Question:
We have extremely hard water in our area (who doesnt). So when a sales man called offering free demonstration of Culligan water softner and filter products we invited him in.

Answer: Home water filter system for drinking/cooking water --- $900 The system goes under the sink, has three stage filteration and 1.5 gallon tank. Claims to remove 98% of the lead from drinking water.

Home water softner system for entire house --- $1200 This one goes in the garage, has self cleaning mechanism and includes 1 yr worth of salt supply.

Both systems together (filter and softner) --- $1900

Culligan makes (or sells) some very nice stuff, but you are paying for all those "Hey Culligan MAN!!" TV commercials.

You can get an equally good Reverse Osmosis (RO) under counter drinking water filter at Costco or Sam's Club for under $150.00 and self install it in under 2 hours.

Sears or Home Depot (insert your local building center here) will sell you an equally good water softener (maybe better) for well under $500.00. Any plumber will happily install it for less than $150.00, or you can do it yourself (it's not rocket science).

If you buy the softener, buy the RO system or learn to hate the taste of your drinking water (soft water tastes salty).