Can I Use a Water Softener in Long Beach?

Long Beach is filled with plenty of fun things to do, whether you’re shopping at the Pike Outlets or planning a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Living in Long Beach is great, but dealing with hard water is not. You can get rid of hard water by adding a water softener system in your home, but does the city allow it?

At Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Air, we’ve installed water softeners throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. When we’re out in the field, homeowners always ask which filtration systems are best for their homes.

Los Angeles County is made up of dozens of cities, each with its own restrictions for homes. The City of Long Beach allows water softener installations so that you can request one for your home.

So your city allows a water softener installation; what’s next? Read on further to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of a water softener in your Long Beach home.

What Is the Quality of Water in Long Beach?

The water in Long Beach is strictly monitored for lead and copper exposure, sediments, and other contaminants. The city’s water department is “responsible for providing high-quality drinking water to your home up to your water meter,” according to its website.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), water containing naturally occurring fluoride promotes dental hygiene. In 1971, the Long Beach City Council mandated that the Long Beach Water Department (LBWD) add fluoride to the water supply. Since the mandate, the LBWD has kept the fluoride concentration in the water at 0.7 mg/L.

The water in California is considered hard, and the drinking water in Long Beach is no exception. Here’s a thorough look at what hard water is.

Water travels from natural sources and attracts natural minerals such as calcium and magnesium. These minerals are safe to drink but have unwanted effects such as:

• Dry skin
• Leaves hair brittle
• Leaves water strains on silverware and utensils after washing dishes and glasses
• Calcium from hard water reacts with soap to create soap-scum residue
• A white chalky residue accumulates on fixtures and appliances
• Builds scale inside pipes, which affects water heater efficiency and clogs pipes
• Makes clothes in the washer appear stiffer

Most homes in Long Beach deal with hard water, but that’s why water-softening systems exist in the first place.

What Is a Water Softener?

Water softeners are a type of treatment system designed to soften and cancel out the effects of hard water. These filtration systems are available in various sizes to accommodate a home based on size, water usage, and the number of bathrooms available.

A typical water softener system comprises two tanks and a control unit. Here’s a simple summary of how a water softener works:

• Hard water travels from Long Beach’s public water source.
• The hard water is filtered through a softener before distributing it throughout the house.
• The resin tank of the water softener contains resin beads with salt that attract magnesium and calcium.
• The two minerals attach to the beads and are replaced with sodium.
• The wastewater is transported to a drainage pipe, and the remaining soft water is available for use inside the home.

So you have soft water available and free-flowing throughout your home. What are the benefits of soft water anyway?

What Are the Benefits of a Water Softener in Long Beach?

Now that your Long Beach home has soft water, it can benefit from the following benefits:

• Eliminate scale buildup: The white chalky substance seen outside fixtures build up inside plumbing pipes. The scale buildup attaches itself to the inside of the pipes, but soft water gradually erodes the scale.
• Protect plumbing and appliances: Plumbing pipes will have better water flow thanks to soft water chipping away at the scale buildup. Appliances also become less efficient when dealing with hard water scale buildup. Soft water helps improve their efficiency, making them last longer.
• Improved skin and hair: Thanks to soft water’s lack of calcium and magnesium buildup, your skin will feel soft, and your hair will feel less brittle.
• Boosts wash quality of clothes and dishes: Your dishes will not have any water stains thanks to soft water. Clothes will not become rigid faster and last longer when washed with soft water.
• Saves money: Soft water improves the efficiency of your appliances and plumbing. You’ll have to replace these things less, which can save you hundreds of dollars.

Soft water has many advantages you can learn more about in depth.

What are the Drawbacks of Water Softeners?

One of the major drawbacks of a water softener is wastewater and salt replacement. Water softeners can drain up to 150 gallons of water per week. You must also replace the salt with a softener every few weeks to maintain it in top condition.

The resin tank of a water softener goes through a process called regeneration. Regeneration is when the brine tank sends salt to the resin tank. As hard water flows through the beads, they lose sodium, causing it to trigger the salt refill.

Water softeners have built-in drainage that helps remove the leftover wastewater with brine. One of the reasons why California introduced Assembly Bill 334 was to combat the wastewater produced by water softeners.

Some communities in the state reported that the salted wastewater was ending up in the water recycling plant. It was difficult for these plants to remove the salt from the recycling water. So, legislators introduced the bill to allow local cities to ban water softeners in their areas.

Long Beach has not banned water softeners, so they’re legal to install in your home.

Is A Water Softener Ideal for My Long Beach Home?

Hard water flows throughout Long Beach but doesn’t have to flow through your home. As homeowners, anytime you have to add something to your home, it may require a permit from the city. Installing a water softener doesn’t fall under that category because Long Beach allows homeowners to install them in their homes.

At Monkey Wrench, we have over 15 years of experience in installing water filtration systems and staying up to date with all the changes in regulations regarding water usage. Our insider knowledge helps us complete hundreds of projects every week, and we’re also ready to share any information to help homeowners make informed buying decisions.

If you have questions regarding water filtration, call us using the contact buttons below, or book an appointment through our easy-to-use scheduling system. If you want to learn more about maintaining your future water softener, check out this video.