Water softeners - how long as they supposed to last? We moved into this 13 year old house over the summer and I'm guessing this is the original unit. Our first experience with water softeners. We add the necessary salt but not sure it needs maintenance or some sort of cleaning out on a regular basis. (We did clean it out when we moved in). Can anyone recommend a company who might be able to come out that is honest and reasonably priced to check it out? Thanks in advance.