4 Myths About Your Water Softener

Have a home water softener? Maybe you are considering getting a water softener but don’t know much about it. A water softener is an appliance that removes minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, from your drinking water. There are beads in the water softener tap that traps the minerals and exchanges them with sodium or potassium. Once the beads are full of minerals, a highly concentrated salt or potassium solution removes the minerals from the beads. With more people looking into water softeners for their homes, many water softener myths have begun to circulate around the internet. KCA Services is here to help! We’re here to debunk some of these myths about water softeners.

4 Myths About Water Softeners

Softened Water is Healthier!

A lot of people tend to think that drinking softened water in place of hard water is healthier. But, that’s not the case. Hard water is not a health hazard. In fact, that calcium and magnesium found in hard water can contribute to the body’s natural needed consumption of those minerals. While some may prefer the taste of softened water, it is not more or less healthy than hard water. Furthermore, water softeners do not remove any harmful bacteria or viruses from the water.

A water softener removes hardness particles through the process of ion exchange. The beads are negatively charged and contain sodium ions. As the water passes through the beads, the beads prefer the hardness particles to the softer particles of sodium. Those sodium ions pass through the softener outlet and delivering softer water.

This then creates the myth that softened water contains so much sodium that it isn’t healthy to consume. But, that’s also not true. The amount of sodium found in softened water is such a small amount salt, it wouldn’t affect your diet at all.

Water Softeners Are Too Expensive!

Water softeners are an investment. But the advancement in technology has made water softeners way more affordable. They also keep your water-using appliances running efficiently and can increase their lifespans.

This leads to another myth about water softeners. There is a myth that water softeners will increase your electric bill. The water softener only uses a large amount of electricity to regenerate every five to 10 days. Every other time the water is flowing the system with no need for electricity. So no, water softeners don’t use a lot of energy so they shouldn’t make a big impact on your next electricity bill.

If You Use City Water, You Don’t Need A Water Softener

For the most part, cities do a good job of treating any contaminants. But there are still many Americans with some form of hard water. Hard water can hurt your plumbing and water appliances by causing scaling and buildup. Hard water can reduce the lifespan of these important appliances.

If you are in Boerne, Texas, and looking for quality plumbing services, schedule with us at KCA Services today!

Water Softeners Waste A Lot Of Water

Water softeners now are very efficient when it comes to water usage. While in their earlier days, this myth might have been true, it isn’t true anymore. New valve controls automate the regeneration process on your water usage. This means the system uses as little water as possible by not regenerating needlessly.