SpringWell is a popular, well-reviewed filtration brand that focuses on making multi-stage, whole-house filtration systems.

This means that they design filters to tackle several different types of drinking water contamination at the same time. Most of their systems are also intended to last for at least a year before any maintenance or replacement filter media is needed.

SpringWell makes two versions of whole-house water softeners. There’s the SS Series, which is their Salt Based Water Softener System. And the FutureSoft®, which is SpringWell’s Salt-Free Water Softener.

Both the SS water softener and the FutureSoft can be purchased as a standalone device, or as part of one SpringWell’s several combo systems:

• The SpringWell WS-SS
• The SpringWell ULTRA

The WS-SS includes SpringWell’s iron and sulfur well water filter combined with their salt-based softener, allowing it to remove the four most common well water contaminants: iron, sulfur, magnesium, and calcium.

The SpringWell ULTRA adds a sediment filter and the brand’s standard whole-house filtration tank into the mix, creating a comprehensive home filtration system for highly contaminated water.

Both system combos can also be purchased with the FutureSoft®.

Quick Verdict 1: Which SpringWell system is better?

The SS and the FutureSoft softeners are both popular systems. They are purchased regularly by homeowners with various levels of water hardness across the country.

The technology contained inside both SpringWell softeners is also standard for consumer softening devices:

• The salt-based system uses an ion-exchange resin bed, where hard mineral ions dissolved into the water supply are chemically attracted salt ions in a brine solution coating the resin. The ions swap place, removing the minerals and softening the water.
• The FutureSoft uses Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC), a softening method where water flows over a media with catalyst points

So which product is better?

For private wells and hard city water

If you get your water from a domestic well or are a city water user in an area of the country with very hard water (e.g. most the southwest, large areas of the south), we think the SpringWell SS offers better value.

It’s rated to remove high amounts of hard minerals, should protect your home appliances from mineral scale damage, and will fix the drying or itchy effects of showering with hard water.

For city water with scale issues

On the other hand, if your water has low-to-moderate levels of hardness, and/or mineral scale is your only major hard water issue, the FutureSoft is a highly convenient system. There’s zero maintenance or salt refills, so you don’t need to do anything to keep the softener running. As FutureSoft sends conditioned water through plumbing systems, it should also have an effect on any existing scale.

A top-rated filtration brand

So, if you have a serious hard water problem, the SS is the SpringWell product for you. Those with medium water hardness that prioritize descaling should be happy the FutureSoft. But either way, we have no problem recommending both SpringWell softener systems.

Quick Verdict 2: Are there better softener systems from other brands?

There are a bunch of salt-based and salt-free water softeners available online, so it makes sense to ask how SpringWell’s softeners compare.

When comparing water softener systems, it can help to split products into value and premium categories:

• Value softener systems — these softening products are sold by large third-party distributors like Amazon, are usually made entirely from plastic, and have a lower retail price
• Premium softener systems — these softening products are usually sold directly from brand websites and hardware stores, have larger tanks made from resin or steel, and have a higher retail price

Examples of popular value softener systems include the Whirlpool WHES40E, which uses salt-based softening technology, and the Eddy Descaler, an electronic conditioning device. Both of these systems were featured in our review of the best water softeners for well water.

How does the SpringWell SS stack up against other salt-based softeners?

The SpringWell SS definitely falls into the premium softener system category and is well worth its high price tag thanks to a bunch of industry-leading features. There’s a reliable digital control head that can be set via a Bluetooth smartphone app, a specially designed resin bed to minimize salt bridging, and stress-tested tanks that have been shown to stand the test of time.

Nearest competitors: Pentair NaturSoft

How does the SpringWell FutureSoft stack up against other salt-free conditioners?

Again, the FutureSoft is a premium water conditioner that can hold its own against pretty much any salt-free device on the market. One this to note here is that, like other conditioning devices, there’s no real comparison between the SpringWell FutureSoft’s mineral removal ability and traditional salt-based systems.

Instead of removing hard minerals from the water supply, FutureSoft reformats them to make it harder for scale to form.

Nearest competitors: Aquasana Rhino Conditioner

Next up, let’s take a deeper look at both the SS and the FutureSoft.

Summary

The FutureSoft FS4 water conditioner from SpringWell does not remove minerals from the tap water, unlike other water softeners. In order to prevent scaling and staining, it uses a crystallization process that reforms calcium and magnesium molecules. It’s possible to avoid 99.6% of scale using only this single Template Assisted Crystallization conditioning tank.

Key features

Template Assisted Crystallization is used in the SpringWell FutureSoft to make the water more clean and clear (TAC). This is one of the most common methods for salt-free water softening

Because TAC doesn’t use any chemicals or salts, your water’s composition isn’t changed at all.

• The ability to condition water that is up to 81 GPG hard.
• There is a chance that you could get 12-20 gallons per minute of flow.

We recommend the SpringWell FutureSoft for

The SpringWell FutureSoft Conditioner is one of our top picks because of its ability get rid of scale without the need to add salt. That makes it great for people who need treated water but don’t want to sacrifice the health benefits of mineral water.

SpringWell FutureSoft: Specifications

Summary

Traditional salt-based water softeners such as this SpringWell SS series, which use ion exchange to remove hard minerals from the water supply, are among of the most dependable softeners on the market today. You can rely on the SS to keep hard water scale from forming inside your plumbing, your appliances clean, and your skin and hair healthier while also reducing spots on surfaces.