If you live in Arizona or Nevada, you would be smart to invest in a water softener for your plumbing drains. The reason for this is because Arizona and Nevada are two states in particular who suffer from hard water. Hard water can cause plumbing issues, dull or stained laundry, and it can even cause your hair to look dull and feel sticky.
If you’d like more information about water softeners for your home, give our professionals at Ambient Edge a call.
Hard Water vs. Soft Water
Soft water is rainwater or water that otherwise does not contain anything extra in it. Conversely, hard water contains all the minerals it picks up as it travels along and through the ground, like calcium, magnesium, and lime. The best way to tell if you have hard water is if you have a white build-up around your faucets. These deposits are the hardening of excess minerals in your water – hence the name.
Hard water is not dangerous to drink – in fact, some say it’s healthier to drink because of the excess minerals in it – but it can be a nuisance. It can cause your pipes to clog, and it can cause your laundry to appear dull or develop stains. It can also make your hair feel and look less clean. This is because it reduces the effectiveness of shampoos and laundry detergent.
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Water Softeners
Water softeners remove the excess minerals in hard water. A water softener may sound like some sort of chemical you add to your water but, in fact, it is actually a kind of machine that functions like a water filter. Typically, a plumber installs a water softener wherever your main water source is, whether it’s in the basement or the garage.
How a Water Softener Works
The water softener works like this. Water enters the top of the softener and percolates down to the tank, which is filled with resin beads. The resin, which has a negative charge, attracts the positively charged minerals in your water. The newly softened water then exits the tank and enters your house like normal.
Once the beads cannot attract any more minerals, the softener tank flushes itself out by using salt or potassium chloride pellets to make a brine, which cleans the beads. This typically happens every 12,000 gallons or so. However, this process loses its effectiveness over time, and you will eventually have to add more pellets to the tank.
Cost
In addition to the cost of a water softener and its installation, which ranges between $2,000 to $2,500, you also have to consider the cost of upkeep. For instance, a family of four, on average, goes through a 50-lb. bag of brine pellets every month. The price of the pellets depends largely on the kind of pellets you choose to use. While salt is rather inexpensive at between $4 and $6 per bag, you can expect to spend $25 to $30 for the same size bag of potassium chloride.
Why You Should Consider a Water Softener
There are several reasons why you may want to consider installing a water softener in your home. For one thing, you can save money on your water bill by helping your pipes pass softer water through more efficiently. You can also improve the durability and longevity, not to mention the appearance, of everything from your glassware to your laundry.
A water softener can also improve the quality of your hair and your skin. Neither soap nor shampoo can lather properly in hard water, so softer water can help shampoo clean your hair and your skin more effectively – and without drying either of them out.
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Contact Us Do You Have Hard Water in Your Home? Ambient Edge Can Help!
Hard water, while not dangerous, can still decrease your quality of life. Everything from your body to your laundry can suffer the poor effects of hard water. Plus, hard water makes normal housework even more difficult when you’re constantly scrubbing scaly build-up from your chrome faucets and sinks. For these reasons, you may want to consider installing a water softener in your home.
At Ambient Edge, we have decades of experience dealing with hard water and installing water softeners in our customers’ homes. If you are interested in installing a water softener in your home, give us a callor fill out the contact form on our website. Don’t suffer any longer with dull laundry and sticky hair. Give us a call today, and experience an immediate positive difference in your water!
