Water softeners have been common in homes for decades, but is the benefit worth the investment and maintenance? Boise, ID is known for fairly hard water, even coming from the municipal treatment system. Consider these five reasons why your home and family may benefit from a water softener.
Healthier Skin and Hair
Hard water is filled with minerals it picks up from the ground. These minerals could include iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and even zinc.
While your body needs all these minerals to work properly, it needs to obtain them through ingestion. Unfortunately, these minerals don’t do your skin and hair any favors. Rather, they dry them out, leaving them damaged and cracked.
By removing many of these minerals, a water softener prevents damage to your body. The result is not only healthier skin and hair, but also less money spent out of pocket for moisturizers and other products to counteract the effects of the minerals.
Easier on Your Clothes and Linens
Minerals also have a deteriorating effect on your clothes and linens. As you run them through the wash, the minerals build up, making your clothes look dingy. The minerals also make your clothes feel stiffer, often causing irritation.
When you’re dealing with minerals, no amount of fabric softener will keep your clothes soft. You can extend the life and comfort of your clothes simply by removing the minerals from the water.
Better Tasting Water
The various particles contained in water change its taste. Some people prefer the earthy taste of hard water, but most people prefer more neutral-tasting water. A water softener removes the minerals that give water that earthy taste.
If the taste you don’t like is from the chloramine and chemicals used to treat municipal water, you’ll need something in addition to a water softener. A water filter, such as a reverse osmosis filter, will help give you the safest and best-tasting water.
Less Wear on Your Appliances and Plumbing
The minerals in hard water are also incredibly damaging to your water appliances and plumbing. The minerals build up slowly through your pipes, eventually restricting the water flow in both supply and drain lines.
Beyond that, the minerals can build up in your appliances and slowly eat through their metal and seals. This leads to repairs and premature failing of appliances like your washing machine and dishwasher. It also means you’ll need to replace faucets and knobs more often.
Reduced Water Heating Costs
Minerals like calcium don’t conduct heat well. When your water has a high concentration of these minerals, they slow the heating process and cause it to cool more quickly. This drives up the utility costs of heating your water, not to mention causing your water heater to fail prematurely.
Why wait to get better water for your Boise area home? Call our expert plumbers at Viking Plumbing, Inc. today to schedule your water softener consultation.