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Our first choice when it comes to compact water softeners is the Springwell Futuresoft model. Its ease of use is off the charts, and it does a great job of preventing problematic scale formation. This model faced some stiff competition from the US Water Escort Portable Water Softener and the SoftPro Elite Salt-Free water softener. Take a closer look at these three reputable compact water softeners that fit nicely even in tighter areas.
These are just three of the six very good quality water softeners that are great for installation in smaller spaces that we are going to take a closer look at here in this article.
Among the main factors that we will consider as we evaluate them is what they are best used for, their size, the water hardness level they can remove (or their grain capacity), whether they are salt or salt-free models, the maintenance they require, and their price.
Once you know the above-mentioned traits of the water softeners that we will review here, you can then better determine which one best suits your needs and your budget. You will also be able to ascertain which one best fits into the allotted space you have available for a water softener and whether it is suitable to use in an RV or any other situation where portability is a must.
Also Check Out: Best Water Softener For Apartment Living
Below we have covered all six of the compact water softeners found in the chart above with in-depth review information so you can make your best choice.
As with all Springwell water treatment products, the Springwell Futuresoft compact water softener is elite in every way. It’s an easy top choice among compact water softeners and it even makes an appearance as the #1 choice on our list of the best water softeners that are made. The Springwell FutureSoft is a stand-alone unit that only needs a few square feet of space to be set up in and it does a great job preventing scale formation when used in both large and small home applications.
People like the fact it’s as close as one can get to a forget-it-and-leave-it water softener and it’s also eco-friendly using no salt and wasting no water saving on money and maintenance tasks. All that’s called for is to periodically clean or replace the media in the sediment filter that comes with it. Customers always like its ease of operation and the company’s 60-day money-back guarantee and lifetime warranty on major components.
Here is a nicely designed salt-based water softener that will work equally as well whether it’s placed on a small home’s incoming water line or used as a portable water softener for RVs, Boats, and more. It uses premium cross-linked cation exchange resin in its main tank to help facilitate its very effective ion exchange process. A process that efficiently removes almost all the hard water minerals that pass through it. That makes it among the best working portable water-softening models.
Since it can easily be set up and taken down, that makes it practical for a wide variety of water-softening uses. Its 5-year warranty on its parts, lifetime tank warranty, and budget-friendly cost are big bonuses.
This is also a very good compact salt-free water softener. It’s one of the few salt-free water softener models that even comes close to the quality of the Springwell Futuresoft. It’s a stand-alone water softener that only takes a small 48” x 9” in space to set up its single tank in. This model water softener requires no electricity to run and the only maintenance it needs is the periodic cleaning or replacement of the media in its included sediment filter.
People also like the fact that it’s a compact softener that can be used in both small and larger size homes with 5 or fewer bathrooms. Its lifetime warranty on the major components also gives buyers some nice peace of mind when making a purchase.
This is the most portable of all the water softeners that we have reviewed so far. That makes it highly suitable for a wide range of small and infrequent water-softening tasks. PRO+AQUA has come up with a very nice design here for what is one of the best working and most compact (19.5” x 10” tank) water softeners that you will find. It uses a salt-based ion exchange process that is the most impactful way to remove hard water-causing minerals.
Movement, setup, and takedown of this salt-based water softener is very simple and it’s also a very affordably priced smaller salt-type water softener that will give you a lot of bang for the buck. Other than its manual salt regeneration process, it does not require much effort or expense to operate.
The On-The-Go Portable water softener is another great choice when it comes to having softened water in small amounts in different locations. It’s well-made and designed to be easy to set up and take down. It can be easily used to soften the water that’s used on your boat, in your RV, or to protect sensitive water using equipment such as pressure washers.
It’s very user-friendly and even features a built-in carrying handle to further aid in its portability. You also have to like the fact that this unit uses the most effective form of hard water mineral removal. That’s a salt-based ion exchange process. This compact softener’s price point is also very appealing.
This is a compact softener that’s specially designed to handle the unique water-softening needs associated with RVs and tow-behind travel trailers. Such design features as its 9-pound weight, ease of hook up and take down, and built-in drain line flow restrictor makes it very simple to operate. When combined with its affordable price point, you can’t go wrong purchasing the Watts RV if you want nicely softened water for a tow-behind travel trailer or RV .
It also uses the preferred salt-based ion exchange hard water mineral removal process. Although its manual salt regeneration process can be tedious, its extremely portable size and ease of set up and take down make this easy to overlook.
Here is some useful information that you can use to help you make a sound compact water softener purchasing decision.
The criteria you need to consider before buying a compact water softener:
This could be the single most important criterion that you base your water softener purchasing decision on. That’s because salt-based and salt-free water softeners work very differently.
Salt-based compact water softening systems use an ion-exchange process that almost completely removes the hard water minerals that pass through it. They also often require hand backwashing and salt regeneration to keep them working properly. So they require more maintenance than salt-free water softeners.
Salt-free water softeners only ‘condition’ the water that passes through them and inhibit scale formation as a result. This makes salt-free water softeners less practical for use on homes supplied by well water or city water that has high mineral content. These systems once installed are almost entirely maintenance-free and are great for people with moderate levels of hardness that just need scale prevention.
See our guide on water conditioners vs water softeners for more information.
A salt-based water softener model’s grain capacity is the amount of hard water-causing minerals that it can remove before it needs to go through a regeneration cycle. To properly determine what grain capacity water softener you need, you will have to know the hardness of your water in grains per gallon and figure out your daily household water usage. As these numbers go up, the required grain capacity for your water softener needs to go up too.
Grain capacity is something that does not apply to salt-free water softeners. Manufacturers instead rate salt-free water softening units on the maximum number of grains per gallon (GPG) that they can treat.
Once again you will have to test your home’s water hardness level to find out if a particular salt-free water-softening model will work for you.
Different water softening models have different flow rates. It’s something that mostly applies to salt-based water softeners as most salt-free softeners do not impact water pressure much at all.
This is a characteristic that you should be familiar with when you are shopping for a salt water softener. That’s because a low flow rate through a water softener can significantly lessen the amount of water pressure coming out of the faucets, spigots, and showerheads in your home. The bigger your home and the higher number of bathrooms it has, the more important knowing a water softening system’s flow rate becomes.
I am assuming that if you are looking for a compact water softener, finding an appropriate space to put a water softener may be an issue for you. That’s why it’s important to measure the available space where you want your new compact water softener to go before you start shopping for one. Most manufacturers will list the dimensions of each water softener model that they make right on their website or a product’s package.
Also, note that just because a compact water softener is small in size does not mean that it makes for a good portable water softener. This is especially true for salt-free water softeners as they require a fixed installation and an electric supply.
This applies mostly to salt-based water softeners. That’s because salt-free water softeners work statically and have no conditions that can be controlled or modified by you. It’s quite the opposite for salt-based (ion exchange) water softeners that need to periodically be backwashed and have salt added to them afterward.
Most compact water softeners do not regenerate automatically or have brine tanks. That means you will have to perform this function yourself. So look for models that come with a small container to mix water and boxed salt and hook up very simply to the main resin tank. This will save you a lot of time and aggravation.
We previously talked about the importance of a salt-based water softener’s grain capacity. Compact water softeners because of their smaller size inherently have smaller grain capacities than full-size water softeners.
This makes them more practical for use in smaller homes, apartments, and RVs and in situations where a home is supplied by city water. Conversely, they are not a good fit for larger size homes, homes with many bathrooms, and may not even significantly impact hard water situations for homes that are supplied by a well with a high hard mineral content.
It’s a little different situation for salt-free compact water softeners. Each manufacturer rates their models based on the max hardness level in the incoming water that they can successfully treat. So, if you are going to install a salt-free compact water softener, you will need to strictly follow the manufacturer’s stated max hardness level that is treatable and how many occupants and bathrooms that unit is practical to use for.
This is not an easy question to answer because it has more to do with the hardness level of your home’s incoming water than the inner workings of your water softener. As a rule, a home with a lower hardness level in its water will use less salt than a home that has a high amount of hard water-causing minerals in its water. Generally, about two boxes of table salt are used to replenish the salt when a compact water softener requires regeneration.
The very use of the word compact should be an indication of what answer you are about to get here. Due to their smaller size, most compact water softeners are best used in small homes, mobile homes, and marine and RV situations with less than 4 people and only one bathroom. They may also struggle to be impactful if your home is fed by a well that has water with high mineral content. There are some exceptions to this rule for salt-based water softeners. Consult the manufacturer’s specifications to determine if their model water softener is suitable for use in your water softening situation.
In most situations, compact salt-based water softeners are only practical for use when a small home, mobile home, or RV has 1 to 4 occupants and only one bathroom. This is due to their smaller grain capacities that would require them to constantly need manual salt regeneration for larger applications.
This is quite the opposite for salt-free compact water-softening devices. Some of them can easily be used in homes that have 1 to 6 people and 1 to 3 bathrooms. Once again, look at each manufacturer’s specifications for the conditions where their model water softeners are practical for use.
If you purchase a salt-based water softener that is too small, it will cause many headaches when it comes to keeping it working efficiently. That’s because if you select a model with a grain capacity that is too low for your needs, it will constantly have to be manually regenerated (cleaned and have salt added). This can make it very tedious when it comes to your quest to have softened water in your smaller home, mobile home, boat, or RV.
The same is true for salt-free water softeners that are deemed to be too small for the water-softening role that they are tasked with. They will underperform and potentially not alleviate your hard water-related problems.
As you can see here, just because you have a mobile home, RV, boat, or apartment does not mean that you can’t enjoy the benefits that softer water offers. You just have to make sure you match the model that you buy to your more unique water-softening needs. That will take more effort than you probably thought before reading this article.
After all the above information is processed the Springwell Futuresoft comes out on top as the best compact water softener, the US Water Escort proves to be the best portable water softener, and the Watts RV Pro is considered to be the best water softener for RVs and tow behind travel trailers.
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