Say Goodbye to Hard Water with a Water Softener in Northern Minnesota

A water softener removes hard water minerals through ion exchange. Hard water flows through a tank of resin beads that swap the calcium and magnesium causing hardness for sodium ions. The minerals stay trapped on the resin, so water leaving the tank is soft and free of scale-forming hardness.

The ProMate 6 is a single-tank softener that fits most Northern Minnesota homes, regenerating on demand to save salt and water. The ProMate 7 Twin Tank uses two alternating tanks, so one is always softening, even during regeneration. The twin system suits larger families and homes that never want hard water breakthrough.

A typical household uses about one to two 40-pound bags of softener salt per month. At roughly 5 to 7 dollars per bag, that works out to around 60 to 170 dollars per year. Demand-initiated systems like the Hellenbrand ProMate line regenerate only when needed, which helps keep salt use lower.

Regeneration is the cleaning cycle that flushes trapped hardness off the resin and recharges it with salt brine. Most softeners use about 40 to 65 gallons of water per regeneration. Metered, demand-initiated systems regenerate based on actual water usage rather than a fixed timer, which conserves both salt and water.

Softener sizing depends on your water hardness, iron level, household size, and daily water use. Larger families, more bathrooms, and harder or high-iron well water call for greater capacity. A free in-home water test measures your exact hardness and iron, so the system is matched to your home rather than guessed.

A quality water softener typically lasts 10 to 15 years or more with proper maintenance. Lifespan depends largely on resin quality and water conditions. Hellenbrand systems use premium 10 percent crosslink resin, which resists breakdown in chlorinated and high-iron water better than the standard 8 percent resin in many competing softeners.

There is no requirement to soften. The Minnesota Department of Health puts it this way: if your water's hardness is greater than 7 grains per gallon (120 mg/L), you might need a water softener to make sure your appliances run well and to improve the taste, smell, or look of your water. Your own number is what settles it. Our free in-home test reads hardness on the spot, and if you are on a community system you can ask them directly.

That is usually normal. The ProMate manual says your softener is factory programmed with Prefill, which puts water into the brine tank two hours before a scheduled regeneration, and that with Prefill you will typically not see water there unless the salt is low. When you refill, Hellenbrand says to fill about three-fourths full, with a minimum of 12 inches of salt, but no more than half full if your household does not use much water, because salt can bridge.

Yes, some sodium. A softener that uses sodium chloride increases the amount of sodium in the water you drink at home, in MDH's words. It lists two ways to take in less: keep an unsoftened tap for cooking and drinking, or regenerate with potassium chloride instead of salt, which most stores that sell softener salt also carry. MDH adds that if you or someone in your home has a history of high blood pressure, you should consult a doctor about drinking softened water.

There are two answers and they differ. Hellenbrand's ProMate manual recommends softening both the hot and cold supply, with a separate hard water faucet plumbed for drinking if you want one, and outside faucets left on hard water. MDH's advice is to soften only what you need to: people often choose showers, sinks, and laundry hookups, and toilets, hose bibs, basement sinks, and other cold taps typically do not need to be connected. We will plumb it either way.

Salt use is a real environmental issue here. MDH says Minnesota has a growing problem with chloride in water, that chloride threatens fresh-water fish and aquatic life, and that it takes only one teaspoon of sodium chloride salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. In homes with private wells and softeners, MDH says the chloride drains to the septic system and then ends up in lakes and streams. MDH also says to set the softener to your water's hardness, because too high a setting wastes water.