Before we discuss water softeners, it’s essential that one gains an understanding of what hard water is and how it affects you and your family. Hard water refers to water with a higher-than-usual mineral content. This is typically the case with water that is extracted from areas with large deposits of calcium and magnesium carbonates (naturally occurring in areas with limestone and chalk). While it can be argued that hard water does have some health benefits for humans, it can also pose some serious problems to homes and industry found in these areas.
Recognizing Hard Water
Here are a few ways you can recognize the presence of hard water:
- If your water fails to foam or lather up when exposed to soap, you most likely have hard water.
- Hard water is also responsible for corroding metal. This will show in faucets and sinks that are not covered with an anti-corrosive coating. Other equipment exposed to this water may also begin to corrode over time.
- If used to fill a swimming pool, it manifests a “milky” cloud in the water. This occurs when the calcium in the water reacts with the carbon dioxide present in the air.
Softening Hard Water
Hard water can be “softened” using a water softener. Water softening is the chemical process of removing calcium and magnesium (among other metals) from the water. The end result is water that responds well to soap and which has little or no corrosive effect on metals. Water softening is thus a good idea especially in residential and business buildings because there will be less corrosion in the plumbing system and other critical equipment.
If you suspect you have hard water, then you may want to consider purchasing and installing a water softening system. A quick search online will yield high-quality, local, water softener installation and repair companies. Some are costlier than others depending on the features and capacity. Sometimes they’re known as water purification systems, water conditioners, or water filtration.
For residential homes, water softeners can be installed as a complete system costing thousands of dollars or a point of use filter which has a lower capacity and can be more affordable.
At Reynolds Water Conditioning Company, we are here to help make sure our clients don’t buy water treatment systems that they don’t need. We are here to make sure you find a water softening system that gives you the results you are looking for, whether it is to remove iron or odor from you water; we have a solution that will help! For more information contact our experts at 800.572.9575 or at our website https://reynoldswater.com.