Is A Water Softener Worth It?
The US Geological Survey ranks the water across the country on a scale from soft to very hard based on the concentration of dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium that the water contains. Almost every town and city in Ohio falls into the category of hard or very hard, meaning that the water in your home likely contains a huge amount of minerals. Having hard water in your home is a serious concern due to the negative impact it has on your plumbing and appliances over time. In this article, we’ll look at the various impacts of hard water and show you why investing in a water softener for your home is a decision that can really pay off.
How Hard Water Affects Your Plumbing and Appliances
The main issue with hard water is that some of the dissolved minerals always end up precipitating out of the water. That means they solidify so that you end up with mineral deposits being left behind and forming a hard layer of limescale. One thing you’ll always see if your home has hard water is that the mineral deposits slowly start to clog up the holes on a showerhead and reduce how much water can flow out of it.
This same issue occurs within all of your home’s pipes as well, with mineral deposits continually building up inside them and starting to essentially choke them off. Over time, the limescale build-up inside of pipes can get so thick that it greatly reduces how much water can flow and causes a fairly substantial decrease in the water pressure.
While you can easily descale a showerhead or faucet to get rid of the limescale build-up, there’s nothing you can do about all of the deposits that end up collecting inside your pipes. That means at some point the issue can get so bad that the only option you have is to have a plumbing company replace all of the water lines in your home.
If your home has hard water, you also end up with mineral deposits getting left behind and building up inside certain appliances. This includes your dishwasher, washing machine, water heater, coffee machine and the ice maker in your refrigerator. One major issue is that the mineral deposits eventually end up clogging pipes within a dishwasher or other appliance and greatly increase the chances of a leak developing. The minerals in hard water also tend to cause internal seals inside an appliance to wear out more quickly, which can also lead to the appliance leaking. These issues are why all of these appliances will typically not last nearly as long as they potentially could if your home has hard water.
Hard water can also eventually create issues where your dishwasher no longer cleans all that well as a result of mineral deposits clogging up the sprayers. You’ll also often end up with your dishes looking a bit dingy or grimy when they come out of the dishwasher as a result of them being coated with mineral deposits.
One of the biggest concerns is the effect hard water has on a water heater. Sediment always forms in a tank water heater over time as a result of some minerals solidifying, which is why it’s important to flush the tank at least once or twice a year. If you have hard water, much more sediment will form and eventually make it so that the water heater doesn’t heat nearly as well and uses much more energy. The sediment also tends to absorb quite a bit of heat, resulting in hot spots that can weaken the tank and increase the chances of it leaking. Hard water can often shorten the lifespan of a tankless water heater as well since it results in a large amount of mineral deposits forming on its heat exchanger, which eventually gets to the point where the unit no longer heats effectively.
Understanding the Other Effects of Hard Water
Another issue with hard water is that it dries out your skin and hair when you shower, often leaving you feeling itchy and like you didn’t fully get clean. Part of the reason you often won’t feel as clean is that all of the minerals prevent soap and shampoo from lathering as well as they should, and the deposits can also cause soap scum to form that sticks to your skin. Another thing you’ll often notice if you have hard water is that your clothes come out of the laundry looking dingy and feeling still. This is again because the minerals prevent laundry detergent from lathering properly and leave behind soap scum that gets stuck within the fabric of your clothes.
How a Traditional Water Softener Overcomes Hard Water Issues
While a water softener will cause your water bill to go up a bit, that’s really a small price to pay for protecting your plumbing and appliances and ensuring they last longer. The way that a traditional water softener works is that it essentially removes all of the calcium and magnesium ions and replaces them with a miniscule amount of salt. As water filters down through the softener tank, tiny negatively charged resin beads attract and hold onto all of the positively charged calcium and magnesium ions.
The tank is then flushed periodically with a salt brine that causes all of the resin beads to release the minerals so they get washed away. At the same time, the positively charged sodium ions in the brine stick to the resin beads and take the place of the calcium and magnesium. After the flushing process is complete and water again starts flowing into the softener tank, the mineral ions then again stick to the beads and take the place of the sodium ions because they carry a stronger charge. The end result of the process is that all of the minerals get completely removed from the water so that you no longer need to worry about mineral deposits getting left behind in your plumbing and appliances.
How Brine-Free Water Softeners Work
There are also brine-free water softeners that can help prevent issues with mineral deposits. Despite the name, this type of unit is technically what’s known as a water conditioner and not an actual water softener. The process of water softening means actually removing all of the minerals from the water, which isn’t how this type of unit works. Instead, what it does is use a harmless chemical that causes the minerals to clump together into crystals inside the tank. At some point, the crystals become large enough that they break off and flow back out into the water. Although the minerals remain present in the water, this process makes it so that they can’t precipitate and form mineral deposits that get left behind. You may still end up with a small amount of deposits forming, but nowhere near the amount you normally would.
For nearly 65 years, A To Z Dependable Services has been providing professional plumbing services in Niles, OH, and throughout the Mahoning Valley. We install water softeners and filtration systems and can handle all of your water treatment and conditioning needs. You can also count on us for all of your other plumbing, drain, sewer or septic system needs or if you need any heating or air conditioning services. If you’re looking to install a water softener in your home, give us a call and we’ll ensure you get the right unit for your needs.
