Take the tour ×  I'm considering buying a water softener, but I
heard that they waste a lot of water, and I don't really want my
water bill to skyrocket.  I haven't been able to find any clear
indication of how much water water softeners waste. They
generally have specifications that state the amount of water
used for regeneration, but I don't know how often regeneration
happens.  How can I tell by the specifications of a given water
softener how much water it will waste?  share|improve this
question add comment  4 Answers  up vote 5 down vote accepted
You can easily calculate how often regeneration will be
necessary if you know how hard your water is. If you are using
city water, they should be able to tell you otherwise there are
kits you can use to test your water. And any softener salesman
should test your water as part of sizing your system.  In my
area, the hardness is measured in grains per gallon and the
value is 10.  My water softener is rated at 30,000 grains so I
need to regenerate after using 3,0