Whole House Water Solutions

Water Softeners

Are you reliant on bottled water? Have you ever tasted your drinking water at home? Usually, your tap water is not as clean as you think and leads to bad tasting hard water (hardness minerals and contaminants) from your local water supply. Water quality can vary significantly from region to region and some areas may benefit more than others from water filtration systems. Water hardness is based on the concentration of hard minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and manganese in the water. “Soft water” has a very low concentration of hard minerals, while “very hard water” has a relatively high concentration of hard minerals. Hard water build-up and water spots (caused by calcium, magnesium, and other minerals) are common in homes without a water treatment system. Depending on your level of water usage, hard water can lead to plumbing issues in your house. Using hard water can cause mineral buildup inside of your water-using appliances which can lead to long-term damage.

As you look around your home lookout for these common signs of hard water: mineral-like crust or sediment built up around the showerhead or faucet, water spots on dishes after washing them, stiff or gray-stained clothing after running it through laundry, and dry irritated skin after showering.

However, the most reliable way to determine whether or not your home has hard water is to bring a water sample to determine whether or not your home has hard water is to Contact Rayne Water and have a Water Treatment Specialist perform a free water test.

How Do Water Softener Systems Work?

Acting as a water filter, water softening systems “soften” the hard water by removing mineral ions, such as manganese or calcium, through a process named ion exchange. This water filtration process consists of exchanging positively charged mineral ions in the hard water with positively charged ions, leaving the softened water free of mineral ions. There are two tanks in a water softener system that facilitate this ion exchange, the resin tank (aka mineral tank) and the brine softener tank. The resin tank does the bulk of the water softening as the sodium ions from the brine solution exchange places with the mineral ions (water hardness ions). Ion exchange resin beads and water combine resulting in the hardness minerals attaching to the beads. Once all of the resin beads have been covered in hardness minerals, they are flushed out of the tank using either potassium chloride or sodium chloride. The water exiting the resin tank contains a very small number of sodium ions, but no longer contains high levels of hard mineral ions. Through the control valve, the brine tank then recharges the resin tank through a flushing process where the resin tank is rinsed with salt water from the brine tank. The salt water saturates the resin bead, removing any stuck mineral ions and replacing them with a sodium ion. The dissolved minerals are then flushed and the system is ready to soften water again.

Benefits of Soft Water

There are many benefits of installing a water softener system in your home. 

• Improved Plumbing – The minerals in hard water can cause a buildup while they travel through the pipes & plumbing fixtures of your home. This buildup can interrupt your water flow by clogging the pipes, causing damage to your plumbing. By softening your water, you can prevent this damage and a call to your plumber. 
• Less Soap & Detergent – Soft water makes your dish soap and detergent more effective as it penetrates and dissolves better than hard water. This helps save you money by using lesser amounts of your cleaning solutions. 
• Cleaner Dishes – Hard water can leave hard water stains on your plates and cutlery. By using soft, filtered water instead, you can start to appreciate cleaner, spotless dishes and utensils. 
• Cleaner Appliances and Home- If you have hard water, you are probably familiar with the chalky lime and soap scum mineral deposits that build up on the walls of your showers, sinks, and faucets. Not only will using soft, clean water eliminate this build up on each appliance, but you won’t have to spend any more of your time cleaning them.
• High-Quality Drinking Water – Stop wasting money on bottled water! If you want better tasting drinking water in your home, you may want to consider a reverse osmosis system paired with a water softener in your home’s water treatment system.

Which Kind of Water Softener is Right for Me?

Does the softened water go into my whole home including the water heater? What size water softener do I need? Do I go with a “salt-free” or “salt-based water softener” (aka the commonly known water softener)?

• Salt-free water softeners, a chemical-free water filter system, use no softener salt, potassium, or chemicals. As a water conditioner, salt-free softeners do not actually “soften” the water but rather “condition” it, transforming the water making them unable to stick to surfaces.
• On the other hand, salt-based water softeners are equipped with resin beds, which attract hard water minerals and replace them with sodium ions. When sodium, such as water softener salt, is introduced into the softening system, the hard minerals are displaced trapping them in the resin bed.

Deciphering the difference between the multitude of water softening options is not easy, from high to low flow rate and single to double tank, we’re here to help. Depending on your level of water usage or hardness level, we may recommend different solutions. You can learn more about water softeners, such as reverse osmosis systems, and their benefits HERE.

Our experts are here to help you with any water softener installation or water softener repair. We also provide commercial water softener and reverse osmosis services! Contact us and learn more about a free trial today!