Do You Need a Water Softener?

In modern society, basically all of the water people come into contact with has been treated, that is, drinking water, wash water, and even pool water. When water is treated, most people assume that the water is pure and perfect and nothing else needs to happen to it.

However, municipal water is usually only treated to take away the threat that bacteria and pathogens pose. Most municipalities don’t treat water for dissolved mineral content, called hardness.

Hard water is very common and can cause lots of problems in modern plumbing systems. In this post, you will learn about what water softeners do, how they work, and the true costs of having hard water. In reading this, you will be able to determine whether or not you have hard water and what you can do about it.

Signs You Need Water Softener Service

If you don’t know if you have hard water, it is simple to tell if you would benefit from a water softener. Even if you have a softener installed, there are signs that it may not be working properly that can alert you to the fact that you may need service. Some of these signs include:

• Scale Build-Up: The minerals in hard water can coalesce onto fixtures, basins, and showerheads in a white crusty scale.
• Residue On Dishes: Hard water doesn’t rinse away soap as well as soft water, leaving behind mineral residue and soap scum.
• Dry Skin And Dull Hair: Because hard water doesn’t efficiently wash away soap, the leftover residue can sit on your skin and hair and cause chronic dryness.
• Low Water Pressure: Mineral scale from hard water can block pipes and fixtures leading to water pressure issues.

A simple water test can be used to verify that you have hard water but these are a few of the tell-tale signs. Municipalities often make hardness data available to the public and a plumber can usually do an onsite test during a consultation as well.

What Is Water Softener Salt?

Maintaining a softener is relatively easy. A typical softener uses a process called reverse osmosis to purify water. As your home’s water enters your house, it will run across a bed of resin that pulls the minerals out of it.

When the resin is full of minerals, your softening system will flush the resin with a strong salt solution that comes from a tank. Keeping the salt tank full of salt is really the only thing you need to do. Special water softener salt is required but it is readily available at hardware stores and plumbing supply outlets.

What Does Hard Water Cost to Use?

Hard water is a regional issue. The hardness of your water is determined by your municipal water supply. Cities that use surface water from lakes typically have the highest levels of hardness in their water.

Chances are if you live in a region with hard water you may not even be aware of how much more difficult it is to live with hard water instead of soft water. Because hard water has a tendency to scale, several costly issues can emerge.

Pipes can corrode or become frequently clogged leading to a need for repiping sections of your home. Scale is also dangerous for hot water tanks and can lead to premature failures or high utility bills as the water heater has to work harder to heat.

Hard water is inefficient at removing soaps and detergents from surfaces. As a result, hard water is very hard on laundry and can lead to higher costs for clothing and linen replacement. Water bills will also rise because more water is needed to sweep away soil from dirty items.

About Allens Plumbing

Allens Plumbing has been serving the Aiea/Oahu, HI area since 1982. They offer a full line of water softener installation services. Additionally, with experienced staff and a focus on customer service, you can count on their experts for long-term solutions to your plumbing issues.

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