Today, more than ever, people are searching around their homes for ways to improve their health and reduce costs. For most, a good starting point is assessing what can be changed or improved to make your home healthier and more energy efficient. One item that can have a tremendous and far-reaching impact is a water softener. A water softening system will provide years of cost savings and health benefits, and the softened water will help maintain household plumbing and appliances. A water softener also helps lower energy bills, home maintenance, and repair costs. Soft water produces many positive, long-lasting benefits that make a water softener a welcome addition to your home.
What is a Water Softener?
First, to understand the benefits of soft water, it is essential to know what a water softener is and how one works. All water coming into your home has a hardness level, ranging from soft to very hard, depending on where you live and where your water comes from. Water softeners work to remove the minerals that cause hardness through the process of ion exchange.
A buildup of minerals, including calcium and magnesium, creates hard water that is not harmful to humans but can cause irritating health issues such as dry, itchy skin and many household problems and damage. The water softener removes the hardness by trapping the unwanted minerals in resin and exchanging them for water-softening sodium and potassium ions. Water-softening salt is required in the softener for ion exchange. Water softeners are safe to use, eco-friendly, and low-maintenance systems.
The Problem With Hard Water
Hard water is a common issue that affects many households. Unfortunately, it is impossible to control whether tap water is hard or soft. The harder the water, the more minerals build up, causing unsightly, undesirable, and costly issues. Hard water is responsible for many everyday household complaints. These are some indications that you may have hard water:
As you can see, having hard water can produce a wide variety of concerning issues. A home water softener can eliminate many common complaints brought on by hard water.
The Household Benefits of A Water Softener
A water softener will significantly benefit your home if you have moderate to very hard water. Soft water provides several advantages throughout your home, including the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and garage. Using a water softener is a personal choice, but if you have hard water, you can expect to spend more on energy bills, plumbing issues, and appliance replacement and repairs.
Appliances
Hard water minerals wreak havoc on appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, water heaters, refrigerators, and humidifiers. It also affects small appliances, such as coffee makers, tea kettles, and irons. Using hard water with your dishwasher creates a dull, spotty film when it mixes with dishwashing detergent. Soft water in the dishwasher will produce shiny, sparkling dishes and glassware and use only half as much detergent.
Thanks to hard water, your laundry can become dull, dingy, and faded, requiring more laundry detergent and additional laundry products to get your clothes cleaner (up to 50% more). Hard water mixes inefficiently with detergent and forms that dull gray or yellow film that causes fabrics to break down and wear out much faster. The good news is that soft water combines and activates with the detergent, allowing it to clean and rinse better, keeping clothes looking and feeling newer for longer.
Soft water helps appliances of all types throughout your home to work more efficiently. It does not produce that heavy-hardened scale and lime buildup that causes appliances to clog, malfunction, or stop working sooner. These savings can be seen throughout your home, not only in the kitchen and laundry areas but also in the bedroom and bathrooms, with humidifiers, showerheads, and faucets. A water softener helps increase the life of large and small appliances, decreasing the need to purchase them more often.
Plumbing
Very hard water takes little time to cause plumbing damage. If there is hard water, the lime and scale buildup can quickly accumulate, clog pipes, and cause irreversible damage to your pipes and plumbing. Due to the scale clogging pipes, more water is used, increasing plumbing replacement, maintenance, and energy costs. The lime and scale also stain toilets, sinks, and tubs, and thick scale is easily seen on faucets and showerheads, so they will need replacing or repair more often.
Cleaning Supplies and Detergents
A water softener will help save on cleaning, laundry detergents, and personal care products. The soft water dissolves and lifts dirt and stains more efficiently, which means much less soap or detergent is needed to produce the same amount of lather and suds. Whether for personal body products, laundry soap, or a home cleaning detergent, all require approximately fifty percent less product with brighter and cleaner results.
With soft water, your laundry and dishes will come out clean, spotless, and sparkling using less soap and water. Washing your car with soft water makes it spot-free and shiny. Cleaning with soft water not only saves money but also saves more of your valuable free time with less recleaning of stubbornly stained sinks, spotty glasses, and dull laundry.
Energy and Cost Savings
Purchasing a water softener will provide cost savings in several various ways throughout your home. A water softener will produce substantial savings by increasing the life of your large and small appliances, such as dishwashers, washing machines, coffee makers, and humidifiers. Soft water will also help keep your water heater running at peak performance; with hard water, only a small amount of accumulated scale can decrease efficiency by up to fifty percent.
Soft water also helps prevent plumbing expenses and cuts overall water usage, lowering water bills. Thanks to the superb cleaning action of soft water, washing and cleaning can be done in cold water, significantly reducing hot water usage throughout your home. Using less water and energy is an enormous benefit, making purchasing a water softener a wise financial decision.
Clean Hair and Skin
With the addition of a water softener, you will soon start to notice a vibrant difference in your hair and skin. Hard water and mineral buildup cause your hair and skin to become irritated, limp, dry, and lackluster. However, soft water leaves your skin soft, fresh, and clean without any leftover soapy film. Also, Soft water does not irritate the skin the way hard water can; it can be helpful for people with certain skin conditions such as eczema.
Washing your hair with soft water will make your hair bright, shiny, smooth, and silky. The soft water deep cleans and removes soap residue, which helps restore the hair’s natural color and vibrancy. It also helps to remove the buildup of excess minerals that make your hair dull, tangled, and limp after washing it in hard water.
Water Softener Systems
A water softener system removes the calcium and magnesium that make the water hard and problematic. Water softeners change the water from hard to soft through a process known as ion exchange. As an added benefit, Excalibur Water Softener Systems remove clear water iron.
An authorized Excalibur Dealer can assess the hardness of your household water and determine which water-softening system would best suit your home needs.
An Excalibur water softener will be a welcome, long-lasting, low-maintenance, and wise, economical addition to your home for years to come. A simple setup allows for a “set it and forget it” program and just add water-softening salt as needed.
For more information about Excalibur Water Softeners, please contact us.
