Hard water contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium. Hard water is generally problematic: It leaves deposits in pipes that clog them, reducing their efficiency. It interferes with soap lathering, meaning you’ll have to use a lot more soap for your laundry. Hard water is also infamous for leaving a buildup of crusty scales on places like faucets or showerheads.
Using hard water won’t make you sick, but it can damage your appliances and ruin your skin and hair. You can try cleaning up the scale build-up in your pipes, but that’s a temporary solution. Eventually, the build-up will return. A more permanent solution would be hiring water conditioning services to set up a water softening system for your home.
In this article, we’ll give you a general overview of what a water softener similar to Pelican Water Softeners is, how it works, and some of its benefits.
A water softener is a filtration system used to remove hardness-causing minerals like calcium from water. Water softeners come in different sizes. Some are whole house softeners, which are fixed at an entry point and filter water for your entire house. Some other water softeners only work at a specific point.
If you decide to get a water softener, you need to consider its size, range of action, and how much it would cost you. After giving it careful thought, you should be able to decide on the best water softener for your home.
Regardless of their sizes, water softeners all work the same way. They trade hardness-causing minerals for sodium. This process is known as ion exchange.
A water softener system consists of a softener tank, a brine tank, and a head unit. The softening process starts with the incoming water entering through the head unit. From the head unit, the water moves to the softener tank or resin tank. The resin tank is filled with thousands of tiny resin beads that create a softening resin bed.
The beads are negatively charged, while the hardness-causing minerals, calcium and magnesium, are positively charged. As hard water flows through the beads, the minerals stick to them. Water that flows out is now soft. Eventually, the beads reach their maximum capacity and can no longer attract mineral ions. When this happens, a water softener tank would need to undergo regeneration. Regeneration mainly happens around the middle of the night when no one will be using any water.
Having a water softener is beneficial for several reasons.
Hard water can fill your appliances with scales, clogging them and causing them to be less efficient. Sooner or later, your appliances may develop faults and stop working altogether. With a water softener, these appliances are better maintained, more efficient, and have a longer life span.
Hard water can make your skin dry and itchy. The minerals found in hard water can also make your hair brittle. When you bathe with soft water, your skin picks up moisture easier, and your hair is healthier.
Minerals in hard water leave deposits on fabrics that cause them to fade over time. Soft water is a better option because it doesn’t contain these minerals and leaves your clothes looking bright and fresh.
There are a ton of other benefits that come with using soft water. Overall, a water softener could be a great addition to your home. It’s guaranteed to give you water well suited for your body and your appliances.