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Waterboss 950 Water Softener Review
Our Review
- Whole house water filter - 5
- Removes chlorine taste and odor - 4
- Efficient demand-based regeneration process - 4..5
- Made in the USA - 4
Pros
- Removes chlorine taste and odor
- Acts as a whole house water filter
- Metered regeneration uses less water and salt
- Made in the USA
Cons
- Short warranty of 3 years on mechanical and electronic parts, 10 years on the outer cabinet
- Complaints of low quality hardware
- Poor customer service
- Many reports of leaks
Overall Rating – 4.4
This is a detailed WaterBoss 950 city water softener and filter review. We’ll discuss the features of this softener and help you decide if it is the right one for you.
Does your water supply have so much chlorine in it that it should be classified as a chemical weapon? Does your water leave deposits in your sinks and showers, dry out your skin, and otherwise just taste bad?
You need a whole house water softener and filter system to take care of these problems.
Keep reading to find out the details about the WaterBoss 950 water softener so you can decide if it is the right softener for you.
WaterBoss 950 Water Softener Reviewed
The WaterBoss 950 water softener is a 22,000 grain capacity softener designed for city water supplies. It can handle hard water with a hardness of up to 35 grains per gallon, which is relatively hard water. With its flow rate of 8 gpm, this is a great softener for a home with three or four people.
The WaterBoss 950 water softener not only provides you with soft water, but its mixed media bed also acts a whole house water filter. It has a built-in sediment filter, picking up dirt and other sediment as small as 20 microns.
No trips to the store for filter cartridges with the WaterBoss 950; it’s self-cleaning.
This is a chlorine filter, as well, because of the built-in activated carbon filter. This is part of what makes this the perfect water softener for those living in the city. It does a fantastic job of removing the chlorine taste and odor from your water.
Pros
- Removes chlorine taste and odor
- Acts as a whole house water filter, removing dirt and sediment as small as 20 microns
- Can soften hard water with a hardness up to 35 gpg
- Metered regeneration uses less water and salt
- Very quiet operation
- Fast regeneration
- Easy to operate
- NSF certified
- Compact design
- Made in the USA
- Low cost
Cons
- Short warranty of 3 years on mechanical and electronic parts, 10 years on the outer cabinet
- Complaints of low quality hardware
- Poor customer service
- Many reports of leaks
The WaterBoss 950 water softener is one of the most efficient softening systems you can find. Its demand-based regeneration process uses less salt than many other softeners. This metered regeneration also makes for incredibly low water consumption.
It’s worth mentioning that the WaterBoss 950 water softener is made in the USA. Many other water softeners on the market are imported.
While most of what you’ll find with the WaterBoss 950 is great, there are some negatives. Unlike many other softeners, this one doesn’t reduce the iron content of your water.
Some reviewers note that they received a unit with broken parts, or with parts missing on arrival.
While all self-installed water softeners can have problems, a larger number of people than you’d expect note a leaking resin tank with the 950 WaterBoss softeners.
Also, it’s worth mentioning people find the customer service very poor with this water softener. This is the same as reported with other WaterBoss softeners.
In the Box
Your WaterBoss water softener comes with most of what you need to install and operate it, including:
- Combination resin tank/brine tank
- Preinstalled bypass valve
- 22,000 grain resin
- Self-cleaning sediment filter
- Manual
- Drain line
- Power transformer
- Water test strips
- Overflow elbow
- Installation kit
- DVD showing how to install the 950
Installing the WaterBoss 950 Water Softener
- Find a location for your WaterBoss where it will have a few inches of space around it. You want a place near a drain and a power outlet. Make sure to place the softener after any stand-alone filters in your layout. See the diagram from the owner’s manual below.
- Turn off the main water supply to the house.
- Open several faucets in your home.
- Remove the cover from the softener.
- Install the connections from your water line. The water flow must follow the arrows on the bypass valve. You may need to splice into your home plumbing, so make sure to run a copper wire across the gap to ensure you retain grounding through the pipes.
- Attach the overflow elbow to the outer tank.
- You need to obtain and attach a half-inch diameter tube from the elbow to a nearby drain.
- Attach the included drain line to the end cap, running it over to the drain at the other end.
- Set the bypass valve to “bypass”.
- Turn your main water supply on, making sure at least one nearby cold water faucet is open. This allows debris inside the pipe to flush out.
- Set the valve to “service”, then turn the faucets off.
- Check for leaks around the softener and your pipes.
- Connect the system to the power outlet using the included transformer.
- Program the system as instructed in the user manual.
- Add two gallons of water to the brine tank.
- Press the regenerate button to advance to the “brine refill” position.
- Fill the salt tank.
- Run water through your faucets for 20 minutes.
- Place the cover onto your softener.
A quick list of the steps to install the WaterBoss water softener is below. Make sure to see the more detailed steps in the manual when performing the actual installation.
How to Maintain the WaterBoss 950 Water Softener
The WaterBoss 950 is very easy to maintain. Adding salt to the brine tank when it is low is the main thing you’ll need to do.
You could get a salt bridge, especially if you’re in a humid area. You can take care of this by pushing a broom handle into the salt to break it up. Be very careful not to damage your system.
WaterBoss 950 Compared to the Competition
While the WaterBoss 950 is a good water softener, you really need to compare it to the competition before heading to the store to buy one. Let’s compare it to the Quality Water SoftPro Elite for Well Water and the Springwell Salt Water Softener System, two of the highest-rated softeners around.
All of these are salt based systems, all provide soft water, and all use metered regeneration. There are some areas where WaterBoss stands out, and some where it lags behind.
WaterBoss 950 Advantages
- The price of the WaterBoss system is less than half of the other softeners.
- There is a built-in sediment filter on the WaterBoss that can remove dirt and other contaminants down to 20 microns. The others do not have this.
- The WaterBoss has a chlorine filter that will remove the taste and odors associated with chlorine in your city water.
WaterBoss Disadvantages
- Warranty length. WaterBoss only offers a 3 year warranty for mechanical and electronic parts and 10 years on the outer cabinet. The other two systems have a full lifetime warranty.
- The WaterBoss has a capacity of 22,000 grains and the SoftPro has a similar grain capacity of 24,000 grains, but the Springwell system is bigger, with grain capacity of 32,000.
- The flow rate of the WaterBoss is only 8 gpm, which beats the SoftPro’s 7 gpm, but falls short of the 11 gpm of the Springwell system.
- Both Springwell and SoftPro reduce the iron content of your water, while the WaterBoss doesn’t.
Overall, these are each great systems for the right homes. If you’re looking for more of a budget system, the WaterBoss 950 is your best pick. For better quality, go to one of the other two. And if you need something a little bigger, look into the Springwell, which can handle up to six people.
In Conclusion
Overall, the WaterBoss 950 water softener is a solid choice at an incredibly low-cost. It has the advantage of doubling as a whole house drinking water filter and can remove the chlorine from your drinking water. It’s easy to install, uses less salt and less water to regenerate than others, and it doesn’t take up much space.
Before you buy, you may want to read through our list of best water softeners and compare it to them. That way you can make an informed decision on what softener is right for you.
AUTHOR
David Trinh
David is an expert in all things plumbing, heating, cooling, and water treatment. He got his start in the plumbing business working on fixing all types of home improvement issues including water leaks, broken toilets, appliance installation, and more. Over time, he learned a ton about installing and choosing the correct water treatment products for homeowners.
