Hard water, which contains elevated levels of magnesium and calcium, negatively impacts how energy-efficient appliances are. Water softener filtration systems play a key role in removing these minerals and preventing a variety of hard water issues. They also offer numerous benefits, including reducing energy consumption, helping appliances run more efficiently, and extending their life spans. Understanding what hard water is and how whole-home water filtration systems work can help you decide if such a system is ideal for your house.
What Are Water Softeners?
Water softeners remove much of the magnesium and calcium from hard water coming into your home. The minerals can cause problems such as a buildup in pipes and appliances, resulting in issues ranging from limiting the effectiveness of soaps and detergents to an increase in monthly utility costs. Water softener filtration systems reduce the hardness of the water while preventing mineral buildup.
How Hard Water Impacts Energy Use
The mineral deposits in hard water significantly impact your plumbing system and appliances. As hard water flows through the plumbing system and appliances, such as dishwashers, water heaters, washing machines and coffee machines, the minerals are left behind, creating a built-up layer in the process.
This layer causes appliances to work harder to maintain their standard level of efficiency, which means they use more energy and increase your monthly utility bills. All this extra work also means enduring extra, unnecessary strain that can shorten their life spans.
Whole-house water filtration systems combined with a water softener will filter and soften the water, reducing the mineral deposits that are causing all the problems. They also improve the performance of the appliances and increase their life spans, so you have to pay less in associated costs in the short and long term.
Other Problems That Hard Water Causes
Hard water can also negatively impact your body, resulting in problems ranging from damaged hair to dry skin. People who wash their hair in hard water can deal with brittleness, breakage, dullness, thinning, and dry scalp, among other issues. Showering or bathing with hard water might not bother some individuals, but those with sensitive skin, psoriasis, or eczema may experience irritation because their skin barrier isn’t strong enough to stand up to the harsh minerals in the water.
Many people spend a lot of money on skin and hair products to repair the damage done by the hard water. Soft water is a better solution. It allows you to spend less in the long term as you’ll likely see your skin and hair improve after installing your water softener and whole-home water filtration system.
Energy Savings With Softened Water
Softened water leaves behind fewer minerals to build up on your plumbing system and appliances, so it’s gentler on everything in your home that the water comes in contact with. Your appliances can work effectively and efficiently without overworking themselves to the extent that they increase your monthly utility bills while wearing themselves down at a faster rate and using excess energy. If you install a whole-house water filtration system, you’ll likely notice a change in your utility bills not long after.
Benefits for Appliances and Plumbing Systems
Water softeners can do wonderful things for appliances and plumbing systems that are currently in contact with hard water. You can enjoy even more benefits in addition to the ones we’ve already mentioned.
Hard water can significantly affect your plumbing system to the point where scale buildup can create blockages in your water supply and drainage pipes. Scale buildup of this kind also has corrosive properties that can weaken pipes. This slow deterioration of pipes can lead to leaks, cracks, and even bursting. Softer water is gentler on your pipes, decreasing the chances of such issues.
After installing a whole-home water softener system and water softener, you may also notice that your sinks and fixtures stay cleaner. Hard water leaves behind a noticeable buildup on those surfaces. A water softener means there’s less of a possibility of mineral stains, so there’s less cleaning you have to worry about.
Environmental and Cost Advantages
Appliances with hard water running through them are also at risk for more frequent repairs, which means more money coming out of your pocket and an increased chance that you’ll have to replace the appliances sooner rather than later. Investing in a water softener lowers the risk of future repairs for your appliances, as long as they’re well maintained, and reduces the chances of shortening their life spans.
Another cost benefit involves your plumbing system. As previously stated, damaged pipes can lead to significant issues requiring repairs or replacements, which means spending money. The more extensive the issue, the costlier it’s likely to be. If a pipe bursts, the problem gets even more destructive as you have to pay to remediate any area affected by the leaking water or sewage.
A water softener system extends far beyond just improving the quality of your water. Its cost benefits include reducing the likelihood of frequent repairs for appliances and your plumbing system or making premature replacements.
You can also do great things for the environment by installing a water softener system in your home. You’ll be reducing water waste by allowing appliances to work more efficiently, especially during water-heavy tasks such as washing dishes, doing the laundry, or showering. You’ll also use less soap and detergent to clean your dishes and clothes to counteract the effects of the hard water.
Schedule a Consultation for a Whole-Home Water Softener System Today
Scheduling a consultation is a great way to learn more about the benefits of installing a whole-house water softener system at your residence. A plumber can look around your home and at its appliances and plumbing system and give you specific details about the corresponding benefits you may enjoy.
