Do NOT Buy! Here is Why Culligan Might NOT Be Worth It
This Article is Based on REAL Personal Experiences
This review article was originally published in April 2017 and based on complaint emails I received from verified Culligan customers. I cross-referenced the details they provided with information available online. However, the article has since been updated with more positive information from Culligan employees who wanted to provide a positive counter-balance.
I verified the status of both employees and customers before using the information they provided.
You can also read some of these real customer reviews and perspectives from actual Culligan consultants at the bottom of this article in the comments section.
Why Culligan Might NOT Be Worth It
The biggest issue is the price. Culligan prices are in the range of thousands of dollars, I’ve seen quotes as high as $11K. However, it’s possible to get a good quality whole house softener filter combination for a fraction of this price (e.g. SpringWell).
Also, prices are not shown upfront and you need to schedule a professional (salesperson?) to come and give you a “demonstration”. This might make some people feel uncomfortable and means you may be charged more since the prices are not fixed. Meanwhile you can go online today, see better products for a fixed price and purchase at a click of a button without a sales visit.
I have also been contacted my many people who said they felt under pressure to sign up for a contract immediately and they deeply regretted it later.
Many people are pressured to accept Culligan’s offer because of things like free installation and lifetime warranty but these things come as standard with most modern whole house systems (e.g. this). There are also many companies that will provide you with an installation kit along with a detailed installation manual / online video so that you can save money and install the machine yourself OR they can suggest preferred plumbers in your zip code.
Why Culligan Might Be WORTH It?
Buying Culligan home water treatment system can have some advantages:
Each system is tested and certified to NSF standards. This is a guarantee that their systems will work exactly as you were promised.
Secondly, Culligan is a United States based company with all of its staff and head quarters in the US. This means hey are under the easy to locate should anything go wrong, they fall under US law and their customer service is also local.
Each authorized Culligan dealer is able to provide you with both installation and on-going customer service.
The Culligan in-home demonstration will often be very comprehensive with water tests and a thorough analysis of what is affecting your water. Many people find this information useful.
Culligan also provide you with limited lifetime warranty on all their machines.
Who is Culligan?
Culligan is one of the best known water softening brands today. Their line of softening products have been around since the 30’s.
It is worth taking your time to read about all the problems and complaints before purchasing. Also, take a look at the comment section to see what customers and past Culligan employees are saying.
Why Do People HATE Culligan So Much?
In very simple terms, their prices are considerably higher than similar products offered by other brands, which incur expensive on-going costs and their products are not DIY friendly. But by far the biggest cause of hate is their poor customer service.
1. High prices because you can only buy their machine after a sales call and the machine itself is linked to expensive maintenance / operating costs.
2. Very bad customer service and brand reputation.
1. Culligan Prices Are Too High And So Are Its Operating Costs.
Culligan water softeners are among the most advanced in the world and this comes at a cost.
Their machines are so expensive they don’t put a price on their website.
Also, there is NO such thing as a Culligan water softener price list.
- If you want to buy a Culligan water softener expect to pay upwards of $4000.
- Bear in mind that they have services starting at just $9.95 per month for their water cooler services and bottled water delivery service.
- Culligan rentals cost $80 to $155/month which include maintenance.
But you will soon discover, getting a Culligan water softener is not for the faint hearted when it comes to spending money.
Apart from the expensive unit, you can expect regular visits from your Culligan service man which also come at a cost.
It is hard to skimp on this because their machines are not designed to be DIY friendly.
Also, a maintenance issue might not be something that your local plumber can deal with because s/he doesn’t have specialist knowledge. Especially as a lot of Culligan machines are made with proprietary technologies.
Let me break down the type of costs you can expect:
- Actual machine, $2000-3000+ (bear in mind that you need to speak to a company representative who is inclined to up-sell you to their top line of units).
- Replacement parts if the system breaks down.
- Frequent visits from service personnel to maintain the machine.
- Possible extra costs on things like water softening salt.
2. Poor Customer Service
(Very Bad Culligan Water Softener Reviews Consumer Reports)
A quick Google search online will reveal lots of people that have written their own Culligan water softener review.
And most of them have nothing but bad things to say 🙁
Online reviews should always be taken with a pinch of salt because they are not representative. It is usually the most aggrieved and unhappy customers that will take the time to write up a whole essay on their experience.
While happy clients are not so passionate about sharing their views.
However, lots of bad reviews from places like Consumer Affairs and Yelp are hard to ignore. It seems the units do not always work as they should. And customer service is poor.
These poor consumer reviews mean that I personally can not recommend Culligan softening machines. Even though this is a Culligan water softener review, I think other brands have a better reputation and customer feedback. Prime examples are SpringWell or Aquasana, which also come at transparent competitive prices too.
What is Culligan Like as a Brand?
The Culligan brand can be traced back to 1936 when it was founded by Emmet Culligan.
“Culligan Zeolite Company” was set up in partnership his two brothers in Northbrook, Illinois.
The company was set up with a small amount of seed capital put together by the brothers.
Their first effective water softener device was created after Emmet punctured holes into a coffee can and filled it up with greensand, which turned it into a manual filtering device.
Believe it or not, this creation became a smash hit and allowed him to open 2 franchise stores in both Illinois and Maryland in 2 years.
Culligan came from those humble beginnings to be named as the #1 franchise in the softening industry in 2004 by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Trivia – The Culligan brand is most recognized for their classic “Hey Culligan Man!” advert. It was a very popular slogan which often featured in their early radio and TV ads. See video below.
Why Get A Culligan Water Softener System?
The next part of this Culligan water softener review is to point you towards 3 solid reasons why you could get a Culligan device:
- They provide some of the most reliable water softeners that you can use today.
- Culligan products use ion exchange technology, which is one of the best ways to soften hard water.
- The ion exchange is also a primary factor behind the brand’s longevity.
Top 3 Culligan Water Softener Models
Before talking about why the brand is so hated, I think it’s only fair that this culligan water softener review looks at good things about this brand.
- Culligan High-Efficiency (HE) Water Softener System.
- High Efficiency (HE) Twin Tank And High Efficiency (HE) Progressive Flow Water Conditioner.
- Culligan Gold Series Water Softener.
In the spirit of fairness, I’m going to take a closer look at 3 different Culligan water softeners.
At the time of writing this, Culligan have 8 water softener models to choose from.
However, do bear in mind that although salt based water softener systems are the company’s main product, there are other products. They have a long line of other products including water filters and water conditioners.
1. Culligan High-Efficiency (HE) Water Softener System
This Culligan HE (High-Efficiency) water softener system has a unique patented smart technology. It allows you to save on the salt, water, and electricity that you use. Hence, the name “high-efficiency”.
On average, it is 46% more efficient than similar devices.
That covers the basics, now let’s look at specific benefits that you get with the HE water softener technology:
- It gives you total control of the soft water that your home gets.
- The device will tell you how long your softening salt will last.
- You will use significantly less salt, water, and consume less electricity – thereby also saving you money.
- The HE softener has customization options that will let you adjust the level of hardness in water.
- Your Culligan man will automatically receive reports sent directly from the machine. This means you won’t have to worry about scheduling the next appointment.
- The HE Culligan machine is also certified by the Consumer Digest (Best Buy Seal).
- This certification is a seal of approval and a trusted mark in the consumer industry.
- The tank size is 1.0-3.0 ft3
2. Culligan High Efficiency (HE) Twin Tank And High Efficiency (HE) Progressive Flow Water Conditioner
This is Culligan’s response to the popularity and trend towards twin tank systems. The “High efficiency twin tank and high efficiency progressive flow water conditioner” is essentially the HE system times two. The twin tank system means that it has a higher capacity. This means it is perfect for large homes, big families and commercial establishments.
Here are the specific benefits that come with the Culligan high efficiency twin tank and high efficiency progressive flow water conditioner:
- This twin tank device has a smart sensor that responds accordingly. For instance, it will auto adjust if the quality of soft water changes.
- Its twin tank system means that each tank alternates when producing soft water and therefore has no downtime. This is similar to Kinetico twin water softeners and it just means there is always a standby tank on back up.
- It also comes with a “Dial-a-Softness”. A feature that lets you configure the softening settings at your own convenience.
- Another very handy feature is that it will let you know how long your softening salt will last.
- Gives you complete control of soft water coming into your home
- It is a HE (high efficiency) model meaning that it works on significantly less salt, water and electricity.
- It also has third-party certification from Consumer Digest.
- Your Culligan man will automatically receive reports sent directly from the machine. This means you won’t have to worry about scheduling the next appointment.
- The tank size is 1.0-3.0 ft3 (this applies to each tank).
3. Culligan Gold Series Water Softener
This is one of Culligan’s basic types of water softeners in spite of its name. In essence, the Culligan gold series water softener is designed to give you reliable soft water every time you need it. And this is all without worrying about maintenance because this is something that Culligan will take care of for you.
Here are some of the gold series water softening benefits:
- The gold series comes with a very big capacity. This means it can supply your home with enough soft water for laundry, shower and other home water related needs.
- You can also expect to get an advance control valve which will regulate the water pressure supplied to your home.
- It includes a smart sensor. This sensor monitors the systems performance in order to minimize energy and water costs.
- This device has received third-party certification from Consumer Digest.
- The tank size is 1.0-3.0 ft3
Culligan High-Efficiency Water Softener System
Key Benefit: It is 46% more efficient than other softeners.
Key Feature: Patented Smart Technology.
Cost? It’s hard to say, Culligan don’t provide costs upfront.
Culligan High Efficiency Twin Tank Water Softener.
Key Benefit: Comes with a smart sensor and “Dial-a-Softness”. Key Feature: Twin Tank Combo.
Cost? It’s hard to say, Culligan don’t provide costs upfront.
Culligan Gold Series Water Softener For Generating Soft Water.
Key Benefit: It has advanced control valves that regulate the water pressure.
Key Feature: Basic technology with advanced control valves.
Cost? It’s hard to say, Culligan don’t provide costs upfront.
Culligan Water Softener Problems
Culligan Water Softeners Are Very Complex Devices
According to the many reports and feedback I have gathered, most complaints are about how complex the device is.
Of course this is to be expected as Culligan water softeners are some of the most advanced softening systems in the world.
However, the very features intended to make the product helpful also seem to cause the most problems for its users.
Culligan Water Softeners Are Very Expensive.
Understandably, many people are annoyed about the high prices. Culigan addresses this by offering flexible payment terms.
Word also has it that the company are considering making more affordable and budget-friendly products in the future.
Culligan Water Softeners Are NOT DIY-friendly.
One of the important issues that I would be remiss if I didn’t mention in this Culligan water softener review is that they’re not DIY-friendly. This is important because many customers wish to save money by installing water softening systems themselves.
There are some water softeners that are designed so that they can easily be installed by the average person. They arrive IKEA style, with the most important parts already being assembled for instance, BRITA’s tap water filter.
If you’re looking for something you can easily install yourself Culligan is not for you. However, if you’re a hands-off type of person and already know some very good local plumbers then you shouldn’t have an issue.
You Can’t Repair Your Own Culligan Device.
Following on from the points made earlier, Culligan is not very user friendly on almost all counts. It doesn’t help that they tend to keep all their technical information as exclusive as possible. This means there is not a lot of options available to you if you’re a DIY enthusiast.
This is not to say that you can’t find parts online, because some parts are indeed very easy to find.
Just do a quick Google search for the name of the exact replacement part(s) you need. And a dozen or so online retailers not tied to the company should appear.
However, the more intricate the part (e.g. their signature drive motors and control valve head), the harder it is to find. In most cases you will only be able to purchase it directly from the company itself.
Culligan Water Softeners Are Hard To Maintain.
Culligan prefer that their expert engineer and service people deal with any maintenance issues with their machines.
Customers find it very difficult to maintain their devices because they have complicated systems.
The fact that you need a qualified service personnel to maintain your system means that Culligan have a slightly higher operating cost when compared to other water softener brands.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you comprehensively study their products and units so that you make the right choice. And are fully aware of what the likely operating costs are.
For more information, it is best to contact Culligan directly via their contact page or call heir customer service on 877 386 0823
Culligan Water Softeners (And Therefore Their Parts) Are Not Easy To Find…
It seems odd but you can’t easily find a Culligan water softener on places like Amazon, eBay or other large online retailers.
You have to order directly from the company website. This means that if you need a spare part you will most likely need to buy direct from Culligan.
Culligan Water Softener Troubleshooting
Have you already bought a Culligan water softener?
If you have this machine and want a replacement or troubleshooting manual then use the “Culligan Product Manual Library” to find your product.
Once found download its corresponding manual in .pdf format.
These manuals will also help you if you need to find the right Culligan water softener settings.
Where Can I Buy Culligan Water Softeners?
To my knowledge there are 2 places you can buy Culligan water softeners.
- Direct from Culligan themselves or,
- Try somewhere like eBay for a second hand / unwanted brand new version.
BEST Culligan Water Softener / Filter ALTERNATIVES
If you are looking for the best Culligan Water Softener alternatives check out my selection below. This is based on the best selling water softeners that have good customer reviews and great features.
I have previously reviewed all of these whole house water softener systems.
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| Treats hard water UP TO 25 ppm (low to medium low hard water). | Treats hard water OVER 25 ppm (medium to extremely hard water). |
| Does NOT require electricity. | Requires electricity if using the electronic head monitor. |
| Control Your System With An App:? NO | Control Your System With An App:? YES |
| - Powerful salt-FREE water softener. - 1,000,000 one million gallon capacity. - Aquasana Rhino exceeds NSF standards. - Treats hard water WITHOUT salt. - Removes chlorine, bacteria, iron, sulfide, manganese, mercury, lead etc. - Includes pre-filter, copper-zinc and carbon filtration stages with standard fittings. - 90-Day Pure Satisfaction Guarantee. - Limited 10 year warranty.  | - Powerful salt-BASED water softener. - 1,000,000 one million gallon capacity. - Also includes a multi-stage filter. - Easy installation (inside or outside) - Sufficient for 1-3 bathrooms (options for 4-6 and 7+ bathrooms also available). - 6 month money back guarantee. - Limited lifetime warranty. |
| $$$ Ships to US and CA. | $$$ Ships to US, CA and Puerto Rico. |
| Sale prices automatically applied by clicking this link. | |
| If there is *no* sale try coupon code: AQGEEK50 | Coupon Code: GEEK5 |
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I had a system installed by Culligan, few weeks later I noticed a slow water leak from one of the joints in pipe, I called then , it took 5 weeks to come and fix it, the technician told me it was a faulty part the thread was broken , couple of weeks later I got a bill for labour and time for something that totally their fault, I will never deal with them again
We installed a new Culligan water softener system in 2019 and although the unit seems to be working well, we have had extremely poor service whenever service was necessary. Culligan sets up appointments and when the technician doesn’t show up within the range of time or even on the day of the appointment, does not call you to let yoju know there has been a change. And when you call them, they tell you they had to change the time or date. They have become extremely unreliable. I will look for another company.
Good feedback and very accurate. Follow up service for simple requests such as salt delivery is non existent.
Service is abysmal at best.
I’ve had a Culligan gold softener system in my house for 10 years now and I’ve had virtually no problems. My only complaint is it is expensive to operate if you pay for the insurance which includes a yearly replacement of our/O filters every year. Other than that the R/oh system works beautifully and so does the soft water throughout the house which services the bathrooms kitchen and water outside for plants. Because I use potassium salt rather than sodium chloride it doesn’t damage the plants but acts as a fertiliser and makes everything grow beautifully. Again it’s expensive to run if you include the insurance and the replacement of potassium salt which has to be done about twice a year, big bags that you pour into the container. I haven’t really compare it to other salt free water systems but so far I’m very satisfied.
I had a Culligan water softener put in back in 2012 I believe and the couple years of having it, there weren’t any issues at all. If memory serves me right, it’s was $1800 installed with a valve shutoff to bypass the softener and it automatically regenerated. I was able to adjust if I wanted more or less salt used on the control pad as well which was pretty neat. My house at the time had a hardness of 19 and after the softener, we left it at 6. It does take some adjusting to, but your body, wallet, plumbing, dishes, and clothes with thank you. The salt in the water was barely noticeable and drinkable. I also had the automatic salt delivery for a reasonable fee and they’d add the salt for me for no charge. I’m considering getting another one just because of the great experience I had and I never had an issue with their customer service either. The sales guy did try selling me the RO, but I said no cuz I know those filters are pricey. Not having a water softener now is brutal. It’s one of those things in life you don’t realize how good they are until you don’t have one again.
Have had our Culligan system for several years and pay for them to service it. Recently we were out of town and the tank flushed itself (susposedly after a power failure during a storm although none of our neighbors had a power failure) – poured into the sinks of a nearby bathroom which overflowed damaging the bathroom and the carpets. Culligan keeps saying it could not have been their fault but no other pipes leaked or did anything to cause the damage.
Culligan is the worst company I have ever dealt with. We bought a rental house and thought we had taken over a water softener rental (after talking to culligan after receiving our first bill). After a while I asked to see the contract we had taken over (as the monthly bill seemed really high) I was sent a contract that was not signed by either my husband or I and was even dated before we owned the house and was told we would have signed that contract so we were obligated to it. The owner of the culligan we were dealing with was rude and inappropriate (he would call with a blocked number and I truly believe he treated me worse because of my gender). Head office was polite but did NOTHING to correct the situation. They are aware that one of the independent owner is being deceitful to clients and treating customers extremely poorly and does nothing.
Hi their! I am at the moment looking for an attorney again culligan!! I could tell you the longest horror story about what has happened to us!! Needles to say I agree on what everyone has said! Corporate is completely useless and I can’t get them out to fix are unit going on 3 months!!!
Hello Luke –
Please help!
Getting to the point — my daughter signed with Culligan yesterday for an $8400 system. I am very concerned that this is too much system for her tiny house.
May I please send you her water analysis and the quote for system? I want to know the right questions to ask *when* she cancels this within the 3 day period.
Thanks
George
**contact details removed for privacy**
Hi George
Wow $8400 sounds like a lot for a whole house water system in a tiny house.
Feel free to copy and paste any information in the comments and I’ll do my best to help with your questions.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
Hey Mike,
I am considering Culligan and Kinetico. i currently have a whole house system using Fleck heads. I have a well water that’s not hard, but it’s acidic. Fix the acidity, now i have to fix the hard water. What do you anticipate the up-keep cost will be for your system? And did you install the duel softeners/neutralizers so you have zero downtime when regenerating?
We couldn’t be happier with our Kinetico dual tank softener. Uses much less water and salt than the Culligan. All while being non electric to boot!
My neighbor had his newer electric softener overfill his brine tank after a lightning storm. He’ll never have that problem again with the Kinetico.
You get what you pay for.
We moved into our home with Culligan RO tower system under the kitchen sink, 10 years ago. It worked good for about 2-3 years but then slowly stopped producing and started leaking at the faucet. We ended up shutting it off. Called for repair, quoted $500 to replace filters and membrane. Found out the system is discontinued and no filters, membranes etc available anymore. Only option is to buy a new system, the replacement being offered is the Aqua cleer system which is also set to be discontinued shortly we were told. I would have expected filters and parts to be stocked for longer than 10 years. Will try an alternative to Culligan next time.
I have a gulligan estate 2 system they cannot fix it they say don’t make parts for it I pay 2500 nearly 20 years ago and now they cannot repair it is only one part of it that they don’t make parts for it and now they are asking for 4000 thousands for new one is nothing wrong with most of my system but I think they just want me to buy the new one I feel like I am getting rip off so now I will look for other products and sorry but their service is not that good I was expecting to repair it or replace that part of the system I don’t know what the law provides for parts for a unit and for how long they have to provide replacement parts thank you
I am a Culligan Service Technician, and I can tell you what you have been told is true as long as it is the timer/motor mechanism. The Estate 2 is an analog control with many gears and drives that are no longer produced. You may have luck looking online but those parts will also be 20 years old if not older.
The entire control head was redesigned and upgraded to a digital motor with much better performance and quality.
As a service technician it is in our best interest to fix the parts that have failed but innovation rules the world and chances are your Estate 2 is far less efficient than when you bought it. If you buy a 20 year old car you can get parts but that 11-16 mpg still is terrible. Compared to a new car that can range from 20 mpg all the way up to the low 40’s not to mention EVs.
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and soft water once you have it, is a near necessity.
Good luck with your future softener purchase, but I wouldn’t write off the biggest name in the industry over a 20 year old softener.
We have a reverse osmosis system and a sulfur treatment system. We paid a lot of money for this system and had to finance it. The reverse osmosis which we rented monthly is a ripoff the filters are proprietary and expensive. The local service dealer would charge 350 to change the filters that’s ridiculous . The media for the sulfur need to be changed at $700 that ridiculous. I took the ro system out and went with one where the filters are $60 once a year
$8,000 unit the worst piece of s*** I ever owned Culligan ain’t worth crap
I live in Dover, Delaware and we had a Culligan twin unit water softener unit for 19 years. It never required any maintenance. I did have them come out about every 6 years to check the system and the water. Recently, the brine tank started leaking after developing a slight crack on the bottom seam. The Culligan repairman came out, tested the water and told me that it looked like all we needed was a new tank. He then opened the mechanical unit and showed me where the gears were leaking and there was rust. It was definitely time to get a new unit. After 4 days of hard water, two men came out today and installed a new modern single tank unit. One of the installers, who was a plumber, was nice enough to spend 10 minutes increasing the water pressure by adding air to our pressure tank. I’m very happy.
Your softener should have a bypass valve on the back where your plumbing connects. Put softener in bypass while your watering
Can i have a shut valve put on my outside watering so that my plants an trees do not die from the salt water conditioning
I owned a culligan water softener for nearly 30 years and absolutely loved it. After 15 years the head needed to be rebuilt, not cheap but no expensive either. Service was great! after another 5 years I decided to upgrade to a more efficient unit, again Culligan to save salt and water. This worked out fantastic. I have recently sold that house and moved to a new place with no water softener, boy do we miss it. I absolutely will call Culligan soon to purchase again. For those of you complaining, stop bad mouthing the product it’s probably your dealer which are independently owned and operated. Call corporate and complain there. Maybe they can find you another dealer or sometimes the dealers have bad employees just like any other plumbing outfit. So call the dealer and complain and get a different technician, that can make a world of difference. The Culligan product is superior to any of the others, I know I worked for a supply house that sold some of the third party products that plumbers like to piece together. Like the Culligan Man said, you get what you pay for. Culligan is the way to go!.
Good evening, so I am reading the comments and the “cookie cutter” replies…so it seems that Culligan to make it look like they READ and REPLY to all review…they say the same thing…same words…same same same…no one reads them so why are people wasting time to write reviews.
d
Hi Donata
I don’t understand, do you mean Culligan is leaving “cookie cutter” replies?
Because I certainly don’t leave the same responses to questions asked on my blog. I always take the time to read every comment and respond accordingly as I have just done with your comment.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
I had a salesman tell me the biggest lie and I believed him I’m in the process of taking them to court do not buy culligan anything I spent 2300.00 got ripped off never ever buy any products from them or believe anything they tell u system never worked and they knew it was worthless
I purchased an aqua sensor culligan water softner in 1984. I have two calls for culligan to come to my house. One after 10 years to repair a leak from a worn out gasket. The second one was to see if the water was getting soft enough after 15 years. The water softner finally just failed this month, 4/2020. During this time all I had to do was add salt. I don’t know if the new models will last this long, but I thought I would just give my experience with culligan, but I will be seriously looking at buying again. My local dealer has been very helpful om the past and hoping they will be so this time around.
Hi Nhazcool
Yes, it’s very helpful to hear your Culligan machine lasted for 35 years!
I hope they are still making them this durable.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
I rented a water softener and an osmosis unit. After a couple of months I had to get another softener because the 1st one never worked. These rental units are used. The 2nd one wasn’t any better. I expected more from Culligan. They charge twice as much for little results. They still had the nerve to charge me to finish out my contract. I paid the 1st year for 2 broken softener systems. Now I have to pay the 2nd year to Culligan even though I’m with a cheaper, better company. Save your money and shop around for better, cheaper companies. Culligan isn’t the only water softener company out there.
Hi McNamara
Sorry to hear of your poor experience with Culligan but thanks for sharing and I’m glad you found better company to use.
Best wishes,
Luke
I have lived in 3 homes over 20 years that all came equipped with a Culligan water softener (Tampa, FL). During those years, all I had to do was buy a few bags of salt and dump it in. I never had an issue and I felt it was super simple to maintain (just add salt). I recently moved to Austin Texas where I purchased a home that did not come with a water filter. Immediately I felt my skin and hair get dry and subsequently had to use A LOT of shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer to feel normal. Santa just brought a Culligan water softener for Christmas and ahh, my good hair and skin are back! I feel human again. I guess if you are a guy with short hair it doesn’t matter much but I am a girl with long hair and I like it to feel soft. I had my water tested and on a scale of 0-10, my water was an 11.5 on the hardness scale! No wonder my hair was terrible. Most people only write reviews in life if they want to complain. That is what you see in the internet. All the people who have had issues with something. You don’t hear from people who didn’t have a problem. So take all the complaints you read with a big grain of salt!
Hi Christine
Thanks for your happy Culligan feedback, providing another side of the Culligan experience and giving this post much needed balance.
Stay hydrated,
Luke
Culligan only gets payments every once in a while you will get double bill every 2 months I am done they need to come get what have here will buy my own thew are a lot cheaper Gary
Where do I start? Full disclosure, I am a Culligan MAN. First off, I thank the author of this article for some of the nice things said. We have been around a LONG time and having said that, would a company abusing it’s clients still be in business if that were really the case? Secondly, every Culligan dealership is independently owned and operated under a rigid franchise agreement. If you have had bad service from one of us… simply look up Culligan International in Rosemont, IL. and ask for help from the office of the President. Your problem will be honestly dealt with if you have come to what you believe is unfair treatment from your local dealer.
OK, with the above said I will conclude with this. There are typically 3 levels of water treatment devices as is usually the case with virtually ALL appliances. You have basic consumer grade which you might procure from any big box store of your choice. You will be lucky to get any real warranty value with these products and you will be the installer or hire one. The life span on theses “entry level” devices ranges from 300 to 800 dollars. You get what you pay for.
The next level of water treatment devices are what we call assemblers. Assemblers are basically anybody like a plumber who wants to get into the water treatment business. Now, they do not manufacture, obtain NSF certifications or typically warehouse “their” products for sale. The assembler goes to a local plumbing supply whole sale ware house and buys generic Fleck or Clack valves, media and brine tanks from some generic manufacturer and slaps a sticker with their company name on this “ASSEMBLED” unit and call it their own.
Mind you, they did not submit this unit to the NSF (National Sanitary Foundation) for 3rd party certification under standard 61 or 44. (www.nsf.org/services/by-industry/water-wastewater/municipal-water-treatment/nsf-ansi-can-standard-61)
These assemblers of which there are some very talented businesses out there using 3rd party equipment, are not the manufacturers. As such the warranties are not as good or I have found if they do supply comparable warranties the labor rates to change out a warranted part are astronomical!!! Again, there are many great companies out there that do a wonderful job as one of these assemblers. Please, do not flame me out because I might be breaking someone’s bubble.
Lastly there are the manufacturers whom develop, get 3rd party certifications for ALL THE PARTS OF THE UNIT together as one unit, manufacturer, sell and service. YOU PAY A HIGHER PRICE FOR THESE HIGHER QUALITY UNITS. Why?
1. Better Warranties.
2. Longevity of the company. (If you do need a part fixed, will the company still be around in 5 years?)
3. Service. Are the service techs factory trained on your specific unit?
4. NSF Total Unit Certification
So, to recap, why does Culligan cost more? Have you ever priced refrigerators? You can buy a single door GE, french door Samsung or Double door SUB ZERO. They are all 3 simply made to keep your food cold right? Go look at the pricing differences. This is the exact same reason there are different prices in water treatment equipment. Hey! I get it… 3 to 4 K is a ton of $. When I was in the market for a new refer I landed in the Samsung zone because 11K for a Sub Z was above my comfort zone. I settled and simply weighed the cost benefits. Does that make Sub Zero immoral or bad just because I am a cheap… erm… prudent shopper? NO! Sub Zero is the Rolls Royce of refrigerators and no, not everyone has one. So do not bust on Sub Zero for being a really great choice.
ON PRICING…. We typically do not give out pricing for 2 reasons. First, how much plumbing is needed and how much do we charge if we do not know what we will be doing? Secondly, how hard is the water, what is the pressure are there high Chlorine levels, what size plumbing do you have is there a PRV full functioning.. etc…etc…etc… It would be entirely UNFAIR to us and to a potential client to shoot off some figure just to get into the house then during installation spring an $800.00 additional plumbing cost on you simply because we did not do our due diligence and perform an appropriate site survey. You even referenced multiple models above in your critique but are you aware that each unit you referenced we have multiple choices and options for each? So is it fair to give pricing for something we really are not certain will work? Is that fair? We rent equipment too by the way.
Lastly, I am the CULLIGAN MAN in Phoenix, AZ. well… one of them and we have some AWESOME CULLIGAN Ladies too! I respectfully take exception with the premise of this review of my company and products. I can be reached at Culligan of Phoenix if you have any questions and I challenge you to reach out to your local Culligan Dealer if you feel that you have been slighted… we will make every attempt to reasonably make it right.
Hi Timothy
Thanks for the full and lengthy rebuttal, which has been published here in full.
Best wishes,
Luke
Thanks for making informative review about Best Culligan Water Softener Products and their Alternatives. I think PSE2000 Whole House Filter-Softener with UV is best among other because it is comes with full 90 day guarantee and
lifetime warranty on tanks and parts.
Can you let me know is there any other product come with lifetime warranty?
Hey,
I believe that Aquasana (salt free softener AND filter) comes with a 10-year warranty and 90-day total satisfaction guarantee.
Stay hydrated.
Luke
Purchased a culligan water softener and have had to pour more than 3 cup full of laundry detergent into the washing machine and still can see no soap suds in the washer. Had culligan come out and check it out and they said as long as the salt is going down it is working. Disagree strongly! We should not have to use that much laundry detergent. The technician checked and said the laundry room is not being bi-passed so why then so much soap needed. Not happy.
Hi Mary
Sorry to hear that you’re having problems with Culligan but I really appreciate you sharing this story with us.
Please please please keep us updated with this story as I would like to follow up.
In the mean time let me know if I can help in any way.
Best wishes,
Luke
Mr Water Geek
COMPLAINT
I have had the Culligan Medallist Series system on my home since 8/2012 at a cost of $2,850.00.
Every year I have been paying $219.00 for salt delivery and repair of minor issues at no charge. However, I have been experiencing low water pressure in my home since last year. I cannot run the washing machine without the water pressure going down to a trickle in the other faucets in my home. I cannot run the outside hose without having all the water faucets go completely to a trickle. I cannot run two showers at one time without the pressure going down.
I had service for this problem last year. The technician came and took the overflow line out of the ground and let it run free. The line was clogged with dirt. This was a temporary fix because the problem has become progressively worse.
I even called our City Water Department to see if there was an issue with the water supply to my home and there is no issue with my water pressure. I was told that the Water Softening system is causing this problem.
This Culligan unit is breaking down and the service is not being performed as promised and noted in your service manual. There has NEVER been a periodic clean-out of the Salt Storage Tank. The service manual indicates that this should be done every two years. I asked that the tank be cleaned out and I was told that it doesn’t need to be cleaned. So why is this noted in the service manual.
I complained to “Corporate” but they are less than useless. Was told “well just wait for the repair technician, He’ll fix it, if not call me back.
Hi Frances
Sorry to hear that you’re having problems with Culligan but I really appreciate you sharing this story with us.
Please please please keep us updated with this story as I would like to follow up.
In the mean time let me know if I can help in any way.
Best wishes,
Luke
Mr Water Geek
COMPLAINT:
I live in Cazenovia, NY. I moved into a house that already had a Culligan water softening system installed. I called Culligan from Endicott, NY to service it. The guy came and said it was all good to go. He also sold me $63 of salt and charged a total of $279. After he left, the water pressure was much lower. I was confused initially but then when I did the bypass to get water directly, the water pressure became fine. I called Culligan back to help fix the problem. They are neither fixing the problem nor refunding any of the money I paid them. And I am stuck having paid $279 for zero benefit. I am just writing this review so that other people do not waste their money like me.
Hi Aatif
Sorry to hear about your poor experience with Culligan.
Many thanks for sharing your opinion and feel free to keep us posted on your progress!
Best wishes,
Luke
I purchased a home that had a Culligan Gold water softener installed. It was the highest maintenance appliance in the house. I’m sure some of the problems (like salt bridging and no brine flow) were a direct result of the use of rock salt instead of salt pellets.
I purchased a valve rebuild kit from Culligan. It was pricey at $150 and I think all that was really required was new o-rings.
I purchased the part from the Culligan store and I had a great experience with the staff answering my questions. He explained the easiest way to disassemble and it became obvious that the procedure suggested on Youtube was not optimum. He also explained how long the resin bed would last and symptoms of end of life, They also went thru the the programmable parameters with me and verified that they were set correctly.
Hi Lynn
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Culligan! Honestly, I was a little worried about being too hard on this brand but I can only report on the evidence in front of me. But it’s so great to have your perspective because it provides a much needed balance to this post.
Thanks again for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Stay hydrated,
Luke
Hey Luke,
We have a commercial Culligan softener. Model Hi Flo 2 PV-45. Any idea where we can get a user manual for it? I have searched & searched online and have not had any luck.
Thank You, Renee
Hi Renee
Your best bet is to contact Culligan directly through the customer care centre – 1-877-386-0823
Hope this helps, if not let me know.
Best wishes,
Luke
Mr Water Geek
Have a culligan water softener. Our hot water has a strong smell like rotten eggs. We took the ionizing rod out of the water heater as we heard that would help- somewhat. The hot water is orange and stains the stainless and composite sinks. Is there a solution? Is it in the plumbing? Should we get a new water heater? It might have an orange coating on the inside of it or is it the softener itself?
Help!!!
Hi Joe
Sorry to hear you’re having problems with your Culligan Water Softener. It sounds like it could be a number of different things and it would be hard for me to diagnose without being there.
That “rotten egg” smell is usually a sign of hydrogen sulfide contamination in your water. You’ll need a softener filter combination that effectively removes this like the Aquasana EQ-500.
Stay hydrated.
Luke
We have just moved to Pleasanton and we have spent a lot of money to have a softner and an RO put in our house. It has been less than two months and we have had 4 problems. In each case, Culligan does not want to have anything with our issues. So, we have to deal with these “guys”. Their appointments could be 1 to 2 weeks out even if you do not have drinkable water.
Issues so far:
1. Technician performed half of the job. He told me that he had to go to another appointment. We had to wait for one week. In the meanwhile our existing filtration was offline.
2. System should an error instructing us to call this “outfit” again. Another week went by…no filtered water. Technician cancelled the appointment. A guy called us and told us that everything was OK….?!?
3. RO stopped working all together. The suggested appointment was for two weeks out. Again, there were no filtered water.
4. System now shows another message….I hate these guys! But I have to call them!
Culligan Corporate is useless so there is nobody to escalate the issue to.
Hi Mark
So sorry to hear about your Culligan issues, sadly this is not the first time I’m hearing about something like this 🙁 Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us and I truly hope it gets resolved soon.
Keep us posted!
Luke
Mr Water Geek
All water softeners are different. Not sure where you got the price for a Culligan water softener but there are some that start a lot lower than the price you have listed. Also working on a Culligan is not as complicated as you make it sound. There are Youtube videos on how to do just about everything on a Culligan.
If you let me know the prices and any facts I got wrong (with evidence of how your information is more accurate), I’d be more than happy to update the post with this information 🙂