iSpring ED2000 Whole House Water Descaler, Alternative Electronic Salt-Free Hard Water Conditioner, Reduces Limescale Prevent Deposits Build-up, Different from a Water Softener

Update 1 year in: still working like a charm, and now the faucets furthest away from the iSpring have developed some white calcium residue that we have to clean semi-regularly. It’s minimal, but noticeable. This is because they’re so far from the iSpring unit that its effectiveness is diminished, so I take it as further evidence that the unit works exactly as described. I shudder to think of all my faucets looking like that (or likely worse). I might buy a second and install it to mitigate this, but still one VERY happy customer!Original review: I purposely waited 7 months to write this review, to give this iSpring device a fair shot to either work, or…well, not. We built a new home, so new pipes, faucets, appliances, everything. We’re also on a well here, which was new for us to get used to. The well water is really good—basically filtered mineral water, healthy and pure right from the tap with a TDS of around 550. BUT!…that also means in our first month we began to notice white chalky deposits on our taps and shower heads, and some powder on the glasses/silverware after using the dishwasher. We learned it was due to our high TDS well water, and needed a way to protect our new home’s plumbing and appliances somehow. The conventional wisdom was to install a water softener, but besides the cost we also didn’t want to add salt to our excellent tap water. So I did some pretty exhaustive research and settled on this device instead. It seemed a little like science voodoo, but I figured if it didn’t show results in a month or so I’d return it and get the water softener if I had to.Well, it did show some results, and then some more. It seemed like magic at first, but the shower heads just stopped having powder and sediment building up. The dishwasher did the same, and the taps seemed to run clearer too. We noticed the water felt different when washing—at first we told ourselves we were imagining it, and maybe we were—but soap began to sud better, and washing hands or in the shower felt less “scaly” than before. Also less water spots on surfaces. Then it just kept happening like that, and seven months after install we have absolutely no powder on the dishwasher we use almost daily, the shower heads look the same as the day they were installed, and the water has a “softer” feel. It’s NOT actually softer at all—the TDS is about the same, and the six month water test at both the well and the tap are basically identical to when we first moved in. So I’ve experienced enough to say for us, this thing works—works like a magical charm!—money well spent and im so relieved not to have to put salt in my water and maintain a softener system. I also sleep better knowing the dishwasher, washing machine, and fridge won’t get gummed up with the great minerals that are in our well water.A few items I’ll note here that might be helpful (as others’ were for me as I researched this): our well water is moderately hard, and the hardness mostly comes from calcium and iron. I don’t know how effectively this device would work on other types of hard water. We also are fortunate to have an indoor water heater and a large crawl space, so I was able to install the device after the well pump but before the water heater (this protecting it as well, I hope). So the iSpring is covering both our cold and hot water, which may not be possible in all well system setups. The install wasn’t difficult, but wasn’t exactly simple either. At one point I had to call the customer service line, which was picked up promptly by someone like it was a cell number!…and after I recovered from my surprise at getting a real human right away, he talked me through the issue I had (direction of wire wrapping) and solved the problem in short order. Last, this is the 7 month mark only—I’ll return to update if issues start happening past 12 months. Since I have a brand new plumbing system, anything that occurs will be a good benchmark for the longevity of this product.Overall, I’m an iSpring convert—it works for us, and has made a huge difference in our water quality and confidence that our new really expensive appliances won’t get gummed up with mineral deposits. It still kind of seems like magic, but science can be like that…and, so what, it works! I’m a happy customer.

Let me first say that I prepared for this purchase by researching the recommendations the manufacturer had mad before buying it. I knew I needed water within a certain hardness range, <3 ppm iron, and that it would only be good for 50 ft of pipe after the wrap. I tested my water and it was all good so I went ahead and bought it. Luckily, I have two water inlets to my house because one end is an addition. This allowed me to easily install the unit while observing the 50ft pipe rule. I have a total of maybe 30 ft of pipe after the install, with the hot water heater being within 10 feet. Within the first week I noticed that the water felt different and my soap was getting my hands cleaner. I used to wash my hands and have a slick feeling like my hands were oily still (I have oily skin/hands) but I noticed that when I would wash my hands they were very "sticky". Not really like I have syrup on my fingers, but if I tried to slide my fingers against each other after washing and drying them, they'd feel more like I washed my hands with something that took off all the oils.This is very anecdotal and not really something you can say is a definitive thing that a person might think is just in my head, so now for the hard evidence. I have a mirror in the shower that I use for shaving. I have to scrub it with gritty toothpaste every time I use it to clean off the deposits. It takes about a week for it to build up to the point that I clean it. Well I installed this after I didn't shave for about 6 weeks and decided to touch up a little after it had been installed for a month. I cleaned off the mirror with toothpaste and got to work. I decided that maybe this could be my test and started checking it weekly to see how it was going. So far the only thing that sticks to the mirror looks like soap scum (I have my bar on a caddy that has a hook below it where the mirror hangs) and I can just wet it and wipe it off. Maybe it's minerals but they aren't sticking to the point that they require anything to remove. Just my hand and water.This is all I wanted from this thing. Reduce the deposits that were difficult to clean/remove and hopefully extend the life of my hot water heater element. I had a brand new hot water tank when we moved into this house, and after 8 months the element was toast and the bottom of the tank was full of deposits that I had a hard time removing (read chisel, vinegar, and many flushes). I have had this installed for about 3 months so it's not been near long enough to tell how it works for the longevity of the hot water heater, but it's worth it for the cleaning hassles with the fixtures. My wife loves it.All in all I'd recommend it 100% if your water meets the requirements or can be conditioned to meet them. Otherwise, I have no idea, but I doubt it'll work outside what the manufacturer says it will. I will be buying another one to install on the other water inlet to the house, which is the one that supplies the kitchen.