A water softener is a whole-house filtration system that removes hardness-causing calcium and magnesium minerals from your water through a process called ion exchange. A water softener addresses one of the most prevalent and devastating water problems: hard water. Hard water wreaks havoc on the modern home. Scale builds up in your pipes, clogging them and decreasing water pressure. Scale dramatically shortens the lifespan of appliances like dishwashers, coffee makers and ice machines. Hard water destroys hot water appliances. The higher the temperature of the water, the more calcium and magnesium will solidify and harden into solid deposits inside your hot water heater. If you live in hard water territory, it can sound like your water heater is popping popcorn. This is because scale has attached itself to the heating element. As the temperature of the heater rises and the tank expands, the calcified rock deposits crusted on the heating elements start cracking and stretching. Hard water-induced scale is the culprit of that popcorn popping sound.
Without a water softener, laundry demands extra detergent to prevent it from looking dingy. Dishes will come out of your dishwasher streaked and stained. Filmy scum builds up on your shower curtains and your soap and shampoo will not lather. Bathing in hard water leaves your skin itchy and dry and your hair lifeless and sticky. The sheer amount of time, energy, and money required to clean up the detrimental side effects of hard water is dizzying. A whole house water softener is the solution to the scourge of water hardness.
How does hard water affect my large appliances?
Water described as “hard” usually has a high mineral content—generally calcium and magnesium. As more and more of these minerals dissolve in the water, the mineral content levels increase, making the water harder.
As the minerals found in hard water are deposited within the water-using appliances in your home such as dishwashers, hot water heaters, and washing machines, the minerals may cause shorter life or quicker breakdown of appliances due to corrosion and mineral buildup on moving parts,
mineral buildup in pipes leading to low water pressure and inefficiency in operating your appliances.
Protect appliances through the numerous benefits to a home water softening system, including the fact that it can extend the life of your appliances that use water.
What Can Be Done About Hard Water?
One of the best ways to prolong the life of a water-using appliance is to operate with “conditioned” water. Texas Pure Water’s Reionator uses innovative and proprietary technology that incorporates a proven multi-resin process that will condition the water in your entire home.
The system softens your water, filtering out all of the mineral content that harms your large appliances, while further conditioning the water. This conditioning alleviates the slimy feel or strange taste sometimes left behind by other softening systems. So your water feels fresh and tastes great!
If you have a water softener in your home, you may feel pretty good about your water. But in fact, even after being processed by a water softener, impurities may remain in the water you drink and with which you wash foods and cook. Reverse osmosis can remove those impurities from your already-softened drinking water –including 98 percent of all sodium left in the water from the softening process.
And that’s not all, here are three reasons why reverse osmosis and a water softener make a great combination.
Why Reverse Osmosis and Softening Work Well Together
1. A Softener Protects an RO Unit:
Reverse osmosis membranes are fragile. Although there is usually a small sediment filter in front of the RO, reverse osmosis has a hard time removing or reducing calcium and magnesium–the minerals that make water hard. So by installing a water softener WITH an RO drinking water system, the water softener or conditioner will reduce the water hardness, thus acting as a protective barrier for the RO system keeping it from fouling and extending the life of the membranes.
2. Quality Water:
Many people who choose to install a home water softener system also elect to install an under-sink reverse osmosis system in the kitchen. Such a system can be installed to service the kitchen tap, the lines leading to a refrigerator-freezer, or both. In other words, a reverse osmosis system goes a step further than your water softener, ensuring the water you drink is even purer.
Historically, reverse osmosis technology was used to desalinate water from the ocean. Today, millions of homes enjoy high-quality drinking water thanks to small RO units installed in their kitchens.
A softener and an R.O. system are a great combination because while the softener will give you soft water throughout the entire home by removing minerals that make your water hard, an RO system will give your household outstanding drinking water by removing most impurities (including hydrocarbons, sulfates, cadmium, pesticides and more).
3. Cost Savings:
Most water softener owners have found that with the savings in energy costs, extension of appliance lifespan, and lower soap/shampoo/detergent usage–a water softener can pay for itself pretty quickly. And not to be outdone–RO system owners find they save money, too. After installing an RO system, they eliminate the cost of bottled water from the family budget (as RO costs pennies per gallon), not to mention that most families save money by buying fewer sugaring drinks after an RO unit has been installed).
Thus, a softener and RO are a great pair that will reduce your expenses, plus provide you with outstanding, quality water.
Considerations When Choosing a Reverse Osmosis System
If you already have a home water softener system, you should choose a reverse osmosis system that will not interfere in any way with that system, and that will not be compromised by the operation of your water softener system. Evaluate warranties that come with reverse osmosis systems to learn exactly what is covered and for how long. Find out how much sound the system makes to be sure noise won’t be a problem, and learn how simple or complex filter maintenance is.
Benefits You’ll Enjoy With a Reverse Osmosis System
By using a reverse osmosis system in addition to your water softener, you’re giving your family the purest drinking water possible. Reverse osmosis removes a number of impurities that are commonly found in ordinary tap water–making your drinking water taste better. With a reverse osmosis system you can be confident you’re giving your family clean, purified water that is so vital to their health and development.