Water spots, clogged showerheads, and limescale in your teapot mean that you have hard water in your home. This problem is common throughout the country, especially in Southern California. To correct it, you should weigh the pros and cons of a whole home water softener to see if this option will provide you with the water treatment you need or if an alternative is better for your home.

Benefits of a Home Water Softener

A home water softening system replaces the calcium and magnesium in your tap water, which makes it hard, with natural sodium chloride or potassium chloride. These substances are better known as salts. Sodium chloride is table salt, and some people on sodium-restricted diets will use potassium chloride as a table salt replacement.

By using a water softening system, you won’t have to use harsh chemicals to remove lime deposits from your showers, faucets, or cookware. Plus, you can get a longer life from your water heater because you’ll avoid scale deposits on the heating components. Lastly, your dishes will finally be free of water spots and cleaner looking.

Drawbacks of a Home Water Softener

Home water softeners may not be the best solution for every home. The major drawback of this type of system is the impact to people who must eat very low sodium diets. Systems that use sodium can add up to 8 mg of sodium per 1 part per million grains of hardness removed. If you have concerns, always discuss with the doctor who prescribed your low-sodium diet to see if a water softener will affect your health.

The other downside to a water softener is if you use your home’s tap water for watering plants. Softened water can impact the health of plants because they have much lower tolerances for extra sodium and potassium than people do. Plus, they need the minerals found in hard water to avoid growth problems. Consider using a tap that has water from an unsoftened source.

Alternatives to a Whole Home Water Softener

If you don’t want a whole home water softener, you still have options for reducing the mineral impacts of hard water. For instance, a water conditioner treats the water, so minerals don’t deposit inside pipes, reducing scale. These systems don’t remove the hard water minerals, so you may still have issues such as needing more soap to create a lather.

Another alternative to a water softener is a reverse osmosis system to purify water and remove minerals and other impurities from water going to one tap. This system cannot treat all the water in your home, though, but it does provide the best-tasting water you can get from a tap.

Let Oceanus Help You with All Your Home’s Water Treatment Needs

Whether you decide to go with a whole home water softener or want to learn more about the alternatives, our team at Oceanus is ready to help. We have served the needs of Southern Californians looking to improve their water for years. Contact us to see the options we have for your home.

Sources

https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/water-softening-ion-exchange

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/contact-us/

https://extension.psu.edu/water-softening

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/reverse-osmosis/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/water-conditioner/

https://besthomewatertreatmentsystems.com/product/water-softener/