If your house isn’t safe from hard water, then a water softener is something you need. But what are things to consider before you can buy one? Here is what to know.
Is The Water Hard?
This is the most important question you need to ask yourself, before even thinking about getting a water softener in the first place. Is your water really hard? Hard water can be a pain to detect and you need a proper water report from the municipal water supply company or an individual water treatment service to be certain that the water coming through your taps is, in fact, hard. There is calcium and magnesium in water, to begin with, but the concentration matters the most.
If your water doesn’t produce lather at all, leaves yellowish-white stains on clothes and dishes, and there’s a lot of scale production on the metal hardware of the taps, then your water is hard and you need a water softener. This is because hard water is bad for your hair, skin, plumbing, fixtures, appliances, and clothes.
Combine it with the fact that the concentration of calcium and magnesium in the water exceeds 300 ppm and you need a water softener. The point is, don’t go running to buy a water softener when you don’t even know for yourself whether the water is hard or not.
How Much Water Do You Need?
How much water you need to be softened on a daily basis will determine what kind of water softener you should get. There are a lot of water softeners out there, but you want to get something compatible for your house and the amount of water you need.
If you need less volume of water that’s soft, then you will waste your money trying to get too big of a water softener and vice versa. So, do some research and figure out the best size and capacity of softened water you need for your house because it will only make your life easier.
Do You Have The Space?
See, a water softener isn’t miniature by any means. It’s a huge assembly and you need a decent amount of space for it if you want it to fit and work properly without failing you. So, for this, you’ll need to evaluate your available space.
You can’t just decide on a water softener and get it without looking at your available space. You want the assembly to fit snuggly and work, instead of malfunction, so it’s a really important detail. If your house is too small and there’s not a lot of space for a water softener, then you might want to explore other options.
The Salt Type
Most water softeners are salt-based and you need a specific type of salt that will regenerate the resin bed and employ the ion exchange process. If you don’t know how a water softener works, then it does by exchanging the heavy calcium and magnesium ions with salt ions, leaving the water soft and not at all salty, unlike what people claim.
So, for the softener to work, you either need salt tablets, salt pellets, or rocks of salt. Every salt-based water softener is different, so get the salt that is compatible with that assembly.
Maintenance Of The Water Softener
A water softener isn’t something that you can set and forget. You need to maintain your water softener from time to time, but there are different varieties of water softeners, based on how much maintenance they need. You want to get something that is not too heavy on the maintenance side of things, because the last thing you need is to constantly check for problems and never have the water softener do its job.
So, always do a bit of research as to which water softener is efficient and self-maintaining because that is going to save the day for you.
The Brand Matters
Just like every water softener is different, the same applies to brands of water softeners too. You can’t expect the most expensive ones to work the best and the mediocre ones to break down on you from the get-go.
There are lots of brands out there that differ in quality, efficiency, functionality, and price, so you need to choose the one that ticks all of the boxes for you. It doesn’t need to be the most expensive or cheapest one but you need to think about the manufacturing quality and reviews too. So, keep an eye out for this detail too.
Features Of The Water Softener
A water softener doesn’t just soften water anymore. There are a lot of water softeners nowadays that can also filter the water and keep it cool for use. Some are self-regenerating and some can clean out the sludge by themselves too.
So, there are a lot of options that you can choose from and there are many features that can be a steal for you. Don’t just go for the simplest version. Try out a couple of water softener systems with added features and see if that’s what you need.
However, if you need a water filter for your well water, then you should primarily look for a well water filtration system Washington County instead of a water softener. The right type will depend on the kinds of impurities your well water has.
Warranty
Just like any machine, a water softener can either work perfectly as soon as you start it, or there might be a fault in it when you haven’t even used it. That’s more common to occur than you think and this is why warranty is super important to consider.
You don’t want to go for a water softener, regardless of its brand or quality, if it doesn’t offer a warranty. If something unforeseen happens or if there’s a manufacturing defect in the water softener, you can get it fixed without having to pay a dime and that’s the beauty of warranted appliances.
Your Budget
This is another thing that you need to consider. If you don’t have a budget for your water softener, then it’s going to be a hard task for you, trying to find one. This is why having a budget is important.
Water softeners are not cheap, by any means, but they’re also not as expensive, however, having a budget will save your wallet from screaming and you’ll be able to get your hands on something that fits your preferences and is reasonable in price too. So, whenever you want to buy anything, let alone a water softener, always have a budget in mind.
Use Around The House
You want to get a water softener that will supply soft water all over your house, if that’s what you need. Some water softeners are efficient in this sense and some aren’t, so make sure that you know the difference.
There are water softeners that will only supply soft water to one or two faucets and then there are some in which every faucet of the house will receive soft water. So, depending on your preference and the degree of hardness of the water, you want to get a softener that works for you.
Conclusion
A water softener is a lifesaver and it can turn useless water into a commodity that can be used around the house 24/7. Now you know exactly what know before water softener installation Jefferson County.
