To improve your water at home, buying and installing a water softening system is great. It helps get rid of hard water, which has many adverse effects not only on you but also on your home.
In this article, we’ll list the ways a water softener can help improve your water experience at home.
But first, what is hard water, and what adverse effects can water softeners prevent? Let’s dive right in.
What is Hard Water?
Hard water is any water with too much mineral content. It contains high amounts of:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Trace amounts of other minerals
Hard water occurs naturally, and it’s perfectly safe to drink and clean with. However, hard water also comes with unpleasant effects on your house, clothes, and body. It can cause ugly stains on your sink and tubs, scaling on your pipes and plumbing, and dry skin and hair.
And here’s where a water softener comes into play: it eliminates the minerals in hard water. Many water softeners are effective, though some brands are better and more efficient than others. Read this Fleck water softener review to get some ideas.
Now, here are the ways a water softener can help you.
Protect Your Plumbing
Hard water can damage your plumbing. The minerals and contaminants can eat away at your pipes.
Using water softeners prevents that from happening by getting rid of those harsh minerals and contaminants. As a result, you’ll also enjoy:
- Longer Plumbing Lifespan – hard water shortens your plumbing’s lifespan, whereas soft water protects your fixture from hard minerals, thereby increasing your plumbing’s lifespan.
- Easier Maintenance – mineral buildup can result in clogged pipes and toilets, overflows, or leaks. Softening your water can prevent these from happening, making plumbing maintenance easier.
Using water softeners to protect your plumbing also prevents more permanent damages. That way, you also avoid paying hefty plumbing repair costs.
Better Home Cleaning
Using hard water to clean the house, wash the dishes, or wash clothes results in soap curd or soap scum. The cleaning process will be less effective, and you’ll likely spend more money on soaps and cleaning products.
Softening your water for home cleaning leads to more effective cleaning and rinsing. Soft water dissolves and penetrates better with soap. You’ll see more suds and lather, which further improves the cleaning process.
Softer Skin and Hair
Hard water can dry out your skin and hair.
The minerals in hard water remove your skin’s natural oils. With these natural oils gone, your skin dries up and becomes itchy and irritated. Similarly, bathing in hard water can result in dry, dull, and frizzy hair.
Using water softeners reverses these effects. Your skin will look and feel more moisturized, while your hair will look silkier and be healthier when you use softened water.
Brighter and Softer Clothes
Hard water can damage your clothes by making them hard and dull in color.
Washing with hard water means your clothes catch mineral deposits. Over time, these minerals will accumulate, and they fade your clothes’ colors. Other times, you’ll notice stains or dingy whites.
On the flip side, using soft water can result in softer, cleaner, and brighter-looking clothes. Soft water cleans clothes more effectively, preserving the freshness and vibrance of your clothes.
Water Tastes Better
Last but not least, using water softeners at home can make your drinking water taste better.
Hard water, when too saturated with minerals and contaminants, often has an unpleasant taste. Other times, it has a stinking odor, not to mention adverse health side effects.
Softened water tastes better and cleaner. Food and beverages prepared with soft water also taste good.
