Cost Benefits of Water Softeners

[Jeffrey Hennen]

Hello Everyone,

I am questioning whether installing Water Softeners into my rental unit in Mound MN is worth it. Here there is a 25 GPG hardness and .2-.8PPM (not sure specifically what my rental has), which leads to buildup and rust, in addition, there has been a history of too high magnesium which caused an advisory from the city itself about potentially unsafe levels of magnesium. I think this would make sense in the long run for the rental property as it will extend the life of everything it touches like the Sink, faucets, showers, water heater, dishwasher, and Clothes washer while also providing clean drinking water in addition to the reverse osmosis drinking water system I already have installed.

The main problem with this hardness level is that we get a major deposit buildup on all of these items, which will eventually clog up the faucets for tenants and lead to rusty shower enclosures that take forever to clean.

In addition to this, it looks like we could likely have the salt added every couple of months by the property managers in addition to that it would allow for a quick inspection from them, and then also we would instead bill the cost of the service onto the ledger for the tenants.

For reference, it does not look like the landlords in the area have water softeners.

Thank you everyone for your input ahead of time.

[Thomas Wentworth]

Hi Jeffrey,

I have installed water softeners in all my rental homes in the suburban Twin Cities, my pipes, appliances and tenants have thanked me! Here’s a tip: Lowes usually has zero-interest financing sales 2 or 3 times per year. During one of those sales, you can buy a $400-$600 water softener, including installation, and finance it with zero interest over 24 months. You pay Lowes about $35 per month zero interest. You then pass the $35 per month cost onto the tenant and all future leases. You got the softener for zero cost, and after it is paid for in 24 months you have an additional $35 in cash flow for each property, not to mention enhanced value for each property and happier tenants. I have never had any tenant object to paying an extra $35 per month to have the softener, that is about what they cost to rent from softener companies.