3 Best RV Water Softeners: A Complete Guide to RV Water Softeners

Clean water is one part of properly maintaining your RV and health while traveling, but it’s an important one.

It’s also just more pleasant, as when there’s too much mineral buildup in your water source washing your hands can cause dryness and a bad odor can build up. 

Enter the water softener (also called ion exchange). A simple tablet that treats your RV’s fresh water tank and removes excess minerals such as magnesium and calcium and other particles to turn the hard water that comes from your water source (such as the well water from RV parks) into soft water in your tank. 

Whether you’re a full-time or part-time RVer, it’s important to use a water softener to prevent excess mineral buildup in your tank and remove the dryness and itchiness that comes from hard water. 

Below, we’ll cover some of the best RV water softener brands on the market as well as a slew of frequently asked questions about RV water softeners, including how long they last, how to know if your water softener is working properly, and more. 

Read on to find out everything you need to know about RV water softeners: 

3 Best RV Water Softeners

Before we get into frequently asked questions and how to make the most of your water softener, let’s talk about the water softener systems and brands that RV owners love.

These were all chosen with quality, effectiveness, and online reviews and ratings in mind from RVers:

1. On the Go Portable Double Standard

The choice you’ll likely hear if you ask an RV owner what brand they use, On the Go is a tried-and-true portable water softener if you’re just looking for what works.

It’s been around for a while and works as intended, so you can’t go wrong with any of On the Go’s water softeners, especially their Portable Double Standard, which is their largest model. 

Check out the On the Go Portable Double Standard on Portablewatersoftener.com. 

2. Watts Pro-1000

Watts is another brand we looked at which RV owners often cite as working great, improving water quality while being safe for RV tanks.

It comes in at about the same price as the On to Go at $270 with similar performance. 

Check out the Watts Pro-1000 on Amazon.  

3. Pro+Aqua 16,000 Grain Portable

The Pro+Aqua is a newer brand that we’ve seen many RV owners fall in love with, citing high quality materials and an incredibly easy regeneration process. 

The Pro+Aqua also makes it easy to see when the regeneration process is done, so maintaining the Pro+Aqua 16,000 is simple and straightforward.

Check out the Pro+Aqua 16,000 Grain Portable on Amazon. 

How Long Do RV Water Softeners Last?

RV water softeners last a good long while, if properly regenerated regularly, around 5 to 15 years. 

How long your water softener works will depend on how often you perform maintenance, which in the case of water softener mostly refers to regeneration.

Water softener regeneration is a fancy term that essentially just refers to flushing your tank of the mineral buildup and allowing the resin beads that pick up the excess minerals to get cleaned.

If you let too much buildup occur within your tank, your softener will outright stop being able to do its job altogether, making regular maintenance important if you want your softener to work for that full 5-15 year period.

What Is the Most Reliable Brand of RV Water Softener?

There are many reliable brands of water softeners perfect for RVs.

Some of the brands we’ve seen work best for RVers include:

• On the Go
• Pro+Aqua, and
• Watts

However, these are just a few of our favorites. There are lots of great camper water softeners out there. 

How to Know If Your Water Softener Isn’t Working Properly

What if you’ve replaced your water softener recently and want to know if it’s working properly? Or you simply never have and you want to know if it’s time to replace it?

To tell if your water softener is working properly, notice how your hands feel after washing them under your RV’s water. 

Conventional water softeners remove the excess hard minerals in your water source to reduce the effects of hard water in your tank.

Pay attention to these signs to know if your water softener isn’t working properly:

• Do your hands feel dry and rough? 
• Do they feel itchy? 
• When you use soap at the sink or in the shower, does it not sud (or bubble up) as much as it used to?

These are all signs that your water softener isn’t working properly and needs to be replaced. 

Also, when drinking it will have a strong mineral taste (or even chemical) taste and the water itself will be a bit more opaque rather than clear.

How Often Should You Regenerate Your RV Water Softener? 

You should regenerate your RV water softener every 2-4 weeks depending on use, more frequently the more you run your water. 

However, it’s a good idea to default to what your brand of water softener recommends. Every brand has its own unique instructions and it’s always best to follow their recommendations as they know their product best.

What Happens If You Don’t Regenerate Your Water Softener (Why Is It Important?)

On that note, why is it even important to regenerate your water softener in the first place?

If you don’t regularly regenerate, your water softener won’t work properly. If too much buildup occurs in your tank, your water softener will simply stop working altogether and won’t be able to remove any further particles.

Over time, this will impact your RV’s water system and effectively negate the benefits of that water softener system. 

Keep Your Water Clean and Clear

A good water softener will keep your water supply clean, feeling good, and sediment from building up in your tank. 

Use the tips we covered above to properly treat your RV’s water along with one of our recommended softener brands (or really any you like, there are many!) to properly maintain your tank and water. 

Learn more about improving the quality of your RV’s drinking water with the best RV water filters: RV Filtration System: Ultimate Water Filter Guide (Featuring Clearsource RV water filters).