Filtersmart Whole House Water Filter & Salt-Free Softener Alternative Combo Review (2023)

đź§ľ Overview

The Filtersmart Whole House Water Filter & Salt-Free Softener offers the most convenient solution if you want to benefit from filtered and soft water in your household. With an impressive 1,000,000 gallon-capacity, the system is designed to produce great tasting water at bottled quality that comes out of your own home’s faucets.

Using activated coconut shell carbon, the filter aspect of the Filtersmart system removes a variety of contaminants and impurities from water, including VOCs, chlorine and chloramine, pesticides and herbicides, and SOCs.

As a salt-free softener, the Filtersmart system conditions water, with no salt or electricity needed. It doesn’t require regeneration, and wastes no water during the conditioning process, while still producing soft water that won’t leave scale on your home’s appliances. There’s no maintenance needed for the tanks, and once installed, your water will flow from your taps immediately (with standard salt-based systems, it usually takes around 2 minutes).

đź’ˇ Features

  • NSF certified carbon filter for whole house water filtration.
  • Built-in bypass valve for diverting water to main pipe during filter maintenance.
  • Mineral tanks featuring salt-free media to condition water.
  • NSF certified valves.
  • Lifetime warranty on tanks and valve heads.
  • Sediment pre filter kit for removing silt, debris and other larger particles from water.
  • Mounting bracket for installing the system against a wall.

🚦 Performance

As a 2-in-1 water conditioner and filter, the Filtersmart system offers a more valuable performance than a standard single softener. When it comes to the filtration, Filtersmart uses first-class coconut carbon shell filters to clean water the most effectively and producing the highest level or pureness.

As a salt-free softener, the Filtersmart will produce water out of a faucet in a matter of seconds, while a salt-based softener can take a couple of minutes to kick in. When the filters are at their best, the system will perform efficiently. Keep in mind that you’ll need to change the filters regularly to maintain consistent production of clean drinking water, as once the filters become clogged, they won’t work anymore.

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The Filtersmart system is generally considered to be more efficient than a salt-based softening alternative, as it doesn’t waste any water. It also doesn’t need to be connected to a source of electricity, making it slightly easier to set up.

đź”§ Installation & Maintenance

Installation of the Filtersmart system is fairly complex. The unit comes with a bracket for neatly installing against a wall, but that’s probably the easiest part of the whole process. You’ll need to connect the system up to your ingoing water pipe, which is fairly tricky for people who don’t have prior plumbing experience. Consider a plumber if you’re unsure.

The system also doesn’t come with an O-ring or a plastic wrench to tighten the bracket, despite the fact that both of these are needed for installation. You’ll need to purchase them separately in advance (or, if you’re using a plumber for installation, ask them if they have any spares handy).

In terms of maintenance, your most regular task will be replacing the Filtersmart’s pre-sediment filter. This filter needs changing every 7 to 9 months, depending on your water usage, and the level of sediment in your water. The carbon media lasts a bit longer, and comes with a 5 year or 1,000,000 gallon guarantee. When the media needs changing, you’ll need to dump out the old and replace it with new media, which you can buy online.

filtersmart water softener installation

📝 Filter Info

The Filtersmart system acts as a conditioner, which means that rather than removing the calcium and magnesium, it turns them into microscopic nano crystals that are suspended in the water, making it impossible for them to appliances and pipes to create scale.

With a media mineral tanks, the system looks a lot like a salt-based softener from the outside, but doesn’t use ion exchange. You also won’t need to change the media as frequently. As the calcium and magnesium minerals remain in the water, the Filtersmart doesn’t actually soften water, so you’ll still benefit from the minerals it contains.

đź”” Pros & Cons

👍 What I Like

  • Offers double the benefits with water filtration and conditioning.
  • Lifetime guarantee for the mineral tanks.
  • Doesn’t add salt into water.
  • Uses highest quality NSF certified carbon filters.
  • Requires less maintenance than a standard salt-based system.

👎 What I Don’t Like

  • The pre filter requires changing fairly regularly.
  • Installation is quite complex and may require a plumber.

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