Considering A Water Softener For Your
Home?
| Depending on where you live within the United States determines how hard or soft your
household water is. Like many of us, you probably need a water softener.
To understand the use of these systems it is necessary to understand how
the problem starts to begin with and what it can do. |
See our complete line of
water softeners by clicking here
|
How Does Water Become Hard Or Soft?
If we are to understand the process of water hardening we should first remind ourselves of
the natural water cycle:
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Water from the oceans, lakes and streams together with stored water in plants and soil is evaporated by the sun's energy and forms
clouds.
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When the clouds can no longer support the mass of water contained within them precipitation occurs and rain
falls.
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The rain runs off the surface of the land (overland flow) and infiltrates into the land structure towards the ground-water
table.
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Underground flow is exploited where it collects as "ground water" by pumping into
treatment systems, storage in reservoirs and subsequent delivery to the
consumer.
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Consumer waste water is returned to the rivers and oceans after treatment and the cycle begins
again.
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Rainwater is naturally soft, but as it percolates through chalk and limestone it dissolves and collects minerals from the geological sub-structure. This dissolved chalk, lime and other minerals causes the water to harden depending on the amount of material subsumed.
The Effects of Hard Water
The mineral contained in hard water settle out as unsightly
deposits of scale whenever water is heated, or when cold standing water evaporates. Examples that we see at home include:
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White marks, stains and scale on sinks, baths, toilet bowls and around the base of
taps.
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Blocked shower heads.
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Scale deposits on all water heating elements.
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Clogging of pipe work and premature failure of water heaters, dishwashers, residential washing machines, ice makers and cold water taps in refrigerators.
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These last two examples are the most common in households across the United States today. Even just changing heating elements in an electric water heater can result in costs up to $100 per year due to element failure because of build up of hard water scale.
Consider A No Salt Water Softener With
the above information in mind, you may now be thinking you might need a
water softener for your home. First you should test your water to
determine if hardness is really an issue for you. Click
here to view testing kit options. Once you have
determined the need, the next step is to decide what your options are. We
recommend you consider a no salt water softener. Many states now mandate
no salt, no chemical units in order to help preserve the environment. We
have also found that many of these systems require little to no
backwashing which also saves you water and money. See
our complete line of no salt water softeners here.
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