Living in a home with hard water can be a costly problem. When groundwater flows through the pipes of your home, the dissolved minerals combine with heat, leaving scale and buildup that damages your pipes, appliances, and fixtures. Hard water can also have a harmful effect on your dishes, laundry, skin, and hair. Over time, the constant buildup becomes a time-consuming and frustrating problem to deal with. Installing a water softener is an effective way to reduce the expenses and daily frustrations caused by hard water. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of a water softener and how to choose the right one for your home.
What is soft water?
Soft water is water that contains little to no mineral content, primarily the magnesium and calcium that make water hard. Water is called a universal solvent because its polarity easily absorbs and dissolves a large variety of substances. When it comes into contact with organic and inorganic materials, the level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water rises and the water quality is affected. Rainwater is soft (low in minerals) before falling on natural surfaces and collecting contaminants. Water can build high concentrations of magnesium and calcium on its way through the ground and to your home, becoming “hard.”
A water softener softens water by removing the excess minerals through a process called ion exchange. The mineral ions are trapped in resin within the system and exchanged for sodium and potassium ions, resulting in softened water that’s easier on your plumbing, appliances, skin, and hair.
14 benefits of having a water softener
Hard water takes a toll in more ways than one. Here are 14 ways a water softener can make a noticeable difference throughout your home and daily life.
1. Prevents premature plumbing repairs
Scale buildup from hard water can clog pipes, reduce water flow, and eventually require expensive repairs to clean out, restore, or replace bogged down pipes. In homes with severe hard water compositions, buildup can cause irreversible damage to plumbing, meaning a costly and time-consuming repair job. A water softener will stop the damage being caused by hardness minerals and potentially give you back the full lifespan of your system by keeping your pipes clear and your plumbing intact.
2. Protects your appliances from build-up
Appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters break down faster with hard water buildup, because minerals can build up in water lines, on filters, and around ports that your appliances need to function properly. Hardness-causing minerals also precipitate and create more scale faster when the temperature rises, meaning appliances that use hot hard water run less efficiently and have to be replaced more frequently. Even smaller appliances like coffee makers and ice machines need to be protected from hard water that can clog the machines’ small tubes and tight spaces. A water softener protects your investment in your appliances, avoids tedious detailing, and keeps them running and functional for longer.
3. Lowers your utility bills
When scale builds inside a pipe, water pressure must increase for water to push through the narrowing space. The build-up also causes a failure to efficiently transfer heat, forcing you to run your water heater higher to compensate. Soft water stops the problematic buildup from ever happening, ensuring your systems work the way they were intended to and avoiding higher gas or electric bills.
4. Improves the effectiveness of cleaning supplies
Hard water uses twice the amount of cleaning solution to achieve the same amount of suds as soft water. To get the lather you want while using hard water, you’ll be using more soap than you need and purchasing replacements faster. Because soft water produces more lather than hard water, it lets you use and replace significantly less soap, shampoo, detergent, and cleaning supplies overall.
5. Makes your clothes softer and brighter
Over time, the minerals in hard water leave deposits in fabric and cause stiffness, stains, faded colors, or dingy whites. A water softener prevents the adverse effects of hard water on your clothes while preserving the fresh, vibrant look and soft feel even without fabric softener. Additionally, a water softener lessens the need for washing with hot water to remove mineral deposits and dissolve detergents. Cold soft water dissolves detergent and washes your laundry better than hot hard water, making your detergent last longer and preventing your clothes from shrinking.
6. Removes the grime on dishware
If you live in a hard water area, you know how difficult it is to keep your dishes clean. Hard water leaves chalky spots and a cloudy film on dishes and glassware, even when they’re thoroughly washed and dried. Soft water eliminates that residue by removing the minerals before they can build up on your dishes. Because soft water fuses with soaps and detergent more completely, your dishwasher will also be more effective.
7. Improves your skin health
The minerals in hard water, particularly calcium, lead to dry and irritated skin by depositing on the surface and clogging pores that release natural oils. Soft water is more gentle on the skin by helping your skin retain moisture, which is especially important for avoiding dandruff, reducing eczema symptoms, or caring for sensitive skin. The mineral ions in hard water also cause soap to clump instead of fully dissolve, resulting in soap scum building up on your skin. A water softener allows soap to fully lather, causing a deeper, fresher clean when the suds are washed away.
8. Boosts your hair’s moisture and shine
Hair washed in soft water has a better balanced pH level, resulting in softer, less brittle hair that holds color better. If you use hard water, decreased water pressure from mineral build-up makes it more difficult to fully rinse shampoo and conditioner from your hair, especially when fighting the soap residue hard water leaves behind.
9. Frees up your water pressure
Mineral buildup in pipes narrows the flow of water and decreases water pressure, especially from your faucets and shower heads. Soft water prevents this, helping you maintain strong water pressure that’s noticeable in the shower, better for cleaning, and even improves your property value.
10. Saves you cleaning time
Scrubbing soap scum and lime scale off sinks, showers, and fixtures, is nobody’s best use of time. A water softener removes the minerals that cause scale buildup, resulting in cleaning that both takes less time and has better results.
11. Makes your water heater more efficient
Soft water allows your water heater to run at peak performance, heating water faster and using less energy. A more effective water heater is especially helpful for large households that consume more hot water. Without a water softener, hardness minerals will cause water heaters to lose efficiency, use more fuel or energy to maintain temperature, and fail prematurely.
12. Protects your fixtures and surfaces
Hard water stains fixtures, tiles, and other surfaces with white or rusty residue that’s time-consuming and difficult to clean. In severe cases and left untreated, hard water can permanently damage materials through mineral-induced erosion. A water softener removes the high concentration of magnesium and calcium that is causing damage, keeping your fixtures and surfaces functioning and looking new for longer.
13. Reduces environmental impact
By using a water softener, you increase energy efficiency and reduce your household waste and consumption. Pipes without mineral buildup require less energy to perform, and appliances using soft water will have a longer lifetime before needing replacement. Soft water also increases the effectiveness of your soap, so you purchase cleaning products less frequently. Because soft water can improve taste, using a water softener can also decrease bottled water consumption.
14. Improves the taste and feel of water
Because minerals can cause a metallic, chalky, or even bitter taste, many people prefer the cleaner taste of soft water. Especially if your area has high mineral content or well water, hard water can feel harsh or "grabby" on your skin. Soft water, by contrast, tends to feel noticeably different because those excess minerals have been removed, resulting in a silky, almost slippery feel.
Water Softener, AQT-556SESM, Electronic Metered, 3/4", 9 x 48 Tank, 32000 grains (1 cuft)
How much does a water softener cost?
A water softener with its supportive equipment can cost $500-800, but installation can be technically challenging. If you choose not to install it yourself, a plumber or water filtration professional may charge several thousand dollars. In spite of the upfront cost, most systems have a 20-year life expectancy and yield long-term financial benefits by preserving and protecting your pipes and appliances.
The overall cost of installing and maintaining a water softener for your home can vary depending on several factors:
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Your average daily water usage: The two main factors considered in sizing a water softener are the number of residents and the level of water hardness. More use means more water to soften through the system.
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The existing pipe system: Whether or not adequate piping is available can play a huge role in your final cost. Older homes with outdated pipes or severe hard water damage may need to be replaced before installation.
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Periodic servicing: Just like any appliance, periodic maintenance is required to maintain a water softener. Treating other water issues, such as using a sediment filter, can decrease how often servicing is required.
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Replenishing the salt: The only regular cost for maintaining most water softeners is refilling them with salt. The hardness of your area’s water and your water usage levels will determine how often your system regenerates and therefore how much salt it requires.
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Pro tip: The most efficient salt to use in a water softener is clean evaporated pellet salt. Rock salt often has dirt in it, so it doesn’t dissolve well and gums up your softener. If you have dissolved iron in your water, use salt with a resin cleaner, "Red-Out" to keep the resin clean.
Are there any downsides to water softeners?
Water softeners don’t pose any health risks, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind. Here’s what you need to know:
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If you are on a low-sodium diet, be aware that there is slightly more sodium in water that has been softened with a salt-based water softener. The amount of sodium added to your water is dependent on the hardness level of your water, but an average glass of softened water contains about 12.5 mg of sodium. For reference, a single slice of whole wheat bread has 211 mg of sodium.
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While calcium and magnesium are beneficial to your health, the amount of these minerals ingested through hard water is insignificant compared with the amount of time and money spent combating their negative effects on your home. Both minerals are common in everyday supplements and in the leafy greens suggested for most healthy diets.
What type of water softener should I use?
While water softener is often used as a broad term, ion exchange is the only type of system that truly softens water by removing the hardness minerals. Other systems that do not remove the hardness-causing minerals are called scale prevention or water conditioners. Systems vary in their treatment technology and coverage (point-of-use vs. whole house), but not all are equally effective.
Salt-based/ion exchange water softeners are the best option
A salt-based or ion exchange water softener is the most effective way to remove water hardness because it takes the hardness minerals directly out of the water. Negatively charged resin beads cling to the positively charged minerals, replacing them with sodium ions. The beads are regenerated with dissolved salt, resulting in a saltwater brine that’s flushed out of the system.
Electromagnetic water conditioners are not effective
Magnetic water conditioners use electricity to create a magnetic field around water as it is piped into your home. The claim is that the magnetic field alters the chemistry of calcium and magnesium and keeps them from causing scale, but the reality is that they are not effective. Testing done by the WaterReuse Research Foundation showed that electromagnetic technology was only able to reduce scale by 34%.
Point-of-use vs. whole house
Point-of-use filters are installed at an individual source of water in your home. Point-of-use water softeners vary in effectiveness depending on the contact time and flow rate. For example, an effective shower head filter should have a resin column about 10-15 inches long, and you might exhaust the cartridge quickly in areas with severe water hardness. Other point-of-use water softeners have short lifespans for the same reasons.
Whole house filters are installed at the source of water for your entire home. Whole house water softeners are expensive to install, but they are the most effective at softening water longterm in hard water areas. When you soften water at the source, all of your in-home water sources benefit from it—including your appliances and plumbing.
Whole House System with Salt-Free Water Conditioner for 1-2 Bathrooms
Are there any alternatives to using a water softener?
An ion-exchange water softener is the most effective way to remove hardness because it removes the minerals responsible for the scale. While there are alternatives to a water softener, many of them solve only a portion of the problems that will arise in a home with hard water.
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Scale prevention: The most effective alternative to a water softener is a whole-house scale prevention device that uses template-assisted crystallization. This device turns hardness minerals into crystals that don’t attach to surfaces.
TAC Anti-Scale System for Tankless Water Heaters
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Phosphate additive: You could also add phosphate to the water supply, which coats surfaces in a protective layer that repels hardness minerals. You see similar technology in dishwashers to keep spots off dishes. Phosphates can go a long way to prevent scale, but still not as effective as a water softener.
It’s important to note that while alternatives to water softeners can help prevent scale, they do not remove the minerals from your water. Your soap will not lather any better, laundry will still require more detergent, and your dishes and tubs will still have film on them.
Water softener vs. filtration systems
A water softener can be a lifesaver for homeowners plagued by the effects of hard water, but it does not remove organic contaminants like heavy metals like lead, mercury, or arsenic. Other water systems like ultraviolet (UV) or reverse osmosis (RO) are necessary to remove those contaminants, but they won’t be effective at removing water hardness. Installing your water softener before other water filters will protect them from the excess minerals they’re not designed for, like a sediment filter which removes dirt and debris that clogs a water softener’s membrane.
Do I need a water softener?
It's estimated that almost 85% of the United States has hard water. To determine if your home is in one of these areas and could benefit from a water softener, you can either use a test kit or watch for typical signs of hard water.
Still not sure if you need a water softener or have other questions about water systems? Browse our collection of test kits, water softeners, and expert resources, or contact our water experts with your water system concerns.
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Thanks for the information
To bring your water to the quality you deserve, today we will be reviewing the best water softener salts available in the market. But before that, you need to understand the importance of using them.
Thank you for helping me to understand that soft water can help my skin retain moisture more easily and not be as dry. During the winters, my skin gets really dry and irritated and often cracks. It seems like it would be a good idea for me to get a water softener so winters won’t be so harsh on me. https://www.talleywater.com/water-filtration-systems-greensboro/well-water-treatment-systems-guilford-county/water-conditioners/
You will be shocked to know that more than 85% of American homes receive hard water.
However, you may feel that they are at a loss when confronted with a wide variety of water softener available these days.