Are you thinking of buying a Menards water softener?

They are one of the more popular water softener brands, and with good reason.

In this review, I’ll give you all the info you need to decide whether you should buy one of Menards’s water softeners. Or if you might be better off with a Sterling water softener, depending on your situation.

So let’s get right to it!

How Menards Water Softener Work

Menards water softeners work by filtering out calcium and magnesium ions from your water supply. They have a bed of resin beads that are charged with a sodium ion.

As hard water passes through the softener, the sodium ions in the resin bed attract hard water’s calcium and magnesium ions.

The removed mineral ions are then attached to the resin bed, which, over time, gets filled with hard water minerals. Once that happens, the softener will go into its regeneration cycle – a process through which it flushes hard water minerals down the drain, rejuvenating its ability to soften new water.

All Menards water softeners come with an integrated iQua app. It works with both Android and iOS devices and sends alerts about your home’s water consumption and filter maintenance to your smartphone.

These units are also backed with a 10-year tank and 5-year labor and parts warranty.

Menards Water Softener Review

Given that there are six Menard’s water softeners, it would be inadequate if we review one or two models, while ignoring the rest. That’s why in this section we’re going to review the five top-selling Menards water softeners you see on the market.  

Here are our detailed reviews of Menards water softeners:

Morton Demand-Control Wi-Fi Water Softener Review

This Menards Morton Demand-Control water softener is designed for restaurants, pubs and commercial establishments. Its 45,000 grain capacity means it won’t need regeneration of its brine solution for months. This means you could thus use softened water for many months without worrying about regeneration.

Next comes this model’s Wi-Fi capabilities.

It comes with an integrated iQua app using which you can monitor your home’s water consumption on your Android and iOS devices. The app’s Look-Ahead Technology, meanwhile, predicts your water needs based on your water usage patterns.

What’s more, this unit comes with a built-in self-cleaning sediment filter. You read that right! The filter self-cleans so that you don’t have to. Yet another exciting thing about the filter is that it doesn’t need any replacement – you can keep using it forever.

There’s however one area where this model could have done better. It uses or, in other words, wastes 43.3 gallons of water for regeneration purposes. That is a lot of water no matter how you look at it and we think Menards could have done better in this regard.

Things We Like

• 10 gallon per minute flow rate
• Built-in self-cleaning sediment filter
• Predicts your future soft water needs

Things We Didn’t Like

• Wastes a lot of water for regenerating salt

If you are looking for more than 10 gallons per minute, the Aquasure Harmony is a good choice at 12 GPM and a 5 year warranty.

Morton Grain Water Softener Review

Here is one of the best water softeners for hard water.

It relies on a salt-based water softener to remove calcium and magnesium from your city and well water supplies. The Morton water softener’s 27,000 grain capacity makes it an ideal choice for small to medium size households.

The included bypass valve lets you isolate the water softener while gardening while the built-in metered regeneration system makes maintaining softened water production a cinch. You can also count on this model to reduce the quantity of ferrous iron in your water supply by up to 7ppm.

Also on offer is a ‘Recharge Tonight/Recharge Now’ option which comes handy for times when your water usage is abnormally high. Together with the ‘Look Ahead’ Technology – which predicts your future water usage based on your current usage patterns – it makes this unit’s operation hassle-free.

That, unfortunately, is where the good news end.

Part of the reason why this model costs $100 fewer then fellow water softeners from Menards is that it doesn’t include a water filter in its package. You’d either have to install one separately (expensive) or count your luck to remain safe from water contaminants.

Things We Like

• 10-year tanks’ warranty
• Reduces up to 7ppm iron
• Equipped with ‘Look Ahead’ Technology

Things We Didn’t Like

• Doesn’t come with a water softener

WaterBoss Water Softener Review

This incredibly hefty WaterBoss water softener weighs north of 100 pounds, but is definitely worth the space needed to soften up to 8.2 gallons of water per minute. That translates to around 82,656 gallons of water per week which, no matter how you slice it, is an impressive number.

Its metered regeneration not only lets you program it to suit your daily, weekly or monthly needs. It also saves you from the worry of adding too little or too much salt to your system.

How?

Thanks to its controls which give you the option to select the softness level you need.

This unit also comes with a self-cleaning sediment filter to free you from the worries of taking it out and washing it after every few days. You also get a safety shut-off valve that will turn off this unit the moment its pressure exceeds a safe preset limit.

Is there any area where this model could have done better? We feel that its weight is too heavy, even when you count the features that this model packs. If you get its placement wrong at the first time of asking, moving this unit around won’t be easy.

Things We Like

• Has a Self-cleaning sediment filter
• Equipped with a safety shut-off system
• Softens water in less than half-an-hour

Things We Didn’t Like

• Heavy

WaterBoss® ProPlus Water Softener Review

The WaterBoss ProPlus is an affordable solution for softening hard water for commercial establishments, large size households and the like. It is designed for a household of 5 or more people and can easily serve as a whole-house filtration system.

Here’s why.

This water softener doesn’t settle for removing calcium and magnesium compounds from your water supply. It comes with a built-in filter that takes care of bad taste, chlorine and odor. You can also count on the filter to remove rust and sediments from your water supply.

As a result, this unit comes handy for treating both city and well water. It also features an LCD display with a two-button controller to let you program its regeneration times. You can also use the controller to set this unit up within a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, that’s where its great features end.

Unlike other Menards water softeners we saw above, this one isn’t backed by any warranty. Worse, while you’d need either 1’’ or ¾’’ connections for its installation, they aren’t included in the package. So you’d have to purchase them separately.

Things We Like

• Reduces bad taste, odor and chlorine
• User-friendly LCD display
• Reduces rust, sediment and hardness

Things We Didn’t Like

• Isn’t backed by a warranty

Morton Water Softener Review

Smart and useful are two ways to describe the functionality of this Morton water softener.

It has a 34,000 grain capacity – more than sufficient for typical 3 person households. The unit also features ‘Look Ahead’ Technology to predict your future water needs based on current usage patterns.

An in-built resin bed helps it reduce the quantity of ferrous ions in water by 7ppm. You’re also given the option to activate the ‘Recharge Tonight/Recharge Now” option for times when your heavy water use is at or above its capacity.

That’s not all.

Included in this unit’s package is a high-flow valve. It ensures optimum water pressure throughout your home at all times. A bypass valve gives you the option to isolate the unit when you don’t feel like exhausting its softened water supply.

If you have been paying attention until now, you may have noticed that we didn’t talk anything about this softener’s filter. That’s because this water softener doesn’t come with a water filter, so it won’t remove bad taste and odor or remove chlorine from your water supply.

Things We Like

• 10-year tank warranty
• Predicts future water usage patterns
• High-flow valve helps maintain water pressure

Things We Didn’t Like

• Doesn’t have a built-in water filter

Types of Menards Water Softeners

Menards water softeners are available in two main types:

Cabinet-Style Water Softeners

Menards’ cabinet-style water softeners boost a space-saving design. They have a cabinet-like container housing both the mineral tank and brine tank. The mineral tank removes hardness from water whereas the brine tank contains highly concentrated salt solution to flush the mineral tank and regenerate it.

When you feel that the water softener could do with regeneration, you must connect it from the water supply. Only then the regeneration process will begin. Keep in mind that during this process you won’t be able to get pure water. That’s why we suggest that you do it at night.

Not everything is great about Menards’s cabinet-style water softeners, though. They might cost less and require less salt than the other type. However, these models can also handle less volumes of water, limiting their utility to condos, apartments or small-sized households.

Pros			Cons
Space-saving design			Cannot handle huge volumes of hard water
Competitively priced
Need less salt to operate

Dual-Tank Water Softeners

Menards’ dual-tank water softeners use one of their tanks to soften water and the other to regenerate the first tank by flushing out hard water minerals. This mechanism gives them an edge over their cabinet-style counterparts on various counts.

Most important among which is constant water softening. While regenerating the mineral tank requires you to turn off the water supply in cabinet-style tanks, dual-tank water softeners can continuously soften water without any interruption. That’s why they’re a popular choice in commercial sites.

What’s more, these models lose less salt than cabinet-style water filters too. They also provide more even water quality and soften water more efficiently. However, these units do cost more and require more storage space than cabinet-style water filters.

Pros			Cons
Waste less salt			Require more storage spaceCost more than cabinet-style water filters
Even water quality
Can continuously soften water

How to Choose Menards Water Softeners

You need to consider a number of specifications when choosing Menards water softeners. From the grain capacity to whether the unit you’re looking at comes with a water filter (some Menards water softeners don’t!), different features may make a certain model the right or wrong choice for you.

Here’s how you can choose Menards water softeners:

Grain Capacity

A water softener’s grain capacity is a measure of the number of grains of water hardness it can remove between consecutive regeneration cycles. The grain capacity determines the amount of calcium and magnesium compounds the softener can remove before it’s saturated and needs regeneration.

If you need the water softener for a studio apartment, camper or the like, 16,000 to 30,000 grain capacity should be enough. A model with 30,000 to 40,000 grain capacity is suitable for three to four person households. Commercial establishments, meanwhile, need a unit with 40,000 or more grain capacity.

Regeneration Considerations

Menards water softeners use a resin bed to trap and remove hardness from water. When the resin bed gets full with calcium and magnesium compounds, it must be regenerated. This process would consume as much water as you’d require to wash a heavy load of laundry.

Look for a water softener that lets you decide when it should regenerate, so that you can set to regenerate at night when you won’t be needing water. Make sure the model also give you reminders on when you need to add more salt.

This is super critical because water softeners generally stop working because of regeneration issues.

Iron Reduction

Having too much iron in water can cause pipe staining, lead to pipe blockage and may also affect the taste of drinking water. Iron overload can also lead to reduced water pressure and slow draining. In some cases, it may even lead to leaky sinks or pipes.

That is why we suggest that you invest in a water softener with iron-reduction capabilities. Most Menards water softeners offer this feature. Take, for instance, the Morton 27,000 grain water softener which can reduce up to 7ppm of ferrous iron from your water supply.  

Water Softener Certifications

Some water softener certifications improve the system’s performance. Others are there just to increase its asking price. In this section, we’re going to tell you everything about the former type of certifications that you must look for when choosing a water softener:

• NSF: Made for salt-based water softeners, the different NSF certifications are only given to water softeners that not only reduce hardness but also have structural integrity and can take care of material safety.

• WQA Gold Seal: Awarded by the Water Quality Association (WQA), the WQA Gold Seal assures you that any water softener bearing it is useful, durable and safe. It also guarantees the softener’s structural integrity over a decade.

How to Install Menards Water Softener

One of the great things about Menards water softeners is that you can install them on your own. There’s no need to hire a licensed plumber or electrician.

Looking to install a water softener in an RV? Check out this article to find out more.

Also, since everything needed to get the softener up and running is included in the package, you don’t have to purchase anything from the market.

Here’s how you can install a Menards water softener:

• Step 1: Turn off your home’s water supply. Verify that no water is running through your water pipelines by opening the faucet. Doing this will also drain your water lines, which is what you want otherwise water will keep leaking throughout the installation.

• Step 2: Make the plumbing connections. Follow the instructions in the owner’s manual to make the correct plumbing connections to your Menards water softener. If in doubt, consult YouTube videos.

• Step 3: Pour salt into the brine tank. Regardless of whether you’ve bought a single- or dual-tank Menards water softener, it would contain a brine tank. Fill the tank up to half capacity with the included salt.

• Step 4: Open the bypass valve. Use a wrench to open the valve and turn water on slowly afterward. This is necessary to ensure there are no leaks.

• Step 5: Turn on your water heater.

Conclusion

I hope my Menard water softener review has helped you decide whether one of this brand’s water softeners is right for you.

Make sure you keep your current water requirements, your budget and your water’s hardness in mind before deciding in favor or against any of the models you saw above. Good luck!