You've probably heard your friends talk about the benefits of installing a water softener in their homes. People who get them tend to remark about how their skin feels so silky when they shower with soft water. You may wonder if your home needs a water softener, too.
One way to know is to have your water tested for hardness. It doesn't matter if you have well water or if you're on your city's supply—you might have hard water. Water contains different minerals, and the composition of your water supply depends on your geographic location. If your water has a lot of minerals in it, it is considered hard.
A water test lets you know if your water is hard and where on the hardness scale it falls. If your water is hard or very hard, your home could benefit from a water softener. If you don't want to do a water test, here are other ways to tell if the water coming out of your tap is hard.
YOUR LAUNDRY IS STIFF OR DINGY
Water with a high mineral content is hard on fabric. If you wash a towel or t-shirt and they feel stiff and scratchy once they’re dry, it could be due to hard water. No amount of rinsing helps because the minerals come from the rinse water.
You can buy laundry products to combat this effect, but if you install a water softener, you can avoid spending extra money on laundry boosters to make your clothes feel soft.
Your clothes may also look drab and dingy much faster than they would if you washed them in soft water. That's because soap lathers up and cleans better when there are fewer minerals in the water. Having a water softener installed allows you to use less detergent and get better when washing your clothes.
THE BATHROOM IS SPOTTY AND SCUMMY
If you hate to even take a bath because of all the work it takes to get rid of the bathtub ring, then you might benefit from a water softener. Hard water leaves behind more soap scum on the side of your bathtub.
When water splashes dry out, the minerals in the water are left behind, clouding shower doors and tile. Your bathroom may develop scale buildup on ceramic tile, in the grooves of your shower door and in the corners of the walls and tub.
Hard water leaves behind water spots on faucets too. If you're constantly cleaning spots off the bathroom sink faucet, only to have them form again when someone washes their hands, you'll appreciate how much easier it is to keep them clean when you have soft water.
Scale deposits form anywhere in your home that you use water, such as the laundry room and kitchen, but you may notice it the most in your bathroom, since it is difficult to keep this room sparkling clean when the water is hard..
YOUR PLUMBING IS COATED WITH MINERALS
You have no idea what's happening inside your plumbing until a problem develops. If your home is older and hard water has been flowing through the pipes for years, there's a chance the pipes are coated with mineral buildup. When this happens, you’ll experience more clogs, and the pipe may close off completely or even leak.
Your plumber might be able to reverse this condition, but the best solution is to prevent it from happening.
If your home is new, you should consider installing a water softener to protect your plumbing. If it's older, a water softener can keep the problem from progressing by not putting more minerals through your system. This same scale that builds up in your pipes also builds up in your water heater, dishwasher and washing machine, shortening their lives as well.
If you're ready to enjoy the benefits of a
water softener , call Oak Creek Plumbing and Remodeling for prompt and expert installation of your new system. To control the color or size of this text, please change the global colors or text size under the Design section from the left menu of the editor.
