My wife is pushing for one of these very expensive home water treatment/filtration systems, but it all feels like a scam to me. No one I know has one, so turning to random strangers on the internet for opinions.
Edit: We’re on city water in a decent area. No well water. It’s more about removing the chlorine and microplastics than anything.
Water softeners use a salt brine to flush out the ions off the resin beads. The resin beads do eventually wear out but should be good for 5+ years in most residential applications. The softener salt does have to be topped up frequently though. Softeners are not particularly exoensive to keep operating.