Salt Free Water Softeners

There are many different ways that households get the water that comes out of their taps. Some are lucky enough to live off their own rainwater tanks, and this is the ideal situation. For the rest of us, we are either reliant on town water or underground reservoirs. Quite often the quality of the water that comes out of our tanks is questionable, and there have been increased reports of people getting sick from drinking from the main water supply. 

One area that people have concerns with when it comes to the water in their home, is it's hardness. Now, for the layman, the term "hard water" can seem a bit silly. After all, nothing is softer than water, is it? The term actually refers to the number of minerals the water holds. See, what happens is that the water travels underground, and as it travels, it passes through rock formations. As it runs past these rocks, it will dissolve parts of these rocks, creating mineral deposits within the water. The mineral deposits for the most part are alcium and magnesium. This residue travels with the water and into our plumbing systems.

Once it enters out property, the water ends up in all sorts of places. It's first stop is the pipes leading into our house. Some of it will then be rerouted into our hot water systems, where it will sit still for quite a while. Some of it also ends up in our kettle when we make a coffee, some will go to our washing machine, our toilet, our dishwasher, and many other places we use water in the home. Over time, the mineral residue that resides in this water can cause serious damage to these appliances, and indeed to the pipes themselves. What's more, the minerals make the water dirty, and attempts to wash clothes and linen in this water are met with frutration, as it seems to get more and more difficult to get anything clean. This causes us to use more detergents and soaps, costing us more money.

Technology has come up with a solution for softening this hard water. It is done via a tank that has resin beads inside it. The resin attracts the mineral deposits in the water, and they attach themselves to the beads, leaving the water cleaner, softer and safer. The problem with this method is that these tanks need to be flushed out on a regular basis, as they themselves start to build up with these mineral deposits. The tanks are flushed out using a concentrated solutions of salt brine, which is not a good thing to be flushing into our waterways on such a large scale. And when I say large scale, I mean it. The average household that has one of these water softeners will flush more than 200 kilos of salt down the drain a year. With thousands of households using these water softeners, this adds up to a whole lot of salt.

The Salt Free Water Softener To The Rescue!

Once again, technology has come to the rescue with salt free water softeners. These units use a new type of nano technology that works differently than the traditional water softeners. Basically, the will take the mineral residue that is in the water, and convert it into crystals. These crystals do not attach themselves to our pipes and washing appliances, but simply float along with the water. If you are considering purchasing a salt free water softener, it is important to get your water tested first by a qualified professional. The hardness of your water is measured in "grains per gallon", and getting this measurement will help you in your decision on which type of softener to purchase. Another thing that will determine what you need is the size of your household. Obviously, if you have a family of six, you are going to need a bigger system than if you are a couple living alone. As with any purchase, make sure the softener is covered by warranty, and that you are buying it from a reputable retailer.

Once you have purchased your water softener, I would recommend that you get it installed by a professional plumber. It is a little tricky to install, but not impossible. The benefit of having a plumber install the system for you is that if anything goes wrong during installation, it is up to the plumber to fix it or replace any parts that may have broken. If you decide to do it yourself, you have nothing to fall back on. Once you have your system installed, be careful to reduce the amount of detergents and soap that you use. Your water should be much cleaner now, so you won't have to use anywhere near as much to get your clothes clean.