Why Water Softeners are Important for Your Plumbing

Hard water can make daily tasks like showering, doing laundry and washing your dishes unbearable. Hard water can also decrease the lifespan of your plumbing. So what’s the solution to your hard water woes? A water softener will help decrease the amount of calcium and magnesium in your water and keep your dishes and plumbing in great shape.

Hard water is caused by particles like calcium, magnesium, iron, lead and other minerals being picked up by water as it travels through the ground and out of your faucet. Dissolved calcium and magnesium precipitate out of hard water as scale, which builds up on the insides of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles and coffee makers. Scale reduces water flow through pipes and is a poor conductor of heat. Eventually, pipes can become completely clogged. If you have scaly, white deposits in basins or on fixtures in your bath or kitchen, you most likely have a hard water problem.

The typical water softener is an appliance that is hooked up to your home’s water supply system. All water softeners use a common operating principle. A water softener will trade the minerals for something else, in most cases sodium. This process is called ion exchange.

Here’s a short science lesson for you. The heart of a water softener is a mineral tank. It’s filled with small polystyrene beads, also known as resin. The beads carry a negative charge. Calcium and magnesium (found in hard water) both carry positive charges. This means the minerals will cling to the polystyrene beads as the hard water passes through the mineral tank, flushing out the hard water before it reaches your faucet. This ensures your plumbing won’t suffer any long term damage.

The white residue known as scale will cause your appliances to work twice as hard, which will result in a hefty energy bill. It will also wreak havoc on your plumbing. A water softener will help improve water quality and will make cleaning and doing laundry much more efficient. You won’t have to run the dishwasher multiple times to get those hard water stains out! Indiana is notorious for hard water. Don’t let it ruin your dishes or your plumbing any longer!

For more information about water softeners call us at ​317-291-4909 or visit our website today!

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