Are you a San Antonio resident wondering whether you need a water softener? Well, you aren’t alone. This is a common question for homeowners in San Antonio. The answer is a big fat yes. Studies show that San Antonio has very hard water so chances are you’ll need a San Antonio water heater. But if you aren’t sure, you can have a company like Caliente Plumbing, Heating & Air perform an in-home evaluation of your water system.
Hard Water
Hard water contains many heavy metals that lead to rust stains, soap residue, and film, especially after cleaning. It just makes life difficult. When you have hard water, it can lead to problems in your home. What makes water hard? When water is in the ground it can collect minerals like magnesium and calcium as it flows underground. Enough of these minerals will make hard water. Hard water doesn’t pose any threat to you physically, but the same cannot be said about your home.
Effects Of Hard Water
When the hard water moves through the pipes in your home plumbing system, the minerals in that water can combine with heat. The result is scale and buildup that can cause problems wherever the water goes. This includes the pipes, fixtures, and water-using appliances in your home. Your San Antonio water softener will prevent these issues from happening.
Recognizing Hard Water
San Antonio is located in one of the highest hard water areas in the entire country. If you live in the San Antonio area, you likely have hard water. To help you know for sure, here are a few signs to look for.
- Your faucets have watermarks even after they have been cleaned.
- The colors of your clothes fade faster than they should be.
- Low water pressure.
- Water has a strange odor or taste.
- You feel dry and/or itchy after a shower.
- There is lime or chalk buildup in your sinks or showers.
- Appliances that wear out sooner than they should.
- Watermarks and/or residue on your dishes.
If these signs sound familiar, you should consider investing in a San Antonio water softener.
What Is Ion Exchange?
Ion exchange is the process a water softener uses to eliminate hard water. This process eliminates minerals like calcium and magnesium that cause the water to be hard. Here’s how. Basically, when hard water enters the water softener tank, it goes through resin beads that are charged with a sodium ion. These resin beads have a negative charge, while the calcium and magnesium both have a positive charge. The negative charge in the minerals is attracted to the positive charge inside the resin beads. When the water moves through the resin, the beads pull the mineral ions out of the water. The sodium ion is released. And just like that, your hard water becomes soft!
Benefits Of A San Antonio Water Softener
A water softener is designed to treat and eliminate hard water. Are you wondering if that will be worth it for your home? Here are a few benefits of investing in a water softener.
Saving Money
With a water softener that works to effectively eliminate your hard water, you will save a lot of money over time. It might even end up paying for itself. Here are several ways that your San Antonio water softener can save you money.
- Cleaning supplies — When your home is running on soft water, your soap and detergent will do a better job for you. This is because they’ll dissolve better. This allows for more soap suds and a better lather when you are cleaning clothes, dishes, or even yourself. When you are running on hard water, it may require twice the amount to get the same level of cleanliness.
- Bills — Eliminating hard water from flowing through your pipes can also eliminate or reduce many bills that may be coming down the road. This is caused by the mineral buildups that are left in your pipes. It will take more energy to get the water pumping through your system. It will take more energy to keep your water hot or cold. Your gas or electric bill can be lower when your water softener reduces the energy used in your home.
Less Time Cleaning
When there is hard water in your home, you’ll probably spend a lot more time cleaning that you want to. You don’t want to be re-washing clothes or dishes right? You don’t want to be spending your time cleaning your showers and sinks either. Eliminating the need to all of this extra cleaning is one of the best benefits you will receive from your water softener.
Neat And Clean Clothes
Hard water is not good for your clothes. Washing them in hard water with minerals can leave deposits on the material that will make your colors fade away. It also gets into the fabric and makes effective cleaning impossible. On the other hand, soft water dissolves better for better cleaning. This means that not only can you get your clothes clean with less detergent and fabric softener, but they will stay looking new and feeling soft for much longer.
Better Showers
There is a significant difference between a shower in hard water and a shower in soft water. Taking a shower (or bath) should be something that you can look forward to. When you are able to have soft water to relax, loosen up your tight muscles, get clean, and just unwind at the end of the day it feels great.
Appliances
Appliances are major investments that are crucial to having a comfortable home. Many of these home appliances use water. And they can be negatively impacted by hard water. This goes for your dishwasher, washing machine, and all the rest that operate with water. These hard water minerals can leave scale inside your appliances that will not only make them lose operating efficiency, but also shorten the lifespan. Not many of us have the luxury to replace appliances frequently so a water softener is a big deal to avoid having to replace your appliances more often than is necessary.
Your Plumbing
In addition to the appliances in your home, your plumbing system needs soft water. This will go a long way towards eliminating the clogging of pipes and corrosion of the parts of your plumbing system. When you install a water softener, it will extend the life of your plumbing system.
In Conclusion
There is a reason why so many San Antonio residents have installed water softeners. It makes a major difference! Contact your water softener specialists so you can experience the difference for yourself.