Best Morton Water Softener Review
By G. Simms, Plumber, Contractor
By G. Simms
Plumber, Contractor
Time: 2-minute read
Morton is used by numerous households because of its durability. Should your home also have one?
Morton water softener is popular because of their salt-based units. look-ahead technology, ease of installation, flow rate, grain per gallon, cost-effectiveness, capacity for small to mid-sized homes, and low-salt light suited for hard well water and municipal supplies . This review will show which is the best morton water softener for your needs.
There aren’t many Morton water softeners available, so we evaluated them all. It will save you time by telling you everything you need to know about the performance, features, installation, maintenance, warranty, and cost of each one.
You can also read our buying guide to help you choose your own model. We’ve included the major factors to consider when shopping for a product. You’ll read about balancing the hardness of your supply and the water pressure needs of your home versus the grain rating and flow rate supplied by the softener. This information will help you purchase the most economical model for your home.
HOW WE DID OUR TEST:
11 TESTERS
9 PRODUCTS
111 HOURS
Editor's Choice- SpringWell's FutureSoft
An excellent option if you are looking for an effective water softener to effectively remove hardness-causing minerals from water is the SpringWell FutureSoft Softener. It is an environment-friendly unit that does not use salt or chemicals and provides 99.6% scale prevention. This model is offered today with a 6-month money back guarantee.
In a Rush? Here are our top Morton models:
- Overall: System Saver 30000 Grain Softener
- Runner-up: 27,000 Grain
- Runner-up: 34000 Grain Softener
Top Choices on the Market
How to Pick the Right One for Your Needs?
The primary factors in choosing a water softener for your home will be the hardness of your water and the volume of water your family uses both during peak periods of the day and in total throughout the day. There is a slight price difference between the models, so you’ll have to decide if you want to pay a higher price upfront in exchange for more salt and water savings in the long run or if you want to pay the minimum price to meet your present needs.
1. Choose the right grain rating
All Morton salt water softener reviews should start with the grain rating of each model. It’s the most important factor in determining how economical the model will be. But what does the grain rating mean?
The grain rating is how many particles of minerals (grains) the water softener can filter out before entering a regeneration cycle. Of course, that begs the question, what is a regeneration cycle?
To explain, let’s define the two major components of a conventional (salt) water softener. The filtering tank or section is called the resin tank. It holds small beads that capture the minerals via chemical reactions.
The second component is the brine tank. It holds the salt or potassium. When the softener can’t filter out any more grains, the salt water rushes in and cleans the resin. The mineral grains and salt water then drain out of the drain resin tank into your septic system.
Fresh water is then pumped into the resin tank and drained to remove any lingering salt particles. That entire cycle of cleansing and rinsing is called regeneration. It prepares the resin to continue its job of filtering.
The higher the grain capacity, the more economical it will be because it will be able to filter for a longer period of time before it needs to use more salt and water to regenerate itself. A higher grain capacity means less money spent on salt and lower water bills.
To illustrate, let’s take the average hardness for city and well water. Most cities pre-filter the water down to 15 grains per gallon. If you use well water, it might contain as many as 40 grains per gallon.
Test your water to determine exactly how hard your water is. The test kit will also tell you if you have other elements or contaminants in your water, such as iron, manganese, sulfur, chlorine, bacteria, viruses, herbicides, pesticides, or nitrates.
Taking the average figures, we’ll need to calculate the filtering needs according to how many gallons of water a household uses. The average water use is 80 gallons per person per day. So, one person would use 80 gallons of water per day for all of their needs, and a family of four would use 320 gallons per day.
One person using 80 gallons of water per day would need to filter out 1,200 grains per day if they had city water and 3,200 grains per day if they used well water. The family of four would need to filter out 4,800 grains for city water and 12,800 grains for well water.
If the family of four used city water and had a product with a capacity of 27,000 grains (taking the figure from our 27000 grain), it would need to regenerate once every 5.5 days. It could go a week if it had a capacity of 34,000 grains. Over the life of the softener, the extra grain capacity will reduce your use of salt and water.
2. Know the right flow rate
The next aspect to consider is the flow rate, how much water your softener can supply to your home at one time. If you don’t have a high enough flow rate for all of the fixtures you want to run, you’ll notice a drop in water pressure.
It affects the flow rate of your plumbing system because it takes time to process the incoming water and send it out back out of the softener. Imagine the softener as a smaller pipe that the larger supply line feeds into it. Running through the softener slows the flow of water.
So, how much water do you need at one time?
If your family ran two showers in the morning (using 2 gallons per minute each), ran a load of laundry (1.5 gallons per minute), a load of dishes (1.5 gallons per minute), and used the kitchen sink (1 gallon per minute) all at the same time, you would still only need a flow rate of 8 gallons per minute.
If you have a large family or need a lot of water for watering the lawn or filling a Jacuzzi, you might need a higher flow rate.
3. List the hard water problems in your area
Most models do not treat your water for anything other than hardness. They remove calcium and magnesium mineral grains, nothing else.
If you have city water, you might want to buy a water softening system that removes chlorine. The chlorine that the city adds to kill bacteria also dries out your hair and skin. Buying a unit or filter that removes chlorine will make your skin feel softer and make your hair look healthier.
If you use a well, you might have iron, manganese, or sulfur naturally present in the water. These elements create orange or black stains or make your water smell like hardboiled eggs, none of which are very pleasant. You can purchase a water softener or filter specifically designed to remove them.
Likewise, your well might have herbicides, pesticides, or nitrates leeching into it from the groundwater. Adding a filtering system to your water treatment plan can eliminate them. Finally, if you have bacteria or viruses present in your water, you can purchase a filter with a UV light to kill them as they pass through the system.
Top Morton Water Softeners Reviews [Updated 2023]
Our list of the best starts with the lowest grain capacity (27,000) and ends with the highest (34,000). Our M30 fall in the middle and is the model we recommend as the most economical.
They are all very similar in design, but you can read about a couple of added benefits in the 34,000 grain capacity. It’s the model we recommend for having the most features.
NOTABLES:
Great for a family of 3
GRAIN SIZE:
27000
The 27,000 Grain is a compact unit with a single tank for both the salt and the resin. The entire unit only stands 44 inches tall, putting everything in easy reach. With this product, you’ll also save floor space, not needing to have two separate tanks.
Besides saving space, the primary advantage of this product is their Look-Ahead technology. When a water softener needs to regenerate, it will normally enter an immediate cycle or delay it until the middle of the night.
Performing an immediate regeneration cycle keeps your home supplied with soft water, but not while it’s regenerating. The softener can’t supply water while it’s undergoing regeneration. If you were to open a faucet long enough during a regeneration cycle, you would eventually run out of water.
To keep the water flowing, control heads delay the cycle. But if the resin has reached filtering capacity, any water the softener supplies before its regeneration cycle will be untreated.
The Look-Ahead technology of the Morton systems is different. The control panel keeps track of when your home typically calls for water and calculates when it will reach filtering capacity. If there is usually a break in water usage, it will regenerate during that break instead of waiting until the middle of the night.
The Look-Ahead feature keeps you supplied with soft water while taking advantage of your home’s normal schedule.
The 27,000 Grain Water Softener is easy to install, and it comes with everything you’ll need. The only maintenance you’ll need to perform is refilling the salt compartment.
You can refill the salt compartment by lifting the lid. Because it is such a small salt compartment, though, you’ll need to check the salt level frequently, approximately every 2-3 weeks.
Programming the softener is simple. All you need to do is enter the time of day and the hardness of your water. If you haven’t tested your water, you can estimate a hardness level and then readjust the softener’s settings as needed.
Another benefit is that they do filter out low amounts of iron. If you’ve noticed iron in your water, a product might be able to eliminate it without the need for a separate filter.
With the M27 installed, your home will have access to 6.5 gallons of water per minute, perfect for homes with 1-3 people. It comes with a 1-year warranty on the electronic panel and a 10-year warranty on the tank.
The 27,000 Grain Water Softener is very affordable.
2. Morton System Saver 30000 Grain Softener
NOTABLES:
Great for a family of 4; for small businesses
GRAIN SIZE:
30000
The System Saver 30,000 Grain is small (44 inches high), inexpensive, and features the same Look-Ahead technology as the M27 above. With Look-Ahead technology, your water softener won’t cut off your water supply to regenerate or supply you with unsoftened water while it waits to regenerate. It will take advantage of the gaps in your routine and regenerate before it reaches filtering capacity. You can also trigger a regeneration cycle manually if you’re planning to use a lot of water.
The M30 comes with all the fittings you’ll need for a smooth installation job. It won’t require any maintenance other than lifting the lid to check the salt level and refilling it every couple of weeks.
The control panel is easy to program with just a few settings for setting the clock and your water’s hardness level (how many grains of minerals are in each gallon of your water).
Because it does have a higher capacity, it can supply your home with 7 gallons of water per minute. That high of a flow rate is usually adequate for up to 4 people living in the house.
It will also filter out low amounts of water, either reducing the effects of iron in your home or completely eliminating them. If you have iron, you might want to try this softener to see how well it works before adding another filter to your system.
The System Save M30 comes with a warranty of 1 year on the control panel and 10 years on the tank. It’s the lowest priced model.
3. Morton 34000 Grain Softener
NOTABLES:
Great for a family of 5
GRAIN SIZE:
34000
The 34,000 Grain is the same height as the lower capacity models (44 inches) and features Morton’s patented Look-Ahead technology. Besides triggering regeneration cycles based on your home’s normal water usage, the feature that all water softener 34,000 grain capacity should mention is the low-salt light. You won’t need to lift the lid every couple of weeks to check the salt level. The light will let you know when it’s time to refill the salt compartment as you walk by.
It’s just as easy to install with all the fittings you’ll need included in the package. Once it’s installed, you can easily program it with the touch buttons, entering the current time and the number of grains per gallon present in your water.
If you have iron in your water, this unit will filter it out completely or go a long way toward reducing it. It supplies the highest flow rate of any of the Morton models, nearly 8 gallons per minute. That’s enough for a family of 5.
It comes with the same 1-year warranty on the control panel and 10-year warranty on the tank.
Final Verdict
System Saver 30000 Grain Softener
Because of its lower price and only slightly lower filtering capacity, we’re recommending the System Saver 30,000 Grain. You can use it with well or city water, and it has a number of benefits common to the Morton line of softeners.
- Look-Ahead technology
- 7-gallon per minute flow rate
- Easy installation, comes with all fittings
- Easy programming
- Filters low amounts of iron
- 1-year warranty covering the control panel
- 10-year warranty covering the tank
- Saves space with a single tank
- Compact design, only 44 inches high
With all of those benefits, the Morton M30 looks like a good deal to us. Order it today. It’s an easy solution to hard water.
Other Options:
You can go back to the homepage to check out other brands. Aquasana water softeners are good units. A lot of people also go for WaterBoss models.
Looking for Alternatives?
About the Author
George Simms is a Salt Lake City based plumber and contractor, with a focus on aiding homes and businesses (particularly farm) solve problems with hard and contaminated water. Walter is here to share his wealth of job experience and a knowledge of both modern and antique plumbing.
Last Updated on January 9, 2023
