Preferred Plus 42,000 Grain Water Softener

I bought this unit to replace a whirlpool model that had stopped working. Install was easy but I had to return the first one I installed due to it leaking. Overall, I'm satisfied with this purchase.

I bought this in July 2021 and yesterday 3/19/22 it failed in the worst kind of way. My wife wakes me up "we don't have any water". Checked the well it was fine. Outside spickets were fine. No water in the house. Shut off water and cut the 3/4 line past the water softener and the problem pored out in tiny resin beads. The entire house was plugged with resin beads, sinks, toilets, washer, dish washer, showers, etc. Will be calling Rheem next week. Do not buy any softener from Rheem.

I purchased one of these softners today, it was easy to install. However, it is very low quality. Later the same day after it was installed it started leaking between where two peaces of plastic meet on the control valve and is dripping onto the tray.

Only issue: the horrible job someone at the factory did on installing the control panel label. This was embarrassing to say the least. Actually hanging off OVER the guide edges and at a jaunty angle (see photo). How anyone could do this AND let it past inspection is beyond me. I just hope the rest of the unit is better assembled.

I purchased the Rheem Model RHS42 water softener as a replacement for a Whirlpool water softener that stopped working after 7 years. The installation of the Rheem water softener was fairly straightforward and I was able to install it in a couple of hours. However, there were some quirks with the Rheem unit. For example, after all connections were in place, I followed the instructions about removing any air in the plumbing. When I eventually, enabled the bypass valve to get water into the softener, the water went straight to drain and it continued doing this non-stop. After much troubleshooting, I added salt to the tank and manually started a regeneration cycle. It was only at this point that the system stopped sending water to drain and began working ok. Another thing that I experienced with this Rheem unit, is that the bypass valve itself was leaking water from within the piston (near the handle). All the connections were on point, however the valve itself was defective. I contacted Rheem customer service and they agreed to send me a replacement bypass valve. In the meantime, I have a bucket catching the dripping water from the defective bypass valve. I have tested the water to see if the unit is functioning as designed. The water hardness test strips confirmed that the unit is indeed softening water. Overall, I think the installation was relatively easy for me, however the quality of the unit is in question. I have only had the unit a few days and am still waiting for the replacement bypass valve. Time will tell if this was a good buy. Based on my experience, I can't recommend the Rheem RHS42 water softener.

Ok so the install was smooth and build quality seems fine but... I think I got a bad batch of resin because the water taste in service mode is quite chemical tasting and in bypass totally fine. I called the manufacturer and they are sending me new resin. I mean this can happen. So if the new resin fixes the taste issue, again which we never had with our previous softener, then I’ll update this to +5 stars.

My house was already plumbed for a 3 valve bypass, so I think my job was pretty easy. So far so good, I replaced a 20 year old leaking water softener. The one thing I don't care for on most of these water softeners is the all in one unit. This design doesn't allow for flexibility to place your brine tank close to where you load salt out of your car. My water softener is installed in the mechanical room in the basement. Lugging bags of salt that distance is no fun. There's a way around this conundrum, consult a plumber. However, this water softener seems to be doing a great job. It's fairly quiet, now that the air is out of the system. The 42k grains will be more than enough for my family. I can't attest for how efficient it uses salt yet, but I'm confident that it will use less than my old one, especially with fewer regenerations. This unit is very easy to program, and the led light indicator makes it easy to know when the softener needs attention. It also kinda knows your salt level, and can remind you to check it. (It's an educated guess) Looks great, takes up a little more room than my old one. I think I'll be good for the next 20 years. Save your self some time on install and buy the water softener braided flex hoses, they are 1 inch npt on one end and 3/4 sharkbite on the other, speeding things up and making fewer connections!

I live in Florida and the water here is notoriously hard, just ask my plumbing fixtures. I've lived in my house for almost 6 years, and although there was already a water softener installed when I moved in, it was older and we never had it hooked up and it stayed on bypass mode. I already have a Rheem water heater, and they seem to be new to the water softener business but I trust them so I went with this one for my home. Installation was simple since I already had an existing softener, and the computerized setup was a breeze thanks to detailed instructions. It comes with a single test strip to test your tap water so that you can plug in the hardness level to the softener after installation. We can already feel a difference when showering and washing our hands how hard our water really was. Great investment!

Water quality is extremely important. We installed the Rheem performance plus water softener to improve the hard, harsh water that we currently have. We had a pro install it because we wanted to make sure they wouldn’t be any leaks or anything like that. It holds about 440 pound bags of salt. It has other features that are very good to have, angled tank designed for easy loading of salt, it has several settings, a light on the inside to show how much salt you have left, it has an agitator warranty and a built-in sediment filter as well as a low salt monitor.We are very happy with this and recommended very highly for everybody.

I have been needing a new water softener for some time now and I am so glad I waited for this Rheem water softener to come out for sale with Home Depot. I have model rhs42 which looks to be the largest capacity as far as how many folks per house which this is I believe up to seven people water consumption. I have included several pictures from the owner's manual which is very detailed and let me just tell you that for my brother-in-law that installed it, he was very thankful. You will see pictures of the installation requirements, the programing, how to add the salt and the fact that this has a cleansing feature which I thought was really cool. The other wonderful piece from Rheem is the fact that this water softener comes completely assembled. It's delivered to you on a pallet and wrapped snugly so you receive it in the same condition that it left the warehouse. Since I just got it installed a day ago I can't really speak as to whether or not it's changed my Water World :-) the quality is wonderful. I love how it has a protective lid that you open up to find all of the controllers also the place where you would use the cleansing feature. One of my photos shows you the height compared to a water heater. It seems like that lid will keep things so much more protected than your standard water softener. Hope this helps with your decision :)