What Are the Types of Water Softener Systems?
Did you know that about 85% of American homes have hard water? This means that their water supply has higher-than-normal calcium and magnesium levels. If you have hard water coming into your home, it can cause all kinds of complications. Hard water can wreak havoc on your skin and hair. It can also make it almost impossible to get your dishes as clean as you would like them. Installing one of the many water softener systems on the market today can improve your home’s water quality by turning hard water into soft water. It’ll make water softener installation one of the best investments you can make in your house. Prior to shopping around for different types of water softeners and filtration systems, though, you should make sure you know what a water softener is. You should also get a better sense of how a water softener works.
Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about water softeners.
What Is a Water Softener System?
If you suspect you might have hard water coming into your home, the first thing you should do is have your water supply tested. There are actually some easy-to-use hard water testing kits you can purchase to conduct tests on your water yourself. If you find that you do, in fact, have hard water coming into your home, it’ll be an indication that you need to invest in one of the many water softener systems that are out there. It’ll make it possible for you to transform hard water into soft water without putting in too much effort on your part. Water softener systems, which are also sometimes referred to as ion exchange units, are capable of removing calcium and magnesium from your home’s water supply so that they aren’t able to present problems in your home. You’ll definitely want to explore the idea of installing a water softener system if you know that you have hard water that is impacting your house, your plumbing system, and everyone who lives in your home.
How Do Water Softener Systems Work?
As you’re going to find out in a few moments, there are quite a few types of water softeners that you can buy for your home. These water softener systems all work in slightly different ways. But we’re going to provide a basic breakdown of how your average water softener system works so that you’re able to gain an appreciation for what these systems do. Before water is able to work its way into your home, it will need to pass through the water softener system that you’ve installed. This system will contain negatively charged resin beads that’ll be responsible for capturing positively charged calcium and magnesium as well as any other minerals that might be in the water. These resin beads will then replace these minerals with sodium ions to turn hard water into soft water in an instant. Without having one of the many water softener systems put in place, your home will continue to be subjected to hard water. But you can turn the tide quickly and start having healthier water coming into your house in no time with a water softener.
How Much Do They Typically Cost?
It can be challenging to nail down the exact cost of a water softener since there are so many water softener systems that exist. You can have water softener done for anywhere from $1,000 on the low end all the way up to over $10,000 on the high end. The price you’ll pay for a water softener system will depend on a variety of different factors. For example, the size of a water softener will have a big impact on how much it’ll cost you. If you have a high number of people living in your home and using water all the time, you’ll probably need to invest in a larger water softener system. This could potentially come at a much higher cost depending on how big you need a water softener to be. The type of water softener system you choose will also be an important factor when it comes to figuring out how much one will cost you. You might find different price tags on, say, salt-based water softeners as opposed to salt-free water softeners or magnetic water softeners. You might want to think about coming up with a budget before shopping around for water softener systems so that you don’t end up breaking the bank on the water softener you buy.
What Are the Benefits of a Water Softener System?
When you have soft water coming into your home rather than hard water, that alone will provide you with peace of mind and make a water softener well worth the price you’ll pay for it. But there are also so many other benefits that’ll come along with water softener installation.
You should keep them all in the back of your mind as you shop for the right water softener system for your home. Here are several of the biggest benefits of a water softener system.
Better-Tasting Food and Drinks
Believe it or not, there are some people who actually like the taste of hard water. The minerals in it will add something extra to it. But generally speaking, you’ll be able to enjoy better-tasting food and drinks when you have soft water in your home instead of hard water. Soft water is going to be easier to use when you’re cooking since it’ll be a better solvent than hard water will be. It’s also going to make it easier to make mixed drinks like iced tea and even cocktails. You won’t have to worry about hard water taking a toll on the taste of the food and drinks you make in your home anymore.
Healthier Skin and Hair
As we alluded to earlier, hard water can really do a number on your skin and hair if you let it. It can, for instance, cause certain skin conditions like eczema to get worse. It can also make it difficult for you to lather up soap in the shower so that you can get your skin clean. Hard water can also leave you stuck in one endless bad hair day if you let it. It’ll make your hair look dull and lifeless no matter how hard you might work at trying to make it look and feel healthy. By installing a water softener, you’ll be able to bring your skin and your hair back to life and leave them both looking better than ever before again.
Longer-Lasting Plumbing Pipes
When you have hard water flowing through the plumbing pipes in your home, it’ll only be a matter of time before the calcium and magnesium in it starts to stick to the sides of these pipes. It can result in your plumbing pipes beginning to break down on you much quicker than they should and you having to replace them. Hard water is also going to start to have a tough time flowing through your plumbing pipes when they’re coated with minerals. You might even find that some of these minerals will clog up your pipes as well as any appliances like refrigerators that might have hard water flowing in their direction.
More Efficient Water Heater
If there is hard water making its way inside your home’s water heater all the time, it won’t be too long before scum and scale deposits will start to build up in it. This can force your water heater to have to work so much harder than it should have to in order to heat up water for your home.
When this happens, it’ll reduce the lifespan of your water heater in most cases. You’ll need to look into having it repaired and possibly even replaced longer before you should have to. It’ll also make your water heater have to work harder to heat water, which could very well increase your energy bills dramatically. In this way, installing a water softener will help save money and potentially end up paying for itself over time.
Less Money Spent on Cleaning Supplies
As we mentioned while discussing the dangers of using hard water on your skin and in your hair, hard water won’t let you lather up soap very effectively. Because of this, you’ll find that you will have to use more cleaning supplies than usual to clean your home, your car, and whatever else you clean on a regular basis. As a result, you’ll find yourself spending more money than usual on cleaning supplies at the supermarket each week. You can cut back on how much you’re spending on cleaning supplies by using soft water to clean. This water will work wonders for you when it comes to lathering up soaps and other cleaning supplies.
What Are the Types of Water Softener Systems?
Now that you know about the many benefits of water softener systems, you might be all-in on the idea of having one installed in your home. If this is the case, you should familiarize yourself with the different types of water softeners so that you know which one would work best in your specific home.
Salt-based water softeners are easily the most common water softener systems available to homeowners. They’re the kinds of water softeners that we talked about earlier. They rely heavily on resin beads to neutralize minerals like calcium and magnesium so that they aren’t in the water that enters your home.
Some of the other types of water softener systems you should consider include:
- Salt-free water softeners that use template-assisted crystallization (TAC) systems to remove minerals
- Dual-tank water softeners that can handle removing minerals from larger water supplies
- Magnetic water softeners that utilize magnetic fields to neutralize positively or negatively charged minerals
- Reverse osmosis water softeners that have semipermeable membranes to eliminate minerals
The company that takes care of water softener installation for you should be able to tell you more about these types of water softener systems. It’ll make it possible for you to choose the one that’ll produce the best results with your home’s water supply.
When Should I Buy a Water Softening System?
You should try to buy a water softening system at the very first sign of trouble with your home’s water supply. If you have the slightest inkling that you might have hard water entering your home, you should set out to have one of the best water softener systems around installed. If you decide not to do this, you could put your plumbing system, your appliances, and even your health at risk. Installing a water softener system will eliminate the potential pitfalls of having hard water coming into your home. It’ll also help you sleep so much better at night knowing you’re doing your part to keep your home’s water clean.
What Are Some Maintenance Tips for a Water Softening System?
While you’re having one of the best water softener systems installed, your water softener installation company should be able to set you up with maintenance tips for it. These tips can be used to care for your specific type of water softening system. Each system will need to have different maintenance done to it.
If you go with a salt-based water softener, you’ll need to do things like:
- Keep a close eye on your water softener system’s salt levels
- Clean out the brine tank for your water softener system
- Eliminate any salt bridges that form in your water softener system
- Replace the resin beads in your water softener system regularly
- Make sure the right type of salt is in your water softener system
The harder you work to maintain your water softener system, the more effective it’ll be while filtering minerals from your home’s water supply.
Contact Us to Schedule a Water Softener Installation
Installing a water softening system in your home is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. You’ll no longer have to be concerned about calcium and magnesium causing hard water to flow through your house.
Stuart’s Plumbing Service can provide you with the water softener installation services you need. We can also help you decide which one of the water softener systems would be your best option. Call us today to schedule a water softener installation in your home.
