Why is a water conditioner important for your home or business? What are hard water and soft water? Is hard water bad for you? What are the benefits of soft water? Let’s answer all these questions and discuss why you need a water conditioner.

What Is Hard Water?

Hard water is tap water that has high levels of calcium and magnesium. The more of these minerals water has, the “harder” it is. You can’t tell a water’s hardness just by looking at it. Here are some signs that your home or business has hard water:

• Spots on glasses or silverware after they’ve been through the dishwasher. The spots are a residue of calcium carbonate.
• Filmy feeling on your skin after washing your hands or taking a shower. Soap reacts with calcium to create soap scum, making it hard to feel clean.
• Low water pressure. Calcium and magnesium can build up in your water pipes and reduce the water pressure.
• Mineral stains on clothing after being washed. The harshness of hard water can cause clothes to wear out faster.

What Is Soft Water?

Soft water has higher levels of sodium (salt). Signs that your home has soft water, usually after going through a water conditioning system, include:

• Good water pressure
• Cleaner clothes with less wear and tear
• Healthy lather when cleaning yourself, your clothes, or your dishes
• Slight, often unnoticeable, salty taste to water

Is Hard Water Bad For You?

While drinking hard water isn’t known to cause any health problems, it can cause hair and skin problems if you bathe or shower with it.

Hard water can cause dry hair and skin, itching, dandruff, and a lowered pH balance, which can make it harder for your skin to fight off infections.

Is Soft Water Bad for You?

Soft water has many benefits for your skin, hair, clothes, and dishes. The only potentially bad thing about soft water is that it may increase the blood pressure in some people with hypertension.

If a member of your home or office has high blood pressure, they may want to drink bottled water, so everybody can experience the many other benefits of soft water.

What Is a Water Conditioner, and Why Do I Need One?

A water conditioner, also known as a water-softening system, replaces the calcium and magnesium in your home’s water with sodium. It works by running water through a resin that’s coated in positively charged sodium ions, which forces sodium to replace calcium and magnesium.

Water conditioners need regular maintenance, and the sodium pellets must be replaced from time to time. Failing to maintain a water-softening system can lead to the growth of bacteria and fungi, so it’s not something you want to neglect.

In short, a water conditioner helps you, your family, your dishes, and your clothes feel cleaner. It may improve your hair and skin if they are dry and can extend the lifespan of your clothing.

To learn more, contact us today!