Water is something we all use every day of our lives. Whether it be for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, doing laundry, cooking, or watering our plants, we all make frequent use of it. It’s logical then, that we would want it to be as pure and high-quality as it possibly can.
That’s where the discussion of water softener comes in. There is a lot of confusion out there regarding the water softener, and what role it plays in water purification. You may have been asking yourself “do I need a water softener?’ or “what is a water softener used for?” Well, in this article I hope to answer those questions and shed some light on the water softener benefits, and why it is important to understand. By the end of this you should know all you need to about the topic and whether or not you should have one.
Before we get into their benefits and necessities of it, let’s take a moment to clarify what is a water softener system and what is its purpose from a technical standpoint. Water softener systems are essentially designed to deal with what’s known as “hard water.” Hard water is water that is high in concentrations of heavy metals, calcium, lime, and other biological and geological elements. These elements literally make the water feel harder. They can also discolor the water and make it smell quite unpleasant. It can also cause the water to be hazardous to drink, depending on what elements are present. Water softeners use a variety of technological means to draw out these hard elements, thus softening the water.
Now that you know what it is, let’s get into the benefits!
Water Softener Benefits – 13 Benefits of Having a Water Softener
1. It Deals with Hard Water
As previously stated, water with contaminants can be very hard and erosive. The feeling of such water is considerably unpleasant and immediately noticeable. The first and most obvious benefit of having a water softener is the benefit of your water being softer, especially to the touch.
2. It Can Help You Save on Energy Bills
You may be wondering how that’s possible. Let me explain. Hard water has the tendency to cause ugly build up in your appliances and plumbing. Even water pumps. This build up forces your appliances and the like to work much harder to maintain effectiveness. Your kettle will take longer to boil, your pumps will need more power to push water through, etcetera. One of the major benefits of water softener system is that this build up is eradicated and thus your appliances and pumps will not have to work as hard or draw as much power to operate effectively.
3. It Helps to Preserve Your Plumbing System
Yes, you read that correctly! You can potentially add years to the life of your plumbing via the use of a water softening system. This is because hard water is very corrosive. It not only causes damaging build-up in your pipes but also eats away at them slowly but surely, forcing eventual replacement. The softer your water, the less corrosion and build-up takes place in your plumbing!
4. It Extends the Life of Your Appliances
The appliances we use that require water such as our kettle, washing machine, dishwasher, and the like, are all subject to lime and calcium build-up when our water is too hard. This build up causes wear and tear, and eventually leads to the appliances giving out. One of the most key benefits is the significant decrease, if not complete eradication of this build-up. This potentially adds years to the life of your appliances.
5. It Softens Your Hair and Skin
Incredible right? We often do not even realize the role that our water quality plays on the health and feel of our hair and skin. The benefits of water softener on skin are a major reason some people have one. The hard elements in water tend to make our hair harder and more brittle, as well as dry out and harden our skin. With a water softener system in the house you will immediately notice the difference after bathing. Your skin and hair will feel fresher, lighter, and softer than it did before.
6. It Speeds up Water Heating
When water is hard our geysers and water heaters have to work harder to heat up the water and the water naturally heats more slowly due to the aforementioned elements it contains. Removing these elements with a softening system make it easier and quicker for your water heater to do its job.
7. It Improves Water Flow Through Your Pipes
In addition to easing corrosion in your pipes, water softeners remove the potential for build-up. This not only serves the integrity of your plumbing but it also means there’s less obstructive yuck for your water to get through in your pipes, making your water flow considerably faster than it would without a softening system.
8. It Decreases the Amount of Soap and Shampoo You Need to Use
In addition to softening your skin and hair, soft water requires you to use much less soap and shampoo to get the same clean result. Water softeners essentially clean out the dirty particles in water that give rise to the need for extra soap and shampoo use.
9. Your Fabrics Will Look Brighter and Feel Softer
There is also great benefit to your fabrics. The hard particles in hard water tend to transfer to your fabrics and linen when you wash them. With a water softener installed, you will notice that this no longer happens and as such, your fabrics and linen have a softer feel to them. They will also look brighter because no discoloration take place from dirty elements during the washing process.
10. It Will Make Cleaning Easier for You
For the clean-obsessed out there still wondering why do you need a water softener, have you ever tried scrubbing down a surface only to notice you were getting nowhere, or worse, adding to the mess? If water is too hard it can be very obstructive when trying to clean mess up, making the whole process counter-productive and a total headache. With soft water this does not happen. Instead of getting in the way of cleaning or adding to dirt, it makes getting rid of the dirt easier as it’s more prone to trapping and holding it.
11. It Will Help Increase Your Sodium Intake
There are also the benefits of water softener on health to be considered. Softening systems use water softening salt to dissolve all the nonsense elements I’ve mentioned. So there is a higher percentage of sodium existing in soft water as a result. This of course gets absorbed through your skin to some degree and is taken in when you drink water, thus increasing your sodium intake.
12. It Decreases Bad Mineral Consumption
Another one of the interesting water softening benefits is that softening systems remove calcium, lime, magnesium and other potentially harmful minerals from the water, making it healthier for you to drink. As mentioned above, those minerals are replaced with sodium which, in modesty, is good for you.
13. It Will Reduce the Damage Done to Your Kitchen Utensils
Appliances, plumbing, skin, and hair are not the only things that potentially see damage from hard water. Your kitchen utensils very often come in to contact with water either during cooking or cleaning. The corrosive nature of hard water causes damage to these utensils. This is yet another answer to the question of “why have a water softener”.
So, Should I Get a Water Softener?
So many benefits of soft water speak volumes for why you should get a water softener. But it’s also about figuring out if your particular home requires it. One needs to first establish a baseline. Not all water coming into everyone’s home is automatically hard. You need to have your water tested in order to tell what range it falls within. This will tell you if you need to invest in a water softener, or if you are already living in the benefits of having one.
I hope that this piece has served to clear things up for you and give you what you need to make a good decision!
