Your Home’s Water Supply Is Filled with Minerals
Water that comes out of your tap contains minerals such as calcium and magnesium depending on its environment. These ions can make the water hard, leading to issues like clogged pipes or soap scum buildup.
Water softeners work by taking out hardness minerals from your water, making it smooth and easier to use. Therefore, it’s essential to understand how they operate and why having your water tested can be beneficial; this way you know exactly what type of issue exists and which system will provide optimal results.
Why You Should Install a Water Softener
If you live in Arizona, chances are you’ve noticed some issues related to hard water. Clogs, low pressure and even dry or limp skin can all be symptoms of this problem. With an investment in a water softener, however, you won’t have to deal with these problems alone!
Hard water issues typically stem from high concentrations of calcium and magnesium, which bind together when present with other minerals. Over time, these ions accumulate to form deposits which lead to clogs and other plumbing issues.
Your water softener works by trapping hard water minerals and replacing them with sodium ions, making the water softer. To accomplish this, pass your water through a tank filled with resin beads that attract minerals before trapping them within its bed of beads.
Once these hard water minerals are trapped in a resin bed, they’re exchanged for sodium ions that soften your water and make it easier to use. Over time, however, regeneration or cleaning of your softener may be required; this involves rinsing away any minerals and “recharging” with salt that attracts back the hard water minerals.
What’s the Most Effective Way to Soften Water?
The most popular method for softening water is with a water softener. This device usually enters your home at where your main source of drinking water and eliminates hard minerals before they reach your plumbing systems.
Your water supply line typically connects directly to a tank that holds brine solution. Refilling it with salt pellets or potassium chloride pellets and periodically adding water helps ensure your system runs efficiently.
A water softener is a filter that removes or reduces the amount of calcium and magnesium in your water, so you can safely use it without damaging plumbing and appliances. It’s an easy solution to get rid of clogs, buildup and discoloration caused by hard water so you can enjoy a healthier lifestyle with less stress.
Water softeners come in many forms, but the most popular uses a resin bed to attract and capture hard water ions. Resin beads have a negative charge which attracts positively charged ions like calcium or magnesium from the water supply.
If you would like to have a water softener installed or repaired in the Phoenix, AZ area contact Ben Franklin Plumbing AZ for help.
