A person typically uses 75 gallons of water per day, which means an average family of 4 uses about gallons per day. If your family does a lot of laundry or takes longer showers, your average water usage could be as high as gallons per person per day or more.
If you live in an area with harder water or have heavier water usage, you may want to consider a higher capacity softener. The grain capacity of a water softener refers to how many grains of hard water minerals can be removed before regenerating.
Your water softener will perform more efficiently and cost-effectively when it is regenerating about once every 3 to 10 days. Another feature to understand is how the softener regenerates.
Softeners on timer regeneration can be set to regenerate at a regular schedule, like every four days, regardless of water usage. The surest way to know what is in your water is to have it tested, and it only makes sense to know what it is you are treating before you buy a water softener to do the job.
Rooter take care of the testing. You can also always check with a city, county, university or soil-and-water conservation professional to see if water-testing services are available. Often you can find an option that costs less and is more thorough than a store-bought test kit, plus it only requires you to bring or send in a water sample.
Water hardness is generally measured in grains per gallon gpg , but some entities such as municipalities, may measure it in parts per million ppm , milligrams per liter mg or liters L.
One gpg translates to The range of water hardness varies from region to region and depends on what is in the soil. The U. Geological Survey studies well-water hardness, among other water-related characteristics, and assigns the hardness a rating based on milligrams per liter:.
The Onondaga County Water Authority calls the water in its area "moderately hard" and says the measurement of calcium carbonate in the region ranges from ppm, or six to 11 grains per gallon. Generally and universally, water with more than seven grains of hardness per gallon is considered to be hard. A water test will also tell you levels of minerals or metals that are in the water, as well as detect such things as bacteria and other contaminants, chlorine, acidity and more depending on the test and the entity.
Some people might test only for hardness while others may want to know a full range or something specific in addition to or instead of the standard factors an agency might examine. Additionally, a comforting thought can be that there are water softeners for very hard water, as well as models and accessories that will resolve other issues, too. An analysis of the water can reveal valuable information for the purchase of a water softener as well as anytime you suspect the quality of water has changed for any reason.
Millions of people opt for a water softener because it not only eliminates headaches around the house, but it also saves money by prolonging the life of your water-using appliances. The worst and costliest problem with calcium carbonate is how it accumulates over time and causes clogs, corrosion and shorter appliance life. The more of it there is in the water, the worse the deposits will be and the faster they build up. Envision the water lines of your water-using appliance as small arteries in which the calcium carbonate, magnesium, iron or other hardness accumulates and eventually impedes or blocks the water from passing.
One example would be the washer-line hose that inside becomes laden with CaCO3 deposits and takes longer to fill or some part that becomes encrusted and stops working altogether. Water hardness and its resulting buildup will not benefit any utility or surface in your home.
Using a water softener will generally double the life expectancy of your hot-water-using appliances. Crusty, scaly deposits can build up over time in the water-supply lines and the heating elements, and when this vital appliance stops working, nobody enjoys the resulting lack of hot water. Once you start to think about how many things in the house use hot water, an effort to preserve them makes more sense:. Most of the things that use or handle water in the house are expensive, and for that reason, most people want to do everything they can to make them last as long as practically possible and get a good value for their money.
Even one experience with a costly appliance replacement can cause you to answer with an emphatic yes if anybody asks: Are water softeners good? Additionally, hard water makes human skin and hair dry and itchy compared to soft water, so many people prefer to install a water softener to soothe their skin, especially since there is little they can do to stop other drying elements such as winter and its biting winds.
The deposits from hard water will also create a film on your shower doors, glassware and other items that come in contact with the hot water. The calcium and magnesium content in hard water reacts with the ingredients in various soaps and decrease the amount of lather produced by body soaps, shampoos and laundry or dish detergents. This generally causes us to use more and more of the product, which wastes money and ends up placing more inorganic matter into the environment wherever the soap-heavy water drains.
Hard water has also been known to give laundry a drab look. Many launderers find those qualities dissatisfactory and even expensive as they replace clothes more often for work, school, church, athletics and more. Iron, manganese and sulfur can give water a funky smell or taste, and though not generally harmful, some people cannot or would rather not tolerate it. A water softener and proper treatment or filtration can reduce and eliminate any foul odors or tastes in the water.
Many people lament how ugly it looks and how they replace such items as spigots or faucets only to have the residue return. A water softener prevents the filmy residue, buildup and stains the hard water cause. A water softener essentially treats the water and removes the hardness and minerals through an ion exchange process and typically the addition of some form of sodium or potassium.
The softener normally has a mineral tank that contains resin beads and a brine tank that contains the salt, which may be together in one unit or in two separate tanks. You choose whether to soften all the water or just the hot supply. The resin beads create the ionic process that removes hard particles of calcium and lime scale.
Water comes into the tank of the softener and flows to and over the beads, with an appropriate amount of contact with them to remove the unwanted elements and soften the water. The electrical charge of the resin beads opposes that of the incoming water, and that difference attracts the dissolved, hardening particles in the water and holds them among the resin beads so the appliance can release soft water. When the resin beads get full of the suspended particles, the waters softener automatically enters a regeneration cycle that involves bringing in water and flushing the hardened particles out of the resin beads using a salt-water brine mixture.
They can only hold so much material, so the regeneration process, also called brining, is necessary. HomeWater Solutions. How to choose a water softener for your home When choosing a water softener for your home , there are several key factors to consider as you evaluate the many makes and models available today.
Do I need a water softener? How much water does my family use? What water softener do I need? Take the next step:. With a metered styled valve you can program different levels of hardness based on how many people there are in the house. With these settings, system is able to adjust cleaning times automatically which makes the most efficient and cost-effective system possible.
Not every water softener system comes in the same size, and the size you get should depend on the flow rate of your home and water hardness levels. A system that is too small will reduce the life span of your components which will cost you money in the long run for replacement parts. A system that is too large will run you into sanitary problems which will waste large amount of salts and backwash water. Your water needs to have the proper treatment to prevent any ill effects on your health.
You may need a water filtration added to your water softener system. Purchasing a system that includes this initially can save you money and function better. For those on city water: Go online -or- to your local water district and request a copy of the water analysis for your city. Many times people choose to add a water filtration or drinking system in addition to a water softener even if the city water analysis shows no problems.
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