GE GXSH35W smart water softener review

What the maker puts in writing

• Eliminates soap scum, prevents plumbing damage and extends appliance life; this 35,000 grain softener accommodates households of up to 6 people
• “Built-in WiFi with Water Flow Alerts — This WiFi-enabled water softener keeps you in control by sending instant alerts to your phone when low, medium, or high continuous water flow is detected. With the SmartHQ app, you also get low salt reminders and the ability to set-up Vacation Mode”
• “Leak Detection with Remote Water Shutoff — an optional Water Shutoff Valve to remotely shut water off to your entire house if a leak is detected… When paired with RMVALVESFT shutoff valve - sold separately”
• 1” plumbing connections with dual O-ring seals; included 1” quick connectors accommodate both 3/4” and 1-1/4” plumbing
• “Bypass Blending Control — A custom water bypass blending valve allows you to conveniently control your preferred water softness level or set as complete bypass”

The blending valve

This is the specification on this page that nothing else on the shelf has, and it answers a complaint people genuinely have about softeners.

Fully softened water tastes flat. The calcium and magnesium that give water its character are exactly what the softener removes, and what replaces them is sodium, because that is the trade ion exchange makes.

A blending valve lets a controlled amount of untreated water back in. Enough softening to stop scale in the heater and the kettle; not so much that the shower feels slippery and the faucet tastes of nothing.

It is also the right answer for anyone watching their sodium who still wants their pipes protected.

Eleven other listings here offer all or nothing.

WiFi, which is less silly than it sounds

A water softener is already a flow meter. It measures every gallon entering the house, because that is how it decides when to regenerate.

So it is the obvious place to notice a faucet left running, a toilet valve that has failed, or a split pipe while you are in another country.

GE sends an alert on low, medium or high continuous flow, adds a vacation mode, and — with the RMVALVESFT valve, sold separately — will shut the whole house off from a phone.

And the quietly most valuable feature: low salt reminders.

Because the commonest way a softener stops working is that the salt ran out in March and nobody noticed until the kettle furred up in June.

And the plumbing detail that saves an afternoon

Included 1” quick connectors accommodate both 3/4” and 1-1/4” plumbing.

That is the commonest obstacle to installing a softener yourself, dealt with in the box. No other listing here mentions fitting more than one pipe size.

Now the price

Nineteen dollars ninety-seven a thousand grains. The second-worst value on this shelf, after the Kenmore.

35,000 grains for $699, where Aquasure sells 64,000 for $749.99.

Nothing about the softening itself is published as better: no certification, no salt-saving percentage, no resin volume, no crosslink figure, no flow rate.

You are buying the app, the alerts and the blending valve. For some households that is the right purchase, and it should be made with eyes open.

The gap

No warranty published.

On a softener whose entire argument is its electronics, that is the omission that matters most — and the EcoPure and Kenmore on this shelf both publish three years specifically on electronics.

Availability

Available at around $699.00 on Amazon.com when we checked on October 29, 2026, for delivery to a US address.

Stock and prices on Amazon.com move without notice; the button above opens the live listing.