Do You Need to Install a Water Softener?
So, you were told that hard water ruins your home appliances and this makes you wonder “Do I need to install a water softener?” Well, it is no doubt that the chemical attributes of your home water have significant effects on the condition of your plumbing system, your appliances, and your body.
No matter the area of the country you’re living in, hard water can become an issue. It can not only cause stubborn stains on your kitchen and toilet fixtures but it can considerably raise your utility bills. So, let’s see how hard water affects your home appliances and how you can mitigate this problem by installing a water softener.
Why Do You Need to Worry About Hard Water?
Water, in addition to being wet and soft to touch, has mineral constituents that it absorbs as it flows from the surface into aquifers. Water from all sources does have dissolved solids including calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates, and some sulfates to a certain degree.
Water can be soft and hard depending on the amount of these minerals. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the amount over 61 mg/L of minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium, the water is classified as hard.
A lot of homeowners don’t even care whether water is hard or soft until they face an expensive plumbing repair down the road. Minerals and constituents of hard water are predominantly abrasive and thus they cause stains and spots in almost everything that gets wet.
You can find wearing spots on windows after washing with hard water and even you can see them on the dishes. Now that you’ve found that hard water is a thing to worry; let’s see how it would be going to impact your home and appliances.
How Hard Water Impacts Your Home & Appliances
Although hard water doesn’t cause any health issues it is disastrous for your home, plumbing, and appliances in a number of ways. So, let’s explore how hard water impacts your home and appliances:
If you love lather while you take shower than the bad news is hard water takes a lot of shampoo or soap to generate forth. When the hard water minerals react with soap they produce soap scum which inhibits suds. So, you need twice the amount of soap to generate deeper and more suds for cleaning solutions.
Hard water is a nuisance and takes a toll on your home’s plumbing system. It can cause scale deposition on plumbing fixtures that over time results in a plumbing disaster. The scaling restricts the water flow into your home’s plumbing system. Overall, hard water can make your plumbing system less efficient and you may have to undertake more repairs over time.
Hard water will let your clothes to wear out faster reducing life expectancy. The high concentration of calcium and magnesium minerals will prevent the soap and detergent from being properly rinsed causing its buildup on your laundry. Your clothes will feel scratchy and most colors will become faded as a result of hard water.
All your water-consuming household appliances including washing machines, water heaters, dishwashers, toilets, and faucets can have reduced life expectancy. There would be scale deposition in machine parts that not only will reduce the work efficiency of the appliances but will cause repetitive breakdowns and malfunctions.
The most costly problem caused by hard water is escalated electricity and gas bills due to elevated usage of water to get desired results. Due to scale buildup and clod pipes, the water heater has to work harder to push the hot water through. So, due to the reduced energy efficiency of your boilers and water heaters, you can face increased utility costs.
Benefits of Water Softeners
Now that you know how the water less-appealing characteristic – hardness would be going to impact your home and appliances; you can readily cater to this problem wisely by installing a water softener. So; if you’re annoyed by stubborn stains on your sinks, toilet, and bathtubs; and have white scaly deposits around your faucets then it is the time to soften up your water. Going soft will repay in the long run due to less consumption of soaps or detergents and reduced energy intake.
Water softeners treat hard water through a process called ion exchanger by removing the calcium, magnesium, and other minerals from water. Whole-house water softeners are of different types and sizes that will eliminate all your hard water issues.
The resin beads in the softener trap of water softener exchange sodium or potassium ions after trapping calcium and magnesium ions. After the resin beads become full of calcium or magnesium, a highly-concentrated salt or potassium solution removes calcium and magnesium from the resin beads. From there, the resulting chloride solution goes down the drain as a waste stream.
Water softeners work like an anti-scale system that transforms calcium ions into calcium crystals that are stable and won’t attach with plumbing pipes and surfaces of hardware and other fixtures. These crystals are harmless, neutral, and are so small that they are easily rinsed by water flow. Water softeners not only make your skin smooth and clean but you won’t get any hair dryness after a bath.
It reduces the soap scum and increases lather that eases up your entire cleaning housework. With soft water, you won’t get that dingy gray clothes fabric and it increases the overall life expectancy of your laundry. Installing a water softener is not a DIY project; it’s a specialized job that requires thorough knowledge of the manufacturer’s instructions. Improperly installed water softeners can cause corrosion issues in your appliances and plumbing.
The softener has to be adjusted on the basis of the hardness of your water supply. Properly installed plumbing fixtures and connections require thorough checking of your water supply. If the water supply is not disinfected prior to bacteria and fungi can potentially grow on the surface thereby reducing the overall effectiveness of your softener.
The Bottom Line
It is no doubt that hard water won’t harm your physical health. But it does deteriorate your possessions and decreases the life expectancy of your home’s appliances and plumbing system. American Eagle Plumbing, located in Round Rock, TX offers properly installed water softeners so you can not only combat these issues, but also pocket savings in terms of reduced utility and energy bills.
