Do you need water softener at home?
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay
If you feel as though you are forever throwing away kettles or having to buy de-scaler due to limescale build-up, you may well live in a hard water area. Hard water is water that has an array of minerals in it such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur and it is these minerals that cause the build-up on our appliances.
Hard water isn’t bad for us, but it doesn’t bode well with showerheads and taps, so maybe you might need a water softener at home if this sounds like your current situation.
What is a water softener?
When we describe water that comes into our homes, depending on our location, it can either be soft, moderate, or hard, the harder it is the more mineral deposits are in it. Most of the USA has a hard water supply and water softeners are used to help filter out the hard water minerals. A water softener acts as a filter, hard water passes through its core and the resin in the center of the unit performs an ion exchange, which leaves the limescale causing minerals behind and gives you soft water. The resin looks after itself on a self-cleaning basis and it does this by flushing through the brine, so all you need to do is fill the salt up when it is running low.
What does a water softener do?
There are many things a water softener does when it can remove the harder minerals from your water. You’ll find that when you shower or wash your hands, the products you use will lather up far more easily. So much so, that you may struggle to wash it all out of your hair if you use the same amount that you did before the water softener was put in. You will also find that your shower heads no longer block up with limescale, your kettle is a lot cleaner inside and you won’t have to try and scrub off yellow limescale rings from your sinks and your toilets.
Drawbacks of water softeners
As we have previously mentioned, water softeners operate by adding salt water to the system to help remove the harder minerals from the water. Because of this additional sodium, the water that then comes into your home cannot be given to babies or anyone suffering from heart conditions that require a low sodium diet. Water softeners are also banned in around 34 states in the USA due to the minerals that they remove from the water system and the minerals that the technology puts back in. There has also been researching conducted that suggests that water softeners are also responsible for water wastage, so they are banned in areas that suffer from draught.
Why have a water softener?
If you don’t live in an area where they are banned, and you have no one at home that would be impacted by a slighter higher dose of sodium, you may be wondering why you would have one installed at all. Well, there are a few answers to this, first and foremost is that they save you money in the long run. We’ve all had blocked pipes that have caused catastrophic damage to our flooring or ceiling and more often than not, these leaks are caused by the minerals in the water clogging the pipe. With a water softener you won’t have this anymore.
Better and brighter looking clothes
Hard water damage color pigmentation in clothing and after sustained washed your clothes can become grey and drape. Having a water softener will not only keep the color in your clothes longer, it will also keep them in better condition for longer too. You won’t have a need to change out your wardrobe every year anymore when items start to look dull and old because soft water will stop this from happening.
Your hair and skin will thank you
When we bathe in hard water, the minerals can deposit on our hair and skin, and then we have to use handfuls of shampoo and conditioner to help get build up out, to only wash the mineral deposits back in. When you which to a water softener, you’ll find that your hair and skin will look brighter almost straight away. You won’t be washing in heavy minerals anymore and your skin and hair will be able to breathe and feel lighter. Not only will everything look and feel brighter, but you will also need to spend less money on shampoo, conditioner, and soap as soft water makes products lather far better than hard water.
Limescale removes
Good limescale removers are not only hard to come by; they are also really expensive when you eventually find a good one. As soon as you make the switch out to a water softening system, you’ll find that you no longer need to spend hours of your time cleaning limescale marks from the baths, sinks, and toilets in your own home. This also limits the chance of you burning your hands with the harsh chemicals that are used in these cleaners, so not only will your fixtures be happier, your hands will be too.
Final thoughts
If you live in an area where you are allowed water softeners, then there is no real reason that shouldn’t have one in your home, unless you have a baby or someone on a slow sodium diet living with you. Not only will they give you softer water, but they also reduced the chances of having to call a plumber as your pipes will be free from limescale build-up that can cause damage. You will also find that your hair and skin become softer and you don’t need as much shampoo and conditioner as you did before. All types of water softeners require very little upkeep and maintenance once they are installed, so all you need to do is remember to put the salt in and away you go!