$8000? We can usually give you the same or better quality of water for under $1000 in most cases; and some times as little as $199. REMEMBER: These in home sales people are exactly that: sales people. Their job is to leave with the sale. If they aren’t likable or believable they would not be sales people. Those are almost always salesmen working for large commissions; if they don't sell they starve! You should always consider getting INDEPENDENT testing outside the home from people who DO NOT sell water equipment, such as the county or an independent lab. If you simply have no other option you can send it to us, we will test it for free and NEVER ask you to buy anything. We are not allowed to ask you for an order. And our expert technicians and analysts do not work on commission. Their job is to analyze your situation and give you great advice; even if you never buy anything. So don’t be afraid to call us; or chat with us online; or shoot us a quick e-mail. We will never make you feel pressured in any way. We just answer your questions and we feel that if you want to make a purchase you will let us know. And never, EVER buy on the first night or visit. What would your mother say? She would say think about it and sleep on it before you buy anything. Shop and compare. If it is a good idea today it will be a good idea tomorrow. Don’t be hurried by soap products, and coupon clubs and many of the other gimmicks designed to make you buy “on the spot”. They know if you don't buy emotionally tonight you likely never will after you shop around. They are desperate to sell to you on the first visit.

The reason why Budget Water® is one of the best online companies: Budget Water® sells premium brand equipment made of only the finest NATIONAL name brand components built to an industry standard (you can get replacement parts anywhere). Our tech support staff are experts at both private well applications and municipal city water applications. We understand city water applications are different in each city and ONE SIZE does not fit all. On well water applications we specialize in problem water solving techniques. We can solve iron, sulfur and manganese issues without the use of salt or chemicals and with virtually no maintenance in most cases. We are the originators of some of the best chemical free and salt free iron and sulfur filters on the internet. We can do all of this at a mere fraction of the cost of most in home sales companies. And we get it right virtually every time or we don't sell it. We also offer tech support to our customers 7 days per week, even on Sundays and Holidays. The days of expensive in-home service calls are over! Budget Water® sets the standard for all other online companies to follow.

Beware of companies that sell magnets, electronics and alloys promising that they will make your water soft. We haven't found any that pass a single test. Also, beware of companies that mix different media in their softeners and filter tanks such as carbon or mixing acid neutralizer materials in with softeners or iron filters. Or companies that mix Pyrolox and carbon together for example. Also, beware of companies bragging about the use of other mixed carbons and minerals carbons such as coconut carbon, KDF carbons and fine mesh resins. Those carbons often may have trouble absorbing heavy metals and other substances though it lasts a bit longer than activated carbon. And it is extremely expensive to replace. Don’t drink softener water and don’t use softeners as iron filters. We were the first company to expose these tactics in order to give the potential customer a first line of defense against such methods.

WARNING: When it comes to water treatment equipment you should NEVER do business with ANY company who does not have the same certifications as we do. It is just plain crazy. There are so many "fly by night" companies out there that it should be the very FIRST rule in your decision making process. It is your first, and some times ONLY, line of defense. Just look at our home page to see our many appropriate certifications. You will find them all in the top third of the page.

The reasons why Culligan is generally considered to be one of the best: They are certainly the most recognized name in water softening. While a lot of companies who sell in the home get themselves on national news TV programs for making unusual or misleading claims and promises, we have never seen a Culligan® representative caught doing this. We respect that. They call hardness what it is; which is hardness. Many companies call hardness "impurities" or insinuate that hardness is something else. Culligan® equipment is made of high quality components. It is our opinion that if you are not going to buy from us and decide to buy from a local in-home sales company, Culligan® is probably a good way to go. They are more expensive than we are but usually do offer installation as an added convenience. We rarely see their dealers selling softeners (or conditioners) for $4000-$6000 like a lot of local companies do. The other thing we respect about the Culligan® brand is they rarely use high pressure telemarketers like many in home sales companies do. They have also shown a sense of pride. They stand behind their name as we stand behind ours.

NOTE: While Culligan® is a reputable company they still are represented by many individual private dealers. You should check out each local dealer individually before making a purchase. Please feel free to contact us for an evaluation of what a dealer has offered you. But don't expect us to talk them down. Besides we are still the highest quality at the lowest price; period!

The reasons why RainSoft® is generally considered to be one of the best: They are probably the second most recognized brand in the country. They normally sell a premium product and often at a premium cost. And like Culligan®, it seems Rain Soft® teaches their dealers that hardness is hardness. We respect that. And we also respect that you can’t monitor every salesman every minute of the day as they spend most of their time working in home sales calls unsupervised. RainSoft® seems to have a great structure and chain of command. Their products are great as long as properly applied. They obviously have the best marketing ideas overall. They are always looking for the next cutting edge marketing tool to help their dealers. The factory certainly stands behind their products.

NOTE: While RainSoft® is a reputable company, they still are represented by many individual private dealers. You should check out each local dealer individually before making a purchase. Please feel free to contact us for an evaluation of what a dealer has offered you. But don't expect us to talk them down. Besides we are still the highest quality at the lowest price; period!

Magnet companies, anode or electric ion type water softeners, salt free softeners, alloy companies, fly by night in-home sales companies. Companies that sell twin softener units that do not have electronic brains (non-electric) draw the most complaints here. And of course the companies that use water softeners as iron filters, which you should never do. Companies who tell you it is ok to drink water from a softener really get us going! And then there are the well drillers that sell a greensand pot perm unit on everything when they should not be using them at all. Then there are the online companies who swear Pyrolox is the best. As the innovators of Pyrolox online, we know them better than anyone and we still occasionally still sell them.

Our Terminox ISM (Iron sulfur and manganese filters) are the very best of all iron sulfur and manganese filters on the market. We sell Terminox 500 to 1 over Pyrolox and we have the best Pyrolox applications out there. We have sold more pyrolox units than anyone.

Also it is our opinion that companies that mix any sort of carbon in the main tank of their softeners are ones to watch out for. Be really careful to ask questions before buying from one of these companies. Also be especially wary of online companies selling iron filters that are made with magnets and are miraculously supposed to give you soft water. It amazes us what some companies can get people to buy!

IF YOU FEEL "CLUELESS". If you feel clueless about all of this and need a little friendly guidance on how to get started, the following should help you greatly. Don’t worry it’s really not that complicated. You can absolutely do it. So sit back, relax and take a load off. And read the following please:

CITY or WELL? We pretty much consider anything that is municipal, chlorinated and generally free of high amounts of iron and sulfur to be city water. If it is a community well and follows these guidelines then it is city water to us as well. If it is a small community well or similar system and it does not follow these guidelines we consider it a well water application. The well water advice is a little farther down the page. If you are still not sure what you are just call one of our techs for assistance, or drop us an e-mail, or click on the CHAT feature we have on almost every page of the site.

City Water: The first mistake people often make when trying to figure out how to solve their problem is that they start at some arbitrary or random piece of equipment and then work BACKWARDS towards the water and the water quality. The proper way is to start at the water quality and move FORWARD to the equipment. If you pay a water bill just call the number on that bill and ask them some basic questions. The main question to ask is how hard is the water where you live? After that simply give one our techs a call or send us an e-mail and we can tell you what you need. We may ask you a few more questions. You can always chat live with us as well on our website.

Our most popular City Water Softener/Conditioner: Premium Dual Purpose Water Softener Conditioner Replaces Culligan®, Sears®, Kinetico®, Ionics®, RainSoft®, EcoWater®, Hague® and virtually all others. And you can change the media in it if your water changes. In other words you could use it for city water with heavy chlorine and then convert it to a private well to remove iron and sulfur. An amazing value. An amazing water treatment system. Takes care of taste, smells, odors, dry skin, stiff or coarse clothing, chlorine, chemicals, soap scum and gives you luxurious suds. It raises your quality of life (at a fraction of the cost). Separate Activated Carbon (or alternative media) chamber for EASY and CHEAP carbon replacement every two-three years. One unit does it all! And without mixing media which is never recommended. It is not our cheapest or our most expensive. Just the most popular water treatment system for city water that is heavily chlorinated.

Our high tech state of the art DIGITAL “On Demand” water softeners start at $299 and can be found here: Budget Water Softeners

Our reverse osmosis (RO) filters that remove the sodium left behind by softeners and remove many other unwanted contaminants start at $199 and can be found here: Budget Reverse Osmosis

The first mistake people often make when trying to figure out how to solve their problem is that they start at some arbitrary or random piece of equipment and then work BACKWARDS towards the water and the water quality. The proper way is to start at the water quality and the well’s “Flow Rate” and move FORWARDS to the proper equipment. All of this is simple and easy to do in about 5 to 10 minutes around the home. And of course you need to test the water first. Anything short of that is foolish. And we can even tell you how to get testing done for free. The very best thing to do if you have a private well is follow the instructions under items 7, 16 & 17 on this page:

Then contact one of our technicians either by phone or e-mail and he will tell you exactly what you need and exactly what it will cost. We have sulfur smell solutions from $299 and iron filters starting at $49. Backwashing maintenance free, chemical free and salt free iron, sulfur and manganese filters start at $499, and are far superior to what you would find elsewhere for thousands. Premium Equipment-Budget Prices!

CONSUMER WARNING: You should virtually NEVER use a water softener as an iron filter. The iron makes the softener use excessive amounts of salt over time and the iron also damages the softener minerals over time often resulting in the need for expensive mineral replacement. Many companies use this tactic to create ongoing expensive service calls over the years. It also creates those companies extra salt revenues because you have to buy a lot more salt. We also strongly believe you should be wary of companies who say it is ok to drink the water from a softener. A water softener replaces the hardness in the water with sodium. It is not good to add ANY more sodium to your daily diet. If you have a water softener you should either drink bottled water or add a reverse osmosis drinking system ($199) in the kitchen to purify your drinking and cooking water after it travels through the softener. It is our position that this is true even if you use a water softener salt substitute such as potassium chloride, which is also a salt.

There are some soft water companies that will sell you ordinary softeners all day long for city water. Knowing full well that they breakdown in heavily chlorinated water supplies and eventually cause the resin (softening media inside) to reduce in quantity. The result being that the unit will now use much more salt to function. Or not function properly or efficiently. The people selling you salt love it! Some national brand companies seem to mostly sell "softeners only" on city water that is heavily chlorinated, almost never with a carbon tank to remove chlorine. Other companies have a habit of putting carbon inside softening units that have softening media in the same tank and call them "conditioners". They mix together (we call this "tank sprinkling"). The carbon is almost IMPOSSIBLE to remove from the softening media thereafter. It MUST be REMOVED and replenished periodically or it can make your water WORSE. How are you going to remove it? Some dealers may offer separate back washing carbon tanks. This is a much better application if you have the money. Some soft water companies' equipment seems to be of great quality and the warranties (usually parts only) are good. However, the equipment is very expensive. Most of these companies seem to have no national price limits to speak of. Each soft water dealer seems to sell it for what ever he wants. We find it amazing how many people tell us they bought $3000 to $8000 or greater cost units from some of these companies and then when they tried to cancel the order, after feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse, the equipment was then offered at a greatly reduced rate. Sometimes less than 1/2 the original price. Of course for any neighbors who bought the same equipment at full price but did not try and cancel, this may be a great disadvantage. It certainly does not seem fair does it? Someone did not get as fair of a deal did they? It seems fairness might dictate everyone pays the same. Everyone pays the same at Budget Water USA.

Be careful. City water treatment should almost NEVER cost more than $1000 for household and drinking water filtration for people who simply have hard water on a municipal water supply. Well water is sometimes a bit more expensive as a rule, but not always. Well water has many more things that can be wrong. Well water is sometimes more difficult to treat because you really have to know what's in it to treat it. Most people could never afford to test for everything. But you simply must test for the basics before you buy anything. Remember we will test for the basics for FREE if you would like to send us a sample. But rarely does it cost thousands and thousands of dollars like a MAJORITY of these companies charge. Also, watch out for the soft water "SOAP SELL". That is where a water treatment company gives you a multi year supply of soap products to get you to buy water treatment equipment TONIGHT. Don't fall for that one. That should be your first warning sign that you are going to spend a fortune! We used to offer soap products here but found out that when given the choice, most people prefer their own soap products after the sales pitch wears off a few days later. And, our customers tell us that their name brand products work far better than the ones offered by these soap companies. The most common companies we see using this soap sell tactic are the Hague®, RainSoft, Rayne®, Eco, Water Resources and Kinetico Brand softening brands. There are many others as well. There is nothing at all wrong with these companies offsetting the expense of the equipment by offering free products. But if they make it a condition of buying TONIGHT, then you may want think that over a bit.

WARNING: Beware of any company that tries to pressure you IN ANY WAY to buy on the first contact by their company. With cash discounts or soap products or "demo units" or whatever. If it is a good deal tonight, it will be a good deal tomorrow. A "one time only" price is usually for fools. Wouldn't you agree? Think about it. Sleep on it. What would you parents advise you?

Demand or Timer? Backwashing water softeners should virtually always use “Demand” or “Metered” control vales. Backwashing filter tanks such as carbon for city water or iron filters for well water should virtually always have “Day Timer” control valves so you can tell them what days to cycle. If you have a backwashing well water filter that has a Metered Or Demand control valve, it is likely not applied correctly. Just give one of our techs a call and he can determine if it is a proper application. Demand regeneration (the way the unit cleans or replenishes itself) is when the unit regenerates depending on how many gallons you use.

Day Timer is when you have a unit that regenerates at a specified time (or times) each week. They are normally FAR LESS efficient than Demand or Metered units such as water softeners and water conditioners that soften.

Demand or “Metered” is when you have a unit that cycles depending on how many gallons of water have been treated or softened. Be wary of companies who offer Day Timers on water softeners for everyday family use. The Demand or “Metered” softener or conditioner valves are far more efficient than the day timer model water softener systems.

The demand unit is more efficient, but also more expensive to buy initially. If you have 2 or more people in the household you should certainly use the demand unit in most cases. Some companies go out of their way to "hype" computer units. They are simply "Demand" or "Metered" and in fact many computers are very expensive to replace should they fail. The choice is simple: Demand or Timer, period. Salt usage for the average family of four, on our average softener, on the average water (7-10 grains) tells us they add salt about every 10-12 months. Some families less, some families more. It depends entirely on your family’s water usage and the quality of your water.

You should not drink the water from a softener. Always drink bottled water or add RO (reverse osmosis $199).

You should not buy from people who add carbon to the same tank as a water softener.

Don’t use carbon filters on non-chlorinated well water including Brita, PUR and Pura. In this day and age there is little need for replacing carbon all of the time. It is a common tactic used by both online and in-home companies to generate ongoing income from you.

On well water you should not buy from people who mix different minerals in iron filters such as calcite or other acid neutralizer minerals; different minerals and carbons such as KDF, activated carbon or other carbons.

Do not buy “Demand” or “Metered” units for non-softener applications such as backwashing carbon filters, iron filters, acid neutralizers (pH increasers).

Do not by non-electric softeners and well water backwashing filters; especially the non-electric twin tank types. They can recycle any time of day and you normally do not want to be in the shower when these units are using most of the water pressure to backwash. Even if the salesperson says you can shower with one tank while the other is cleaning itself on the non-electric twins. Again: They might backwash at any time. Electronic units are smart enough to backwash at a time in the middle of the night when no one is showering. It is far better to have a single tank electric than a twin tank non-electric. Twin Tank electric is a good way to go if you want a twin alternating softener.

Replacement filters and products for other brands: We do actually carry some national brand name components from other companies. We have Aftermarket RO replacement filters such as the AC 30 Thin Film Membrane and the RS-23-SED 5 Filter. And if you were smart enough to buy your old water treatment equipment to “Industry Standards” such as we do, and not from “Proprietary” companies who lock you into only buying from them, then we can likely replace parts filters and supplies for those as well.

Please see Iron Filters, Chemical Feed, Chlorine Injection, Complete Well Water Treatment Systems, Complete City Water Treatment Systems, Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Purifiers or Water Softeners and click on the products you are interested in. Our HOME link above will take you to all of our products and price lists. And you can always call us. We will even pay for the call. Our equipment provides the same, or better, quality of water as those extremely high priced in-home water treatment companies offer, at a mere fraction of the cost. Without the telemarketers and high pressure "in home salespeople" that those other "over priced" companies might employ. They do everything they can to keep you from shopping around and finding us! You should NEVER buy from them on a first visit basis. And if you purchased from a company like that recently you should have three business days (by federal law) to cancel your order from in-home sales companies, even if they have already installed it! Some states have a four day law (Sundays and holidays don't count as business days. Always consult your attorney. We don't give legal advice)! Save hundreds, even thousands of dollars! Replace Culligan®, Ionics®, Kinetico® Brand, RainSoft® water systems, Hague®, Water Resources (Rayne®), EcoWater® etc. Available nationwide.

* "Rain" softener brands means a number of different soft water treatment companies that might have the word "Rain" or "Rayne®" in their name (or many different variations of these names) or possibly in their product name, including the ones with the word "Soft" in their name. The quality of these different companies' dealer’s applications and equipment may vary widely from poor to high quality. Be careful that you check out these companies thoroughly when purchasing these different "Rain", or "Rayne®" soft water units. Some individual dealer companies are good; some may not be so good. Sometimes the best salesman might work for the worst type of dealer and vice versa Think about that for a moment. The bottom line is why spend thousands for the quality of water you can buy for hundreds? Feel free to give us a call for our evaluation of the equipment each individual dealer may be offering. It amazes us sometimes how they may sell really marginal equipment at a really high price.

If you have a bad experience after you have encountered these types of companies, or are aware of them in any way, please feel free to give us a call for a discussion of your situation. In some cases we can put you in touch with the manufacturer’s phone numbers and addresses so you can contact them directly to complain or seek satisfaction. Many times it is not the "brand" that is at fault, but the individual dealer. You can make a difference. You may be able to help someone else avoid these types of issues. Sometimes the best thing to do is put their name on message boards describing your experience so that anyone doing a search on their name can see what you think of them. A good one we have seen is www.complaints.com. Please keep an eye out for our new message board that is coming soon. Stay tuned....Thank you.

Send mail to Company Webmaster with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2005-2009 Budget Water International INC.

Send mail to Company Webmaster with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2005-2009 Budget Water International INC.