As a homeowner, you have many different options out there when choosing appliances. One appliance that you may not be sure you need is a water softener system. Below, we’ll discuss what this system is and how it can be beneficial for your household.
What’s Hard Water?
When water comes up through the ground, it may travel through a variety of different rocks before it reaches the local water supply. If you live in a region that has a lot of limestone, this rock will add excess minerals to the water. These minerals come in the form of magnesium and calcium.
While hard water is completely safe to drink, it can take a real toll on your plumbing system and even your body. Being able to identify if you have hard water and effectively using a water softener system to treat it can be crucial.
Signs You Have Hard Water
One of the easiest ways to tell if you have hard water is to look at your plumbing fixtures. If you notice a white film that always seems to be present, you have hard water. This white film is actually dried minerals left behind on the surface of your sinks, fixtures, showerheads, and so forth. As this builds up over time, it will become harder and harder to remove.
When you have hard water, even though you may scrub hard to wash your dishes, they’ll end up with white spots when they dry. Your clothes will feel stiff, and stains will be tough to remove. Your skin may be overly itchy and dry, and your hair could frizz out. You can always get a water quality test if you’re unsure whether your water is hard. This test will reveal the concentrations of magnesium and calcium in your water supply.
The Effects of Hard Water on Your Home
If you have hard water, it can significantly impact your home and belongings. As a homeowner, it’s important to understand these effects so that you can make a better-informed decision about whether or not a water softener system is the right purchase for you.
Unwanted Corrosion
One of the biggest problems with using hard water is that it can cause premature deterioration of your plumbing fixtures and piping. Any metal components will wear out faster and start to corrode. This will lead to further issues, like holes developing and rust particles ending up in your water supply. Hard water can even take a toll on your water-using appliances, like your water heater and dishwasher.
Ineffective Cleaning Products
Living with hard water can be frustrating when it comes to cleaning. Dish and laundry detergents will struggle to remove stains and debris from your items. It’s common for those with hard water to notice extreme fading of their white clothing and other laundry items, as they don’t get fully clean when washed. The limescale layer that you find on all of your plumbing fixtures ends up on your dishes and your clothes, making it harder for the cleaning detergents to penetrate them.
Water Heater Inefficiency
Just knowing that hard water is causing premature corrosion and a shortened lifespan for your water heater can be reason enough to get a water softener system. However, it’s also important to realize that your water heater is less efficient with hard water. Softer water requires less energy to heat than hard water.
More Frequent Repair Issues
The deposits that hard water leaves behind can wreak havoc on all the components of your plumbing system and require more frequent repairs. For example, appliances like a humidifier, ice maker, and coffee maker all have small tubes and nozzles to function. The minerals from your water will build up over time and eventually clog these small nozzles and tubes, preventing system operation.
How Can a Water Softener System Help?
The solution to deal with household hard water is to invest in a water softener system. This type of system is specifically designed to remove excess minerals, like magnesium and calcium, from your water supply. By installing a water softener system near where your water supply comes into your home, you can effectively remove the bulk of the minerals from your water before it ever reaches the majority of your piping, appliances, and plumbing fixtures.
How Does a Water Softener Work?
Water softeners work due to a unique ion exchange process, where water flows into the water softener’s main tank. Inside this tank is a plethora of small resin beads that are charged with a sodium molecule. Magnesium and calcium naturally attract to the charge of the resin bead, which pulls them out of your water and holds onto them.
The sodium molecule gets released during this ion exchange process and flows in your water through all of your plumbing fixtures. Every so often, the water softener will do a regeneration cycle where a specialized brine solution flows through the main tank. This solution effectively removes the magnesium and calcium by flushing them down the drain and recharges every resin bead with a new sodium molecule.
While there are different water softener systems, the most popular is a salt-based system that works as we discussed above. It’s important to routinely add salt to your water softener for it to function correctly. You’ll need to add a specialized pelleted salt about every six to eight weeks. It’s also necessary to get annual service for your water softener from one of our plumbing professionals.
The Many Benefits of a Water Softener System
Now that you understand all the drawbacks of having hard water at your home and how a water softener system can help, it’s time to think about the benefits it can provide to your household. This is an essential component in your ultimate decision of whether or not purchasing one is the right option for you.
Extend Plumbing System Longevity
One of the biggest benefits of having a water softener system is that it helps to extend the longevity of your plumbing system. From your piping and faucets to your shower heads and water heater, you can enjoy a 30% to 40% increase in overall lifespan when you have a water softener system as compared to using just hard water. The longer these items last, the more bang you’ll get for your buck.
Lower Energy Bills
Another great advantage of having a water softener is the boost in efficiency of your water heater. Softer water is easier to heat up than hard water, so your water heater won’t have to struggle as much to keep your water nice and warm. This will lead to lower energy bills over the coming year.
Reliable Water Softener Installation Service
Prime Plumbing LLC provides reliable water softener installation services for the Nampa, ID area. We can also assist with all of your water softener repair, maintenance, and replacement needs.
You deserve perfectly soft, delicious water that doesn’t leave your skin and clothes dry. Invest in our water treatment services. Just call our office today to get the expert assistance that you need.
