Are your family showers leaving behind scale-like build-up on surfaces and appliances, leading to itchy hair and skin conditions? Water softeners may provide the solution.

If this sounds familiar, a water softener might be needed to address your concerns. These systems can reduce soap and detergent waste while prolonging the lifespan of water-using appliances.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of professional water softener maintenance, please visit this site.

How do water softeners work?

Water softeners exchange hardness minerals for sodium ions, creating softened water that won’t build up in your pipes, require costly repairs, or shorten the lifespan of appliances that use water, including dishwashers and washing machines. Plus, soft water makes your skin feel smoother and fresher, while your laundry is cleaner than ever.

All water softeners follow a fundamental principle. In an ion exchange process, hard water passes over resin beads saturated with sodium ions which grab hold of calcium and magnesium ions from hard water, replacing them with their sodium-based equivalents. 

When these resin beads become saturated with hardness minerals, it’s time to regenerate by flushing salty brine solution down the drain – this action restores the system back to full efficiency.

Benefits of soft water

Water softeners are mechanical appliances installed into the plumbing of your home’s water supply system to soften it and remove heavy minerals from it. At its heart is a mineral tank filled with negatively charged zeolite, resin, or polystyrene beads, known as an ion exchange process, used to remove them.

Saving electricity is also a benefit since soft water heats more efficiently than hard water. Furthermore, as heavier minerals do not cling to clothes and skin as tightly, fewer stains and streaks will remain behind, which means your skin, hair, and clothing all look and feel better overall.

Installation

Water softeners should be installed near the source of your water supply in your home, usually near the meter or heater. Installing it downstream of either will help ensure a hard water scale doesn’t damage pipes and appliances in your home.

Water softeners for home use typically use an ion exchange system with salt to remove heavy metals and minerals from drinking water, with most models employing sodium or potassium pellets in a mineral tank containing negatively charged resin beads to accomplish this process. More advanced models feature dual tanks to process more water per regeneration cycle.

Be sure to select a quality salt brand, such as solar or evaporated salt pellets, with minimal minerals that won’t form “salt bridges,” which block water flow and cause issues. These high-grade salts also tend to dissolve more quickly so they won’t clog your resin bed as quickly. 

It is important to change out your brine solution regularly (water that backwashes the resin tank) in order to prevent an accumulation of salt mush in the resin tank.

Maintenance

Water softeners reduce hard water by eliminating calcium and magnesium ions that contribute to hard water, protecting pipes from clogging up, improving skin conditions, and making cleaning much simpler. They should be maintained by being periodically cleaned out and replenished.

Most ion exchange systems consist of one or two tanks that must be regularly rinsed and recharged with salt. A computer monitors how much water passes through each mineral tank, and when sodium beads have depleted their supply, it triggers a regeneration cycle – during this time, soft water cannot be produced.

Some systems feature a separate brine tank for storing salt pellets used to recharge resin. It should be thoroughly cleaned every 6-12 months using a brine cleaner that effectively eliminates impurities that may contaminate resin, while high-purity salt pellets containing less insoluble material than rock salt will ensure maximum system lifespan.