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Have you ever taken a shower and immediately noticed your skin feels dry? Or you spent time scrubbing away at your dirty dishes only to see water stains once they dried. Hard water, a buildup of magnesium and calcium minerals in the water, is the common denominator behind these issues.
The solution? A water softening system that tackles the minerals causing hard water and produces soft water as a result. But what exactly is soft water? Isn’t water already soft?
At Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we’ve answered and consulted homeowners with these very questions for over 15 years. Hard water affects homes everywhere across Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, and we’re committed to helping homeowners like you switch to soft water. Every day we’re installing water-softening systems in homes affected by hard water.
Thanks to our accumulated experience and customer feedback, we created a list of benefits associated with soft water. With soft water, you will take advantage of the following perks.
- Prevent scale buildup
- Softer skin and hair
- Protect plumbing and appliances
- Improve washer quality for clothes
- Save money
Are you excited to learn more about soft water’s benefits? Let’s dive in!
What Is Soft Water?
Soft water is water with substantially reduced magnesium or calcium minerals. As water travels from its source to a city’s water well and then to your home, it picks up minerals and tiny traces of contaminants. City sanitation efforts already filter water well, so it’s safe to consume in your home, but calcium and magnesium are leftover.
Calcium and magnesium minerals in water are sticky and attach to surfaces such as your pipes, appliances, and fixtures. With a water softener system, you can force the water in your home to be free of these minerals and end up with soft water. Two tanks and a control unit, which monitor the filtration system, make up a water softener.
Ion exchange is the process that creates soft water. Here’s a quick breakdown of the process.
- Hard water travels from a public water source.
- Before making its way throughout your house, hard water is filtered through a water softener.
- The hard water goes through a resin tank containing beads mixed with salt that attract calcium and magnesium.
- The calcium and magnesium are attached to the beads and replaced in the water with sodium.
- Soft water is available and ready to use throughout any fixture in the home.
That’s a summary of how soft water, but check out this article for a more thorough look at the process. Proper maintenance, such as periodically replacing the salt in the water softener, is required to continue enjoying the benefits of soft water.
Benefits of Soft Water
Let’s take a look at the benefits of soft water.
Prevents Scale Buildup
One of the most visible signs of hard water is the scale buildup on faucets and showerheads. The residue from hard water produces a white, chalk-like substance visible throughout the home.
With soft water flowing throughout your home, the scale buildup will slowly erode from your pipes. You can clean the scale off your home’s fixtures, and over time, you will notice that there isn’t any scale building up.
Thanks to soft water, your home will not have to deal with scale buildup. A lack of scale buildup benefits your home’s plumbing pipes, appliances, and fixtures.
Protects Plumbing and Appliances
The scale doesn’t only buildup up in fixtures; it can affect the efficiency of your plumbing pipes and appliances. Although not visible, scale builds up inside pipes. Take a look at your kitchen appliances like your coffee maker; you may also see scale buildup on them.
With soft water, your home’s pipes will have little to no scale left. Pipes without scale buildup have improved water flow.
Appliances without scale also tend to work better, which extends their lifespan. The longer your appliances last, the fewer times you have to pay to repair them constantly.
Better Skin and Hair
Do you feel like your hair feels delicate and your skin is drier after a shower? People with hard water in their homes have reported drier skin and brittle hair.
With soft water flowing out of your shower fixtures, your skin will be less dry, and your hair won’t have to deal with fragile hair. A 2017 study from the University of Sheffield in England showed that hard water affects people with eczema. Soft water doesn’t negatively affect sensitive skin, making bath time a more pleasant experience.
Improves Washer Quality for Clothes and Dishes
Soft water is amazing for your body, clothes, and dishes. Have you ever washed a brand new item of clothing only to see it lose its color or not look as clean? The laundry detergent’s cleaning power is impacted by hard water.
When the soap from the detergent is mixed with hard water, it can create a leftover residue known as soap curd. The soap curd can make your clothes feel stiff.
A washing machine using soft water will clean and protect your clothes better. Since no soap residue is left after washing, your clothes will feel softer. You may even save money using less detergent than when your home had hard water.
When you wash your dishes with hard water, you may notice water stains on them. Soft water helps prevent these stains from showing up on your dishes, silverware, and utensils.
Soap detergent isn’t the only area where you can save money with soft water.
Save Money
Hard water can also have an impact on your wallet. Its adverse effects on plumbing pipes, appliances, clothes, and more can make you spend money on maintaining and replacing these items.
You can save hundreds or thousands of dollars in plumbing services since you don’t have to fix or replace damaged plumbing from the scale. Showerheads and faucets will last longer, requiring fewer replacements.
If you have a traditional or tankless water heater, hard water can affect its efficiency in heating water. With soft water, your water heater will require less energy to heat water, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars in gas and electricity bills.
How to Get Soft Water in My Home?
Hard water flows in thousands of homes all over Los Angeles. With soft water, you and your family can reap its many benefits. You can feel more confident with your purchase decision regarding soft water thanks to your awareness of its advantages.
At Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, thousands of homeowners follow up with us to share their satisfaction with soft water. We continue to help bring soft water to homes all over the area, and now you have an opportunity to continue your journey to bring soft water to your home.
If you still have questions about soft water, book an appointment through our water filtration page scheduler. You can also click on the buttons beneath this article to contact us for more information or book an appointment as well.
If you want to get rid of hard water but don’t know the difference between a water conditioner and a water softener, check out this article.
