Using a water softener can change your life forever. Although it may appear like luxury spending at first, once you start to see it's life-changing benefits, you will find it hard to go back. It is simply one of the best investments you can make to ensure long-term money and energy savings.
What is 'hard' water and 'soft' water?
When water is referred to as being 'hard' it simply means that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. The minerals that are particularly applicable here are calcium and magnesium. The water becomes harder when more calcium and magnesium dissolves. Whenever there is a significant amount of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water. Water softening is used to remove the ions that cause the water to be hard, which usually involve calcium and magnesium ions.
Reduction in carbon emissions
Water softeners are not only great for the home, but they are also environmentally friendly, helping to reduce carbon emissions by removing the build up of scale that forms insides pipes and heating systems. The improvement rate was 5.6% according to some tests carried out by the government.
Using water softeners in your home will mean that you will need to invest less in soaps and cleaning products. Your appliances around the house will run a lot smoother as water softeners help increase the life-span of the appliances. You will also save money on visits by service engineers to maintain and repair the appliances from the damages of limescale.
Some commentators have questioned the validity of the supposed benefits of using water softeners. They claim that they are time-wasters because they use water to regenerate. However many have claimed that this is simply not true. The water softener regenerates the effectiveness of the resin used to soften the water by washing it with brine, usually once a day.
Since it came into place around a 100 years ago, the industry has worked on improving its ability to operate on less water usage. Most of the contemporary water softeners meet the Building Research Establishment's (BRE) Code for Sustainable Homes specification for acceptable performance, which is for regeneration to use no more than 4% of the total amount of softened water the softener produces.
Improvement in lifestyle
Once you begin using water softeners in your home, you will notice a dramatic difference in your general lifestyle. For instance, your shower will not block anymore and your sinks are likely to stay cleaner for longer periods of time. You will notice a reduction in scale, which will keep your boiler running efficiently. Furthermore, your overall hours spent in cleaning will be dramatically cut down as your shower cubicle will stay clean for weeks and need limited polishing up.
Vast savings on household cleaning products
Spending large amount of money on cleaning products such as such as scale removers, shower cleaners, and floor cleaners will be a thing of the past once you have a water softener installed. The most substantial, but perhaps less obvious savings you will make will be on your hot water heating system by removing its scale.
Once you have installed a water softener, you will wonder why you had never done it before. Not only is it good economically and environmentally, but once you have enjoyed the luxury of washing and showering in scum free water, you will find it hard to go back.
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about boiler, central heating, Hull plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
tweet this!