Which one does your home need?
If your complaint is scale on fixtures, spotted glassware, dry skin or appliances wearing out early, you need a softener. If it is the smell or taste of chlorine, or you are worried about what else is in the supply, you need filtration. Most Metro Detroit homes on city water end up wanting both, which is why our standard system pairs them.
Last updated 1 October 2026.
Side by side
| Water softener | Whole-home filtration | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary target | Hardness minerals (calcium, magnesium) | Chlorine, taste, odour and other chemicals |
| How it works | Ion exchange: hardness swapped for sodium or potassium | Media filtration: contaminants adsorbed onto carbon |
| Prevents scale? | Yes, that is its job | No |
| Removes chlorine? | No | Yes, carbon is used for exactly this |
| Reduces PFAS? | No | Only with certified carbon; RO at the tap is the other route |
| Improves taste? | Indirectly at best | Yes, this is the usual reason people notice it |
How to decide, in four steps
- Name the symptom. Scale and soap that will not lather point to hardness. Smell and taste point to chlorine and chemicals.
- Check what is published. Your supplier reports what it treats for and what it finds. That tells you what filtration would be doing.
- Decide what you drink. If the drinking water is the concern specifically, reverse osmosis at one tap is cheaper than treating the whole house twice.
- Size it once. A system sized to your household avoids both the regeneration cost of an oversized unit and the premature exhaustion of an undersized one.
What our standard system does
Our whole-home system is a softener and a carbon filtration tank on the same line, because on Metro Detroit city water the two complaints usually arrive together. Reverse osmosis is an optional upgrade at the kitchen tap for drinking water. See what is included, or see the price.
Common questions
Do I need a softener if I already have a filter?
Usually yes. A carbon filter does not remove hardness minerals, so scale keeps forming on fixtures and inside appliances even when the water tastes better.
Does a water softener remove chlorine?
No. Ion exchange targets calcium and magnesium. Chlorine removal is what carbon filtration is for, which is why the two are usually installed together.
Does a water softener remove PFAS?
No. A water softener does not remove PFAS. PFAS reduction requires specialized certified filtration (e.g., activated carbon or reverse osmosis).
Can I install just one now and add the other later?
Yes. Plumbing the line so a second stage can be added later is straightforward, and we will tell you on the call whether that makes sense for your home.
Will filtration fix my spotted glassware?
No. Spotting is a hardness symptom, so it is the softener that fixes it.
Is a whole-home filter enough for drinking water?
It improves taste and smell throughout the house. For drinking water specifically, reverse osmosis at the tap is the more thorough option and is a common upgrade.