How Do Water Filters Work?

Posted November 6, 2019 by Rayne Water

Throughout your life, you probably have had filtered water. You may even be using a house water filter in your home right now. Many people living in the United States have turned to water filtration as a means of removing contaminants from their tap water. Despite the widespread use of water filtration, many of us can’t fully answer the question, “how do water filters work?”.

Gaining a better understanding of do water filters work and how do water filters work can help you and your family make an informed decision about whether investing in a water filtration system is right for you. There are a variety of different water filtration systems on the market, each with its own separate advantages. What is a water filter and how will it remove those toxic, harmful substances that may be in your drinking water? Taken as a whole, residential water filtration systems offer a cost-effective method of removing the potentially harmful contaminants that are in your tap water.

Why Filter Water?

Tap water undergoes a series of treatments before it arrives at your faucet at your house. However, that treatment doesn’t capture every contaminant that may be harmful. Even the chemicals used in the treatment itself, like chlorine and bromine, can react with other chemicals and form dangerous substances that are toxic to our organs and the central nervous system.

Although there are regulations dictating what constitutes safe drinking water, notably among these the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, all too often the water coming out of our tap contains harmful levels of contaminants that violate those very standards. The challenge isn’t simply in understanding how to filter your water so that it is safe drinking water, it is also in understanding whether or not your water is actually contaminated with harmful bacteria. Inadequate reporting by water agencies can obscure the true level of contaminants that leave your tap water and enter your body.

Violations of tap water safety regulations abound in the news. Most people immediately think of Flint, Michigan which had dangerously high levels of harmful lead contamination in their tap water in 2015, but there are many other, smaller stories that continue to occur around the country. A report by the Environmental Working Group found that chemical contaminants were making it into the water supply for roughly 7.5 million Californians in 2019.

Here are a few of the most common contaminants found in tap water in the United States:

Microbes – Bacteria and viruses are most often found in untreated water, but can also be found in treated water. Typically, microbes are treated by adding chlorine to tap water. Microbes commonly found in water include bacteria like salmonella, Legionella bacteria which causes Legionnaires disease, as well as protozoans and viruses.
Disinfectants – Municipal water suppliers use chemical disinfectants to treat water for microbes. The most common of these disinfectants are chlorine and bromine. While treatment of public water with disinfectants like chlorine has been highly effective at reducing the rates of infection to microbe-driven illnesses like cholera, these disinfectants can transform into dangerous by-products when they react with other molecules in the water.
Chemicals – Industrial chemicals are increasingly being found in our municipal water supplies. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl, substances are among the most common of these chemicals. PFAS resist natural degradation in the environment, allowing them to make their way into our water source Found in nonstick coatings and firefighting foams, research has linked PFAS to increased risk of certain types of cancer, grown deficits, fertility problems, and learning disorders.
Arsenic – Arsenic is a naturally occurring heavy metal. Although it is most often found in water from private wells, arsenic can also enter the groundwater supply from agriculture and mining. Recent estimates found that roughly 2 million people in the United States are exposed to levels of arsenic higher than the EPA limits.
Nitrates – Nitrates, found in fertilizers, make their way to your tap through runoff from farms and lawns.
Lead – Lead found in tap water is usually leached from older lead pipes. Many municipal water suppliers adjust their treatment to minimize the amount of leaching that occurs from lead pipes in their delivery systems, but these methods aren’t always effective.

How Water Filters Work?

There are different types of water filtration systems. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Some systems combine multiple methods of water filtration, which are known as hybrid multi-media systems. For example, some reverse osmosis systems also use an activated carbon filter, combining two of the most popular filtration methods. Gaining a better sense of the most common water filtration methods will help you understand how does water filters work.

Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are one of the most effective methods of reducing the amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) from drinking water. Reverse osmosis systems use pressure to force water molecules through a specialized membrane. The membrane in RO systems has very small pores that allow water molecules through, but not larger molecules.

The advantage of an RO system is that it removes nearly all contaminants in water. They are great at removing nitrates, heavy metals such as copper, lead and arsenic, as well as some organic chemicals and fluoride, which is commonly added to water in municipal water supplies. RO systems also tend to be very small, so they can be easily installed under a sink to provide clean tap water.

Activated Carbon

Activated carbon systems are the most common house water filters available. Activated carbon systems utilize a form of charcoal that has been treated with oxygen. The carbon in the system is very porous, giving it a large internal surface area. As contaminated water moves through the activated carbon filter it attracts chemical impurities through the process of adsorption.

On its own, activated carbon filters are great at removing the chemicals used in water purification, including chlorine and bromine, pesticides, and industrial solvents. Standard activated carbon filters won’t attract other chemicals like nitrates,fluoride and microbes.

Ion-Exchange

These systems use a process known as ion-exchange to remove mineral ions from hard water. Hard water is water with relatively high mineral content. Those minerals are left behind on surfaces that the water comes in contact with in the form of limescale. The minerals in hard water can also form soap scum, as well as dry out your skin and hair.

In an ion-exchange unit, water enters a tank that contains resin beads. These resin beads have a sodium ion attached to them. When hard water passes over the resin beads, the mineral ions separate from the water molecule and attach to the resin beads, displacing the sodium ion into the water. The resulting water is considered “soft” because it now has low mineral content.

Ion-exchange units are highly effective at removing mineral ions from water, as well as heavy metals like lead and arsenic. These systems are less effective at reducing other contaminants and bacteria that might be contained in water. This is why many people choose to use them in conjunction with an additional filtration system, such as an RO system installed under their sink to provide drinking water.

Closing Thoughts

Water filtration systems remove contaminants from water. There are three common methods through which residential water filters remove contaminants. The first is reverse-osmosis, a process that involves forcing contaminated water through a membrane containing very small pores under high pressure. As the water passes through the membrane, contaminants are left behind. Reverse osmosis systems are highly effective at removing contaminant existence, but they generally aren’t used for whole-house water filtration, and they may not be effective at removing certain types of impurities.

Activated carbon filters are the most common filtration method used in a residential setting. These filters contain a form of charcoal that has been treated with oxygen, giving the activated carbon a large surface area through which it can capture contaminants in a process known as adsorption. Activated carbon filters are great at removing carbon-based impurities, as well as things like chlorine and chloramine, which are used in water treatment facilities to address microbial contamination. However, activated carbon filters won’t remove everything, including nitrates, fluoride, and microbes.

The third filtration method is known as ion-exchange and is a process for removing the heavy metals and mineral ions that contribute to water hardness. Ion-exchange units contain resin beads that remove mineral ions from hard water and replace them with sodium. Periodically these systems must be refreshed. While ion-exchange systems are effective water softeners, they don’t necessarily address other contaminants that you may want to remove.

Due to the limitations of each filtration method, many residential water filtration systems utilize more than one method to remove contaminants. For example, the Rayne Pure Plus system contains both a reverse-osmosis and activated carbon filter. This allows the reverse osmosis component to reduce the number of total dissolved solids in the drinking tap water, while the carbon filter removes chlorine, chloramines, as well as giving your drinking tap water a fresh taste.

To find the water filtration system that is right for your home and provides you with safe drinking water, contact our water specialists at Rayne Water today. Our knowledgeable staff can guide you through the many house water filters available and find the water filtration system that is right for your home and needs.

Sources

Hamers, Laurel. “Drinkability.” Science News 194, no. 10 (November 24, 2018): 18.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/us/tapwater-drinking-water-study.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/us/pfas-california-contamination-trnd/index.html
https://www.ewg.org/research/toxic-forever-chemicals-detected-drinking-water-supplies-across-california#table
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/howwaterfilterswork.html
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm

Home Improvements Ideas

Posted November 5, 2019 by Rayne Water

If you’re looking for inspiration for home improvement ideas, we can help! Home improvement remodeling projects can be used to increase curb appeal, increase efficiency, and renovate dated appliances or looks.

Whether you are looking for which home improvements add value to your home, or you are looking to overhaul major mechanical appliances for long-term occupancy, home improvement projects are a great way to breathe new life into your home.

Increase Your Efficiency

Today’s appliances are more efficient than ever. If you are looking to renovate your house, one of the first places to focus your efforts can be replacing older appliances with newer, energy-efficient appliances.

Replacing an aging water heater or heating or air-conditioning unit can result in a big boost to efficiency. Water heating represents an average of 16% of a home’s energy costs, so updating an older unit with a newer, energy-efficient model can result in reduced energy costs on your utility bill. Not only that, but you’ll likely see an improvement in performance when you make an investment in a newer model.

If you are replacing systems like your heating or air-conditioning unit, you might also want to explore swapping out your windows for more energy-efficient windows. Replacing your current windows with poor insulation with Energy Star rated windows can reduce your electricity bill by up to 15%. One thing to note is that this is a fairly large, costly project that is often a better investment if you plan on living in the house for a long period of time.

Refresh Your Landscaping

One of the most effective maintenance projects to give your home a totally new look is by redoing your landscaping. Landscaping is one of the areas that homeowners look to when they want to boost the value of their home prior to selling.

While you can always get your landscaping done professionally, you should consider doing it yourself. As far as DIY home improvement ideas, few are as accessible as landscaping and most won’t have as big of an impact on your home’s resale value.

If you are planning on reselling your house soon, consider transitioning to vegetation that is hardy and low-maintenance. If you live in an arid region, drought-tolerant landscaping can be attractive to ecologically conscious homebuyers. Don’t forget to also update your irrigation and sprinkler systems. Integrating smart technology into your irrigation system can be beneficial, not only because it gives greater control over how you water your plants, but also because it is an attractive option for younger technologically-integrated prospective buyers. With a modern irrigation system, you’ll lose less water to evaporation, reducing your monthly water bill.

Make it Easier to Maintain

Whether you are planning on selling or living in your home, making it easier to maintain can be beneficial. Potential homebuyers are less likely to shy away from a purchase if their fears about the failure of a major mechanical system or structural component of a house are alleviated. If you are planning on living in your home for a few years, upgrades that address high-maintenance issues around your house will give you more free time and reduce expenses over time.

Replacing your carpeting with wood flooring can be a great way to reduce your cleaning time throughout the week and improve your home’s resale value. Hardwood floors are more resilient and easier to clean than carpeting. Hardwood floors offer a clean, classic look to a living space that is in high demand among today’s prospective buyers.

You can also consider reducing your normal maintenance costs by transitioning to soft water throughout your house. Water softening appliances for your whole house are a great way to reduce maintenance and increase the value of your home. Water softening systems are installed at the water line coming into your house, and soften the water before it is piped throughout your home.

If you aren’t familiar with the impacts of hard water, you may be surprised by how much time is spent combating its effects. The minerals in hard water are deposited on the surfaces and fixtures they come into contact with in the form of limescale. When hard water comes into contact with soap it forms soap scum, an insoluble precipitate that is difficult to clean and will quickly return.

An added benefit of a water softening system is that it will improve the longevity of your appliances. In particular, your water heater, dishwasher, and washing machine won’t be subject to the impact of mineral deposits which can reduce their efficiency and lifespan. Adding a water softening system is one of many examples of what home improvements are tax deductible.

Improve Your Quality of Life

Internet-connected devices are all around us, and our home is no different. There has been an explosion of smart devices for your home that can be used to reduce your utility bills and give you greater control over your home’s systems.

If you want to bring your home’s systems online, you’ll most likely want to start with your thermostats and lighting. Transitioning to smart systems in these two areas can give you granular control over your home’s heating and lighting, while also reducing your energy bill. Other popular areas for smart technology include doorbells, security cameras, locks, and fire and carbon monoxide alarms.

With all of those connected devices, you’ll also want to beef up your home’s wireless internet system. If you’re still relying on a single wireless router placed somewhere near your cable modem, you might want to explore installing a wireless mesh network throughout your house. Mesh networks, such as Google Wifi or Netgear Orbi, utilize multiple access points throughout your house to give you full-field wireless coverage. You’ll no longer have dead zones without internet access. With wireless mesh technology, you can even push your wireless network outside of your home, which can be beneficial if you find yourself hosting parties in your backyard.

If you are looking for home improvement ideas DIY, one of the easiest places to start is by replacing legacy technology with smart devices. Most of these projects, including updating your wireless network, can be done yourself with minimal tools or technical knowledge. These types of upgrades will also boost the appeal of your home to technologically savvy home buyers if you are planning to sell.

Remodel Your Bathroom or Kitchen

Bathroom or kitchen remodels are one of the best ways to refresh the look and feel of your home. An added benefit of these projects is that they are also one of the best ways to boost the value of your home.

Many first-time homebuyers find themselves in older homes that require a refresh but aren’t sure where to start. Replacing outdated fixtures and appliances can improve your efficiency and give you a clean, modern look. It’s a good idea to get matching appliances for your kitchen, as this will improve the value of your home. Modern appliances are also more efficient and effective than the older appliances they replace, so you’ll likely see a reduction in your utility expenses.

An easy way to improve your quality of life, boost your home’s appeal to buyers, and reduce your monthly expenses is to install a reverse osmosis system under your sink. If you drink bottled water or have a water delivery service, filtering your water can be much more cost-effective. Reverse-osmosis systems are small in size, making them ideal for installation under a kitchen sink. At the same time, these systems are capable of filtering out harmful substances and unwanted solids from your drinking water.

Dated bathrooms are also a great area for home improvement. Replacing your toilet, showerheads, faucets, and sinks can refresh the look of your house even if you don’t do a full bathroom remodel. For example, adding a soft water system to your home can greatly increase the feel of the water coming from your faucets. Additionally, If you are getting older or have aging in-laws living with you, swapping to a walk-in shower with handrails can provide a big boost to the safety and accessibility of your bathroom for years to come.

Closing Thoughts

There are a variety of ways to improve your home, and our home improvement ideas 2019 demonstrate that no matter what your budget is there are projects you can take on that improve your quality of life, reduce maintenance, and increase the efficiency of your home. Large projects, such as renovating your kitchen or bathroom can breathe new life into a dated look and boost the resale value of your home. If your kitchen and bathroom are up-to-date, turn your attention outward and consider refreshing your landscaping. Transitioning to drought-tolerant plants and modern irrigation systems can reduce maintenance and water costs, while also boosting curb appeal and attracting environmentally-conscious home buyers.

Smaller projects, such as installing smart integrated technology throughout your house can often be accomplished alone without any specialized technical knowledge. Smart thermostats and lighting will give you greater control over your home and improve your home’s efficiency. Installing a wireless mesh network in your house can reduce gaps in your wireless coverage and push your wireless network outward to accommodate smart devices such as security cameras.

If you are looking to boost your home’s efficiency, you’ll want to consider swapping to Energy-Star rated windows and updating dated systems such as your heating or air-conditioning. These projects can represent a large investment, but they can reduce your ongoing expenses substantially. This usually makes them a better investment for homeowners who plan to stay in their home for years to come.

Lastly, if you are looking to improve your quality of life, transitioning to soft water or installing a water filtration system can be an excellent way to boost your home’s value, reduce ongoing maintenance, and make your home more energy-efficient. Water softening systems reduce the impact caused by hard water around the interior of your house, including on fixtures and surfaces in your bathroom and kitchen. Installing a reverse-osmosis system under your sink can be a smart way to reduce monthly expenses on drinking water and boost your home’s appeal to prospective buyers down the road.

To learn more about the benefits of water filtration and softening systems, please contact Rayne Water today.

Sources

Do Water Filters Work?

Posted November 5, 2019 by Rayne Water

Do water filters work? The short answer is yes! Water filters are highly effective at filtering contaminated water. The effectiveness of the water filter depends on what contaminants are in the water and what type of filtration method is used. Gaining a better understanding of what types of contaminants water filtration systems are able to remove will help illuminate the real-world effectiveness of your water filtering system.

What is in Your Drinking Water?

Tap water may contain contaminants that you may not want to consume, which is why many people turn to water filtration systems. The water coming from your tap may contain levels of impurities that violate long-standing regulations put forth in the 1974 Safe Drinking Act. Not all tap water in the United States is poor quality containing harmful contaminants, but understanding if yours is and how to treat it is important.

To illustrate this, a recent study by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that the drinking water for 7.5 million California residents contained dangerous, harmful levels of fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS. PFAS are used in firefighting foams, nonstick coatings, and food packaging.

The study found that roughly 40% of the municipal water systems tested had harmful levels of PFAS that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) thresholds for safe exposure. PFAS in even low doses has been linked to a number of negative health impacts, including liver and thyroid disease and increased risk of certain cancers.

It isn’t uncommon for similar violations to occur for other contaminant substances. The most notable recent drinking water crisis involved extremely elevated levels of lead in Flint, Michigan. Lead and other heavy metals are dangerous contaminants that can leach into drinking water from old pipes used in aging water delivery infrastructure.

Common contaminants found in drinking water include:

Bacteria and viruses such as cholera, typhoid, salmonella, coliforms, and Legionella.
Disinfectants used in water treatment, such as chlorine and bromine.
Industrial chemicals like PFAS.
Heavy metals like arsenic and lead.
Nitrates from farm and lawn runoff.

What do Water Filters Remove?

Different types of filtration systems remove different types of contaminants. Because of this, many water filtration systems combine different filtration methods to capture a broad array of contaminants and remove impurities. An outline of the strengths of each type of filtering method not only explains how do water filters work, but also how overlapping filtering methods can produce better results.

Let’s explore what is a water filter and the three most common water filtering methods for residential use.

Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis (RO) is one of the most effective methods to reduce harmful bacteria and produce safe drinking water In an RO system, contaminated water is forced through a membrane that contains very small pores. The pores are small enough to let through water molecules, but not large enough to let through other solids and particles.

Reverse osmosis systems are great at removing substances that are larger than a water molecule, including sodium, nitrates, and the mineral and metal ions like calcium carbonate and lead that contribute to water hardness. RO systems are less effective at removing any other contaminant whether that be bacteria or chlorine.

Activated Carbon

Activated carbon is a type of charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to increase the surface area of the carbon. As water passes through activated carbon water filters it attracts and traps any contaminant or impurity that exists.

Activated carbon water filters are effective at removing disinfectants, pesticides, and industrial solvents. This filtration method is also used to remove bad odors and taste from the water. Activated carbon water filters are less effective at removing the mineral ions that contribute to water hardness, sodium, fluorine, and nitrates.

Ion-Exchange

Ion-exchange systems are often referred to as water softening systems because they are used to remove the mineral ions and metals that contribute to water hardness. These systems contain a tank filled with negatively charged resin beads. As water flows over the resin beads, the mineral ions attached to the water molecule are attracted to the resin and replaced with sodium ions.

Ion-exchange systems are effective at removing mineral ions and heavy metals from water, but they won’t remove disinfectants used in water treatment, sediment, fluorine, or industrial chemicals and solvents.

Putting it all Together

Each water filtering method has different advantages, which is why many residential filtration systems combine multiple filtration methods into the same system. For example, the Rayne Clear reverse osmosis drinking water system combines a water reverse osmosis component with a sediment and carbon pre-filter and activated carbon post filter. This allows the system to capture a wider spectrum of total dissolved solids (TDS), contaminants, and bacteria than simply using activated carbon water filters or water reverse osmosis systems on their own.

Due to the fact that some filtering methods are effective at removing certain types of contaminants and not others, it is important to understand exactly what contaminants are in your water before you invest in a water filtering system for your home. This will allow you to choose the filtration system or combination of filtration systems that are right for you.

The first step towards achieving purified water that tastes better and contains fewer contaminants is to talk to a water filtration expert. Rayne Water has been conditioning water since 1928, so our helpful staff has the expertise to guide you towards the right system for your needs.

We have many SoCal locations and can provide water softeners in Bakersfield all the way down to San Diego! Give us a call today to schedule a free two month trial!

Sources

Hamers, Laurel. “Drinkability.” Science News 194, no. 10 (November 24, 2018): 18.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/us/tapwater-drinking-water-study.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/us/pfas-california-contamination-trnd/index.html
https://www.ewg.org/research/toxic-forever-chemicals-detected-drinking-water-supplies-across-california#table
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/howwaterfilterswork.html
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm
https://www.ewg.org/research/toxic-forever-chemicals-detected-drinking-water-supplies-across-california#table

Are Home Improvements Tax Deductible?

Posted November 8, 2019 by Rayne Water

If you are considering doing some home improvement projects, you might be wondering whether those projects are tax-deductible. Tax deductions can have a big impact on your overall tax burden, so gaining a firm understanding of what home improvements are tax deductible is sensible for all homeowners.

How Do Tax Deductions for Home Improvements Work?

Are home improvements tax deductible? Unfortunately, expenses made making home improvements aren’t deductible because they are considered personal expenses. This doesn’t mean that making improvements to your home can’t bring tax benefits. The tax benefits of home improvements are gained when you sell your home, rather than in the year that you spent money on the project.

To understand how this system works, you’ll need to understand the terminology used by the IRS to classify different types of home projects, as well as gain a sense of what your tax and cost basis is.

Improvement Versus Repair

One thing that gets confusing is whether a project around your house is an improvement or a repair. While these two terms have a similar meaning in an everyday sense, there are big differences when it comes to reaping your tax benefits.

Improvements can be primarily thought of as projects that add value to your home, although it can also be a project that adapts your primary residence to a new use or improves the life span of your home. Which home improvements add value to your home? Kitchen, plumbing, or bathroom upgrades are all considered home improvements because they increase the selling price of your home.

In contrast, a repair is something that may be necessary but doesn’t add value to your home with no profit as a result. There’s no comprehensive list of what qualifies as a repair, but some easy examples are replacing a drafty window, fixing a broken water heater, or repainting a room.

What is Your Tax Basis?

An important concept to understand regarding tax deductions for home improvements is your tax basis. Your tax basis is the amount of money that you subtract from your sale price to determine your profit.

If your tax basis for a house is $200,000 and the selling price for your house is $300,000, your profit will be $100,000.

Each home improvement you make as a homeowner can be added to the tax basis of your home. Let’s look at an example of how this works in action:

You bought your home in 2010 with a purchase price of $100,000. You installed a new roof for $20,000 and expanded your home’s livable space with a finished basement for $30,000. In 2019 you sold your house with a selling price of $225,000. Your tax basis when you sold your house is the $100,000 you initially paid for it, plus the $50,000 for the roof and the basement. To calculate your profit from the house, you would subtract your tax basis ($150,000) from your final selling price ($225,000), resulting in a final profit of $75,000. This final profit is the taxable portion of the sale for the IRS.

Weighing the Tax Benefit of Home Improvements

In the past, raising your tax basis through home improvements was one of the most effective ways to reduce your tax rate from selling your home. Recent changes to the law made this less necessary in some situations.

The current tax law stipulates that if you lived in your home for two of the five years before the real estate is sold, you won’t have to pay taxes on the first $250,000 of profit for single filers and $500,000 for married-filing jointly filers.

So, if you are a single filer and anticipate receiving less than $250,000 in profit off of your home sale, you likely won’t see a benefit from including expenses from home improvements in your tax basis. The same can be said for married filers if their profit from the sale is less than $500,000.

The tax benefits of home improvements are much more likely to be a factor if you have lived in your residence for a long time and home real estate sales have steadily risen in your area. In this case, it is conceivable that some portion of your profit would be subject to taxes and understanding if are home improvements tax deductible becomes much more important.

What Home Improvements Are Tax-Deductible When Selling?

Here we’ll provide a list of what home improvements are tax deductible when selling. There is no comprehensive list available, so it is important to remember that in order to be considered an improvement, the project must add value to the home and ultimately increase the profit of the sale. Here are a few of the most common home improvements ideas:

Bathroom remodel
Kitchen remodel
New roof
New air-conditioner
Adding a swimming pool
Adding a finished or unfinished basement
An addition
Water filtration system
Water softening system
Reverse-osmosis drinking water system
Energy-efficient water heater
Energy-efficient windows
Home security system
Drought-tolerant landscaping

The list of projects that can increase the selling price of your home is fairly extensive. One thing to keep in mind is that the improvement you make must still be present when you sell your house to be valid. For example, if you upgrade your air-conditioning unit, that same unit needs to be present when you sell the house in order to be added to your tax basis.

Prioritizing Improvements That Add Value

Due to the recent changes in how homeowners’ sale profits are taxed, it can be a good idea to prioritize improvements that increase the selling price of your home. Unless you anticipate a profit exceeding the tax exemption threshold of $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for married filers, your focus will probably be on improvements that add value rather than the tax benefit those improvements provide.

Improving Your Square Footage – Increasing the size of the livable space in your primary residence is one of the most effective ways of adding to the value of your home. Many people do this by building an addition or by adding a basement. These improvements can serve as a strong attraction for prospective homeowners that are looking for the biggest bang for their buck.

Boosting Your Curb Appeal – Making your house more visually appealing for potential homeowners is a tried and true method of adding value to your home. Consider giving your house a fresh coat of paint, so long as you are willing to do it yourself. Paying a professional might not offer a worthwhile return. The same is true for updating your landscaping. Professional landscaping can be expensive, but transitioning to low-maintenance plants that require less water can be attractive for environmentally conscious consumers.

Update Older Systems – Updating the core mechanical systems of your house, such as your plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and electrical can be beneficial for boosting your home’s value. Improving older systems can help alleviate the concerns of potential homeowners who may be worried about substantial repairs in the first few years of homeownership.

Offer Quality of Life Improvements – Many homebuyers are attracted to features that can help them reduce costs or maintenance when they move in. An example of an improvement in this category is installing a water softening system for your house. Water softening systems ensure that your appliances will maintain efficiency longer while eliminating unsightly and annoying soap scum and limescale. Installing a drinking water filtration system, whether for your whole house or under your sink with a reverse osmosis system, can be a strong attraction for discerning consumers.
Bathroom and Kitchen Remodeling – Remodeling your bathroom and kitchen are two of the most effective methods of improving your home’s selling price. If you do so, replace older appliances with newer energy-efficient appliances. Matching appliances are an added bonus. In your bathroom, changing out your toilet, sink, and fixtures can breathe new life into a dated room.

Final Thoughts

Most homeowners are curious about whether their home improvements are tax-deductible. While home improvements aren’t tax-deductible in the year that they are done, they can be added to the value of your primary residence to raise your tax basis. Your tax basis is subtracted from your final selling price to determine your profit.

Although it was incredibly important to track your home improvement expenses in the past, recent changes to the tax law made it less of a priority. If the profit from your home sale is less than $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for married filing jointly filers, you won’t face a tax penalty on your profits. If your profit exceeds those thresholds then including your home improvements in your tax basis makes sense.

Under the current law, it makes sense to prioritize home improvements that increase the selling price of your home. These include improving the size of the living space in your home through an addition or basement or renovating your bathroom or kitchen. Improvements that add to the quality-of-life of the occupant, such as a water softening system for your whole house attract potential homeowners by reducing maintenance requirements and ongoing costs.

To learn more about the benefits of water softening and filtration systems, contact Rayne Water today.

Sources:

How Does a Water Softener Work?

Posted October 21, 2019 by Rayne Water

If you are considering transitioning to soft water throughout your house, you are probably wondering “how does a water softener system work?”. Water softening systems are an effective method of producing soft water for your entire house, but most people aren’t clear on the various types of water softeners, as well as how they function exactly.

Water softening systems transform hard water into softened water through a process known as “ion exchange”. Ion exchange is a gentle, yet highly effective method of removing the mineral ions that lend to the level of hardness found in some water. To understand how these systems function, you’ll first have to understand exactly what soft water is, and how water becomes hard in the first place. By gaining a full understanding of this process, you’ll have a better grasp of how water softening systems function and whether installing a water softener is the right choice for you and your home.

What is Water Hardness?

Don’t know the difference between hard water vs. soft water? Water is often referred to as either “soft” or “hard”, but the meaning of these terms isn’t intuitive. Both of these terms are tied to the concept of water hardness, which is used to communicate the mineral content of a sample of water. Regardless, the benefits of soft water most definitely differentiate it from hard water.

Water hardness exists on a spectrum, from “soft” water which has a very low concentration of hard water minerals, to “very hard” water which can have a relatively high concentration of hard water minerals. This spectrum is better understood by looking at the water hardness scale. The water hardness scale is used to quantify exactly how hard or soft a sample of your water supply is. The most common scale in use measures the mineral content of water in terms of the number of grains-per-gallon (GPG) of dissolved calcium carbonate that a sample of water contains. Grain capacity can be broken down into several tiers based on calcium content.

Here are the thresholds for water hardness as defined by the most commonly used water hardness scale:

Water containing less than 1 GPG of calcium carbonate is considered soft.
Water containing between 1-7 GPG of calcium carbonate is considered moderately hard.
Water containing between 7-10 GPG of calcium carbonate is considered hard.
Water containing over 10 GPG of calcium carbonate is considered very hard.

What is notable about the water hardness scale is that water can exist with varying degrees of hardness. It is also important to understand that the water hardness scale measures the amount of calcium carbonate that a sample of water contains because it is the most common mineral contained in hard water, but water hardness can be affected by many types of minerals and metals. Other common dissolved minerals found in hard water include magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, aluminum, barium, and others.

How Does Water Become Hard?

The process through which water hardens is important to understand because it directly informs an understanding of how these systems work to soften water. Starting at the beginning of the water cycle, precipitation falls to the surface of the Earth as soft water or water with relatively low mineral content. Water begins to harden as it flows over and seeps through mineral-rich ground and soil.

Surface water, or water flowing through rivers and streams, tend to have a lower content of hard minerals. Groundwater tends to have a much higher content of hard minerals, as it moves through soil and stone rich in minerals. This groundwater eventually ends up in the aquifers that supply water to our homes.

As water percolates through soil and stone it picks up positively charged mineral ions. These ions become bound to the water molecule and typically aren’t separated from the water molecule until the water evaporates and leaves the mineral ions behind as deposits. As we will see, this process is important for understanding a water softener system and how does it work.

How Water Softening Systems Work

If you have ever wondered, “how does a water softener work?”, the answer is that water softening systems remove mineral ions in hard water through the process of ion exchange. This process requires exchanging positively charged mineral ions in the hard water with positively charged sodium ions, leaving the water coming out of the system free of mineral ions.

Water softening systems contain two tanks: a brine tank and a resin tank. Let’s break down the function of each of these.

Resin Tank

When water enters the water softening system it enters the resin tank. This tank holds a fairly sizable amount of plastic resin, usually a few cubic feet. This resin is porous and is usually covered in positively charged sodium ions.

As hard water moves through the resin tank the mineral ions that are bound to the water molecule are attracted to the negatively charged resin. The positively charged sodium ions that coat the resin are released into the water as the mineral ions take their place on the resin. This allows the resin to maintain a balanced electrical charge.

The water exiting the system contains a small number of sodium ions as the result of the process, but importantly no longer contains high levels of hard mineral ions. This process of ion exchange is a highly effective, yet gentle method of achieving softened water. To get a sense of how effective it is, each foot of resin in the system can soften approximately 3,200 gallons of water before it needs to be recharged. Now that would require an ample amount of water usage to go through that many gallons in a short period of time.

Brine Tank

The resin contained in the resin tank of a water softening system needs to be recharged periodically in order to continue removing dissolved minerals from hard water. As minerals are removed from hard water they bind, through an electrical charge, to the negatively charged resin. These mineral ions take up space on the resin, and periodically need to be flushed from the resin to allow other mineral ions to occupy that space. If not done periodically, the flow rate may be impacted.

The second tank in a water softening system is known as a brine solution tank and contains a concentrated solution of saltwater. During the flushing process, the resin tank is rinsed with the saltwater from the brine tank. The saltwater saturates the resin, forcing the positively-charged mineral ions to become removed and replaced by positively charged sodium ions. The remaining water in the resin tank, containing the loose mineral ions, is then flushed and the system is ready to soften water again.

Do Water Softening Systems Require Maintenance?

Water softening systems do require some maintenance to function at peak performance. Specifically, the user is usually required to add additional salt, or sodium chloride, to the brine solution tank periodically.

The process of flushing the resin tank may be automated depending on the specific system you are using. Many systems perform the flushing process in the middle of the night when the system is less likely to be in use.

What About Salt?

Sodium ions serve an important function in water softening systems, but many people are curious about whether the soft water produced by a water softening system is salty. A typical water softening system will add roughly 750 milligrams of sodium for each gallon of water produced. To put this number in perspective, an 8-ounce glass of tomato juice has approximately 875 milligrams of sodium.

With that being said, if you are concerned about the sodium content of soft water there are a couple of treatment options for you.

First, some types of water softeners utilize a resin that releases potassium into the water rather than sodium. The downside of these types of systems is that the potassium chloride salt used in them is more expensive than the salt used to refresh a typical water softening system.

Second, many people choose to install a reverse osmosis system under their sink to provide water for drinking and cooking. Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are small, making them easy to install in tight places, and they can remove any remaining sodium in the water along with other dissolved solids that your water may contain. It is basically a water conditioning system made to provide fresh drinking water.

Closing Thoughts

Water softening systems are a highly effective and efficient method of removing hard minerals from hard water that could be affecting your health and house appliances. Water softening systems utilize a process known as ion exchange to remove minerals from hard water. This process reverses the natural processes through which water becomes hard in the first place.

When water percolates through soil and stone it picks up positively charged mineral ions, which are then bound to the water molecule and make it hard. Hard water enters the water softening system through the resin tank, which is a tank filled with a negatively charged porous plastic resin coated in positively charged sodium ions. As the hard water moves through this tank, the hard mineral ions in the hard water are attracted to the negatively charged resin. The water exiting the system has had the hard minerals removed, and is ready to be piped throughout your house.

Water softening systems remove hard minerals through a gentle, largely passive process. Periodically the resin’s negative charge needs to be refreshed by removing the mineral ions that have become attached to it during the water softening process. This is accomplished by filling the resin tank with a saltwater brine, which displaces the mineral ions with sodium ions. Those mineral ions are then flushed from the system and the water softening system is ready to soften more water.

Water softening systems are low-maintenance and are the most efficient method of removing hard minerals – calcium chloride, magnesium, iron – from hard water and avoiding the negative impact of hard water throughout your house. Rayne Water is proud to serve California and Arizona. So if you need a water softener in Phoenix or a reverse osmosis system in San Diego… we’ve got you covered! To learn more about what water softening systems are available for your residence or business or how to get a purified water system, please contact Rayne today.

Sources

Ungvarsky, Janine. 2018. “Hard Water.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
https://extension.psu.edu/hard-water-and-water-softening
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-water-softeners-wo/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a28280250/water-softener/
https://extension.psu.edu/water-softening

How Do I Know My Water Softener is Working?

Posted October 20, 2019 by Rayne Water

If you’ve invested in a water softener for your home, you will probably be paying close attention to how effective it is in the days and months after it is installed. Water softeners work to reduce the mineral content in hard water. By doing this, water softeners reverse the damage caused by hard water.

If you are wondering how to know if my water softener is working, the most effective method is to understand the most common effects of hard water and how water softeners address those problems. The impact of hard water isn’t something that occurs all at once, so water softeners typically produce results that may be hard to see immediately.

Understanding what realistic expectations for your water softener are, and what signs to look for to indicate that it is working, will help you gain a better sense of whether your water softener is working effectively as a treatment option.

What is Soft Water?

Water is referred to as “soft” if it contains less than 1 grain-per-gallon (GPG) of calcium carbonate. But if you aren’t familiar with the concept of water hardness this definition may be confusing. In fact, there are different types of hard water.

Essentially, water hardness is a concept used to communicate the content of hard minerals that water contains. Water picks up minerals as it percolates through the soil. Specifically, water molecules pick up mineral ions and carry those ions with it on its way to the aquifers and reservoirs that are used for our water supply.

The water hardness scale is a system used to quantify the number of hard minerals that a sample of water contains. This is presented in the number of “grains-per-gallon” of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is chosen because it is the most common mineral that is found in hard water, but it should be noted that there are many other mineral and metal ions that can contribute to water hardness. These include magnesium, lead, barium, aluminum, and many other minerals. The exact mineral content of your hard water will depend on the types of soil and stone the water passed through as it made its way to the groundwater supply.

How do Water Softeners Work?

If you have found yourself wondering, “how do i know my water softener is working?”, it is useful to get a basic understanding of how water softening systems work. This understanding can help you set realistic expectations for what the effects of an effectively functioning water softening system look like and if it is a treatment option for you.

The purpose of water softening systems is to remove the hard minerals that are contained in hard water. Water softening systems are typically installed at the main municipal water supply line coming into a house so that the water at each of your faucets is soft. Water softening systems remove hard minerals from water through a process known as “ion exchange”.

What is “ion exchange” exactly? Water becomes hard when it passes through soil and stone and picks up mineral ions. Ions can have positive or negative charges but in hard water, the mineral ions have a positive charge.

Water softening systems have multiple tanks: a brine tank and a tank containing resin beads. As water enters your house, it passes through the tank containing resin beads. These resin beads have a negative charge. When the hard water percolates through the negatively charged resin, the positively charged mineral ions in the hard water are attracted to the resin beads. The end result is soft water exiting the system and flowing throughout your house.

You might be wondering what the brine tank in a water softening system is for. The brine tank is used to refresh the system. Over time, the negatively charged resin must be refreshed. This process involves running salty water from the brine tank over the resin, which flushes the collected positively charged mineral ions and replaces them with negatively charged sodium ions. Aside from this flushing process, most water softening systems will also require the user to add additional salt or potassium chloride to the system periodically.

How to Tell if Your Water Softening System is Working?

The process through which water softening systems remove minerals from hard water is largely passive. Because of this, it can be difficult for some people to tell if their system is actually working. If you have asked yourself, “is my water softener working properly?”, we’ll point out some key indicators that can help you determine whether your water softening system is working.

Soap Scum Won’t Form

Soap scum is one of the most obvious signs of hard water in your house, so it stands to reason that if your water softening system is working, soap scum won’t form. Soap scum is an insoluble precipitate formed from a reaction between the hard minerals in hard water and the soap you use.

Soap scum is a whitish or grey film that forms in areas that come into contact with both hard water and soap. This means you’ll commonly find soap scum in bathtubs, on shower doors, tiling in your bathroom, and your sink. To tell if your water softening system has fixed your soap scum issue, be sure to clean affected areas thoroughly of existing soap scum after your water softening system has been installed. If no additional soap scum forms, it’s a good indicator that your water softening system is functioning properly.

No Mineral Deposits

Hard water leaves behind the minerals it carries on surfaces that it comes in contact with. These mineral deposits are often referred to as “scale” and appear as a whitish or yellowish substance that is difficult to remove.

After you get your water softening system set up it is a good idea to remove any existing scaling that you might have. Soft water doesn’t contain the minerals that hard water does, so it shouldn’t form again after you remove it. If you don’t see scaling buildup in the days and weeks after you transition to a water softening system, it is a good indication that your system is working.

Key areas to pay attention to scaling will be your showerhead, faucet, sinks, shower doors, and tile. Essentially any place that frequently comes into contact with water will have scaling if you have hard water, so give those a good cleaning after you switch to soft water and keep an eye out for any further scaling.

Water Spots on Your Dishes

Dishes are often a great place to see whether you have hard or soft water. In households with hard water, mineral deposits are left behind on dishes as they dry. You’ll most frequently see this when dishes come out of the dishwasher, but if you hand wash your pots and pans and leave them to air dry you’ll have spots on those as well.

If your water softening system is working, those unsightly spots left behind on dishes will be eliminated.

Easier to Wash Off Soap and Shampoo

If you are showering in soft water, you will notice that it becomes easier to wash out the soap or shampoo you use. When people shower in hard water they tend to use more soap. This is because soap doesn’t lather correctly in hard water, due to the absence of free water molecules which are instead occupied by mineral ions. The end result is a thin film of soap or shampoo is left behind after the shower is over.

Once you transition to soft water you shouldn’t have a problem producing a great lather with soap or shampoo. This is just one of the added benefits of soft water. You’ll also notice that it takes less work to remove the final traces of shampoo or soap from your hair or skin. Some people describe the feeling on their skin after bathing in soft water as “slippery”, which is a good indication that all remaining traces of soap have been removed.

Closing Thoughts

Water softening systems remove the hard minerals contained in hard water. These systems function through a process called ion exchange, where hard water is run through a tank containing a negatively charged resin. This resin attracts and removes the mineral ions from your water.

Due to the fact that the mineral removal process is largely passive, it can be reassuring to have some idea of common signs you can look for to see if your water softening system is functioning.

Soap scum and scaling are two of the most obvious visual effects of hard water, so these can be an easy way to observe if your water softening system is working. After you install your system be sure to remove any existing soap scum and scaling that you have in your house. Then, keep an eye out for the subsequent weeks to see if they continue forming. If you don’t detect any scaling or soap scum buildup, it’s a great indication your water softening system is working.

Paying close attention to how your skin and hair feel when you shower can also provide some clarity. With soft water, your soap and shampoo will produce a better lather and wash out easier.

Of course, if you still suspect your water softening system isn’t functioning, it may be a good idea to test the water in your house. A simple test for hard water will tell you definitively whether your water softening system is functioning properly. If you have any questions regarding the functionality of your water softening system, please contact Rayne today.

Sources

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a28280250/water-softener/
https://www.thespruce.com/soap-scum-information-1900291
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/hardness-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
Ungvarsky, Janine. 2018. “Hard Water.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/hardness.pdf
https://extension.psu.edu/water-softening

Hard Water Health Effects

Posted October 18, 2019 by Rayne Water

In most discussions about hard water, the focus is placed on the impact of our household appliances. However, stains found on appliances are not the only issue posed by this quality of water. Hard water has a number of important effects on the surfaces and fixtures throughout your household that are worthwhile to understand, but what you may not know is that the hardness of water can also have an impact on your body.

The health effects of hard water may be something you are familiar with, even if you didn’t realize that hard water was the root cause. Conditions like dry skin or an itchy scalp can stem from the level of hardness. Understanding the effects of hard water on the human body as a whole can help illuminate the many ways that hard water is affecting you or your family.

What is Hard Water?

Water is considered hard if it has a relatively high number of hard minerals. The concept of water hardness is used to quantify how hard water is. Typically, this is presented on a scale. Water hardness is determined by the number of grains-per-gallon (GPG) of calcium carbonate that a sample of water contains.

The most common water hardness scale is as follows:

Water is considered soft if it contains less than 1 GPG of dissolved calcium carbonate.
Water is considered moderately hard if it contains between 1 – 7 GPG of dissolved calcium carbonate.
Water that contains between 7 – 10 GPG of dissolved calcium carbonate is considered hard.
Water containing over 10 GPG of dissolved calcium carbonate is considered very hard. Water characterized by this high of a mineral count has the potential to cause adverse health effects.

Though water hardness is measured by finding the amount of calcium carbonate that a sample of water contains, it is important to understand that calcium carbonate is not the only mineral that contributes to water hardness. Water can harden due to a wide variety of mineral and metal ions. Calcium and magnesium are the two most common minerals that contribute to hard water, but hard water can also contain iron, manganese, aluminum, barium, and other mineral ions.

Water hardens naturally as it moves through soil that is rich in minerals. This means that groundwater is typically harder than surface water because it picks up mineral ions as it percolates through soil and stone.

Due to the natural processes that lead to hard water, there is a strong correlation between where you live and the hardness levels of the water. One way to think of this is that if you have hard water at your house, most likely all of the water provided by your municipal water supplier is also hard.

Health Impacts of Hard Water

Hard water has a number of effects on the human body. The most frustrating of these can be found on the surfaces of our bodies. Hair and skin are the most common places that you will witness the impact of hard water. With that being said, many people wonder whether hard water has a negative impact on their internal health as well. The water you are drinking at home is another factor to consider.

There have been a number of studies conducted to determine hard water health effects. To date, no study has found a correlation between the consumption of hard water and negative health outcomes. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made the argument that the mineral content in hard drinking water can be beneficial in circumstances where individuals are deficient in certain necessary minerals.

Although there have been no clear ties to negative health impacts when hard water is consumed, there can be significant effects when hard water is used to bathe in. Broadly speaking, hard water leaves behind the hard minerals it contains on surfaces it comes in contact with. We typically think of this occurring on surfaces around our house, such as sinks and faucets, but it also occurs on our bodies.

The Impact of Hard Water on Skin

Many people are sensitive to the effects of hard water on skin. Hard water can impact the health of your skin in a couple of important ways. The first is that as hard water dries, it leaves behind tiny amounts of hard minerals on your skin. These hard minerals can clog pores and upset the natural PH levels of your skin. Both of these effects can lead to dry, irritated skin.

The second way that hard water impacts your skin is by reacting with the soap that you use during your shower. The hard minerals in hard water react with soap to form an insoluble precipitate that is commonly known as soap scum. You’ll typically find soap scum in your shower or sinks. Bathing in hard water can leave behind a thin layer of this precipitate on your skin as well.

One thing that you’ll notice when using soap with hard water is that it becomes more difficult to produce a satisfying lather. Most people tend to compensate for this by using more soap. This extra soap becomes difficult to fully wash off, leaving many people with a very thin layer of soap on their skin after their shower is finished.

Whether it is the minerals left behind by hard water, or the soap that never fully washes off, showering in hard water often leaves people with dry skin. The thin film of soap left behind after showering in hard water serves as a barrier for any moisturizers or lotions you might use after your shower, reducing their effectiveness at alleviating the symptoms of dry skin.

You’ll most likely notice the effects of hard water on areas with sensitive skin first, such as your face or scalp. The scalp can be particularly prone to the impact of hard water since a thin film of shampoo can be left behind after your shower, and it can be difficult to properly moisturize the skin of your scalp. Such indicators can give insights into whether the installed water softener is working or not.

The Impact of Hard Water on Your Hair

Washing your hair in hard water may result in hair that is limp, dry, brittle, and dull in appearance. Each of these impacts is a result of the high content of hard minerals contained in hard water.

The minerals in hard water will be left behind on your hair. Over time this mineral coating can have a big impact. It will weigh down your hair, giving it less volume than it would otherwise have. This tends to give hair washed in hard water a limp appearance and makes styling more difficult. The minerals left behind on your hair will also rob hair of its natural shine, resulting in hair that is dull or matte in appearance.

The minerals left behind by hard water will dry out your hair. This occurs because the coating doesn’t allow moisturizers and conditioners to penetrate the hair follicle.

Hard Water Solutions

The best way to minimize the impact of hard water on your health is to transition to soft water throughout your house by implementing water filtration systems. Soft water is simply water with low mineral content. As we’ve seen, the hard minerals contained in hard water are the root cause of the negative effects that it has on our body. Whether on their own or through a reaction with the soap that you use, the minerals contained in hard water dry out your hair and skin and can lead to persistent irritation.

Transitioning to a water softener system isn’t as complicated as you might think. Most water softening systems are installed at the water supply line coming into your house. Once installed, these systems provide soft water to all plumbing fixtures throughout your house. Importantly, this includes the water flow coming out of your showerhead, which will help you eliminate the impacts of hard water on your body. When showering in soft water, it is easier to understand and witness the benefits of softer water.

Water softening systems don’t require toxic chemicals to remove the minerals from hard water. Instead, these minerals – iron, calcium, magnesium – are removed through a process called ion exchange. In this process, the mineral ions that are bound to your water are exchanged with sodium ions. Occasionally the minerals removed from your hard water will be flushed out of the system during a brief cycle.

Closing Thoughts

The easiest way to think of hard water is to think of it as water with high mineral content. The minerals contained in hard water are picked up as it percolates through soil. When hard water touches surfaces around your house, or on your body, it leaves behind small amounts of these minerals.

The minerals left behind by hard water have a number of impacts on your body. Although they are safe to consume, they can disrupt the health of your hair and skin. Hair washed in hard water will typically lose its shine over time, while also having less volume due to the weight of mineral deposits on your hair follicles. Shampoos and conditioners aren’t able to effectively penetrate the hair follicle to moisturize it, contributing to dry, brittle hair.

Hard water minerals will also dry out your skin by upsetting your natural PH balance. Additionally, those minerals can clog pores and lead to irritation. Washing your body with soap in hard water will leave behind a thin film of soap after your shower is over, further drying out your skin. Typically the effects of hard water on the skin are most obvious in areas with sensitive skin, such as your face and scalp. Installing a water softener can help reverse these harsh effects caused by buildup.

The most effective way to eliminate the negative impacts of hard water on your health is to invest in a water softening system for your house. These systems are non-toxic and highly effective at reducing the mineral content in the water flow coming out of your tap. To learn more about water softener solutions to your hard water problems, please contact Rayne today.

Sources:

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/hardness-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
Ungvarsky, Janine. 2018. “Hard Water.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/hardness.pdf
https://extension.psu.edu/hard-water-and-water-softening

Benefits of Soft Water

Posted October 17, 2019 by Rayne Water

Making the switch to water softenersystems can bring many benefits. The effects of hard water can be seen around your house and on your body. By switching to soft water, these hard water effects are eliminated at the source.

Gaining a better understanding of the advantages of soft water can help your household to determine if the switch is worth it. For many, the benefits of soft water far outweigh the initial investment that it entails. Requiring minimal maintenance, installing a water softener provides a long-term, substantial benefit for many families. To learn why let’s explore the benefits of soft water.

What is Soft Water?

To gain a full understanding of the benefits of soft water it is helpful to first understand what soft water is. References to “soft” or “hard” water utilize the concept of water hardness, which is used to communicate the content of hard minerals contained in a sample of water.

With that in mind, water is considered “soft” if it contains a very low amount of hard minerals. Water is referred to as “hard” if it contains a relatively high amount of hard minerals.

So, how low of a mineral content does water need to be considered soft? There is a water hardness scale that provides thresholds for how hard or soft water is. The water hardness scale relies on a measurement of the content of dissolved calcium carbonate in a sample of water, expressed in grains-per-gallon (GPG).

Here are these thresholds according to the most commonly used water hardness scale:

Soft water contains less than 1 GPG of dissolved calcium carbonate.
Moderately hard water contains between 1-7 GPG of calcium carbonate.
Hard water contains between 7-10 GPG of calcium carbonate.
Very Hard water contains over 10 GPG of calcium carbonate.

Hard water may contain many different types of minerals and metals, but calcium carbonate is chosen because it is the most common and abundant mineral found in hard water.

Can Soft Water Occur Naturally?

In discussions around water hardness, it is important to keep in mind that both hard and soft water occur through natural processes. Water is soft when it falls to the ground as precipitation. It then becomes hard as it percolates through the ground and stone, picking up mineral ions along the way.

Because water hardness is directly tied to the mineral content of the ground and soil that water flows through, different regions will have varying degrees of water hardness. Many areas in the United States have naturally occurring soft water, while many other places have naturally occurring hard water.

How is Water Made Soft?

You can transform hard water into soft water by reversing the processes that naturally lead to hard water. In a residential setting, individuals turn hard water into soft water by installing a water softener. These systems utilize a process known as “ion exchange”.

Ion exchange is the same process through which water becomes hard. As water percolates through ground and soil it picks up positively charged mineral ions that become bound to the water molecule.

When water enters a water softening system it is placed in a tank containing a negatively charged resin. The negatively charged resin attracts the positively charged mineral ions in hard water and keeps them bound to the resin as the water passes through.

The end result is soft water piped throughout your house. The benefits of water softener systems are that they are highly effective at reducing the mineral content of water, while also doing so passively and without the use of chemicals.

Soft Water Benefits

With a better understanding of what soft water is, let’s explore some of the top advantages of soft water. Taken as a whole, transitioning to a water softener system reverses and eliminates the core problems that arise from hard water. These problems affect the surfaces, fixtures, and appliances within your home, as well as the surfaces of your body including your hair and skin. Understanding the benefits of soft water can help you determine whether a water softening system is right for your household.

Eliminate Soap Scum

Transitioning to soft water in your house will eliminate your problems with soap scum. Soap scum forms when the hard minerals in hard water come into contact with soap. The result is a white or grayish precipitate that stubbornly coats the surfaces it forms on.

Soap scum is commonly found on the surfaces and fixtures in bathrooms, including tile, shower doors, faucets, sinks, and counters. Soap scum is notoriously difficult to remove, and will quickly form again once soap and hard water are used in the same area. By transitioning to soft water, you eliminate the hard minerals in water that are a necessary precursor for the formation of soap scum. This makes it much easier to keep your bathroom surfaces and fixtures looking clean and new.

No Mineral Deposits

Mineral deposits are the most common effect of hard water, and transitioning to a soft water system will eliminate them entirely. Hard water will leave calcium mineral deposits on any surface it comes into contact with and dries on. These deposits are an insoluble precipitate that usually appears white or yellow, but can also appear red or other colors depending on the mineral content of your hard water. Washing and scrubbing these surfaces free of stains can be a pain.

Mineral deposits are often referred to as “scaling” or “limescale”, and form most frequently on surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms, such as shower doors, faucets, sinks, and tile. Mineral deposits will also form in appliances, such as coffee makers, dishwashers, and water heaters. The pipes in your house will also have mineral deposit buildup, which can reduce the flow of water over time and may lead to plumbing issues later on. The spots that appear on your dishes as they dry are also mineral deposits. While not dangerous, these unsightly lime build-up spots can be frustrating to deal with.

Water softening systems eliminate mineral buildup at the source before they can cause problems throughout your house. Unlike hard water, soft water doesn’t have the hard mineral content necessary to leave behind deposits. While you may need to remove the existing mineral deposits when you transition to a water softening system, you won’t need to continue to do so as long as you keep using soft water in your household. This benefit can save you frustration and many hours of cleaning.

Benefits for Hair

Transitioning to a soft water filtration system carries a number of benefits for the health of your hair. Our hair is particularly susceptible to the impact of the minerals contained in hard water. These minerals are left behind as deposits on the hair follicle, blocking the ability of moisturizers to penetrate the hair and drying it out. Over time, mineral deposits weigh down the hair and reduce its volume, while also making the hair appear dull rather than shiny. The minerals in hard water also react with shampoo, resulting in a weak lather and a film of shampoo that is difficult to completely wash out.

In contrast, showering in soft water will help you have stronger hair, restore your scalp’s natural moisture levels, and increase your hair’s volume and shine. By eliminating the minerals in hard water, your moisturizers and conditioners can effectively penetrate your hair follicles. Your shampoo will produce a satisfying lather and be easier to wash out. This will also eliminate the film of soap left behind that can potentially dry out the sensitive skin of your scalp.

Benefits for Skin

Trace amounts of the hard minerals in hard water are left behind on your skin after you shower. These minerals can clog pores and upset the skin’s delicate moisture levels. Additionally, a thin film of soap can be left behind when showering in hard water. This layer of soap is difficult to completely wash off, and may also contribute to irritated or dry skin.

Soft water eliminates both of these problems of dry hair and skin associated with showering in hard water. Showering in soft water won’t leave behind mineral deposits that can clog your pores. Your soap will lather better, and be much easier to completely wash off, thus revealing softer skin. Some individuals note that showering in soft water can leave skin feeling slippery, which is an indication that all remaining traces of soap have been removed from the skin. For individuals with dry or sensitive skin, showering in soft water can be beneficial.

Closing Thoughts

Only you can tell if the benefits associated with switching to water softener systems throughout your house are worthwhile. Having a better understanding of some of the most important benefits associated with soft water can provide important context to that decision. Soft water is simply water with a very low content of hard minerals. By reducing the content of minerals in the water, many surprising benefits can occur around your house and on your body.

Foremost among the benefits of transitioning to soft water is the elimination of soap scum and mineral deposits. Mineral deposits are unsightly, stubborn to remove, and can reduce the efficiency of appliances like your coffee pot or dishwasher. Soap scum is an insoluble precipitate that forms from a reaction between soap and the minerals in hard water. Both of these frustrating substances are eliminated by transitioning to filtered water.

Utilizing a soft water system can also benefit the health of your hair and skin. Your hair will be less brittle and have more volume because it won’t have a layer of minerals coating it. Your shampoo and soaps will be more effective, and easier to wash off. Your skin will have more normal moisture levels without mineral deposits left behind on it, and without the stubborn film of soap left behind after showering in hard water. Isn’t the whole point of taking a nice warm shower or bath to feel cleaner?

Water softening systems are an efficient method of transitioning to soft water throughout your household. To learn more about what types of water softening systems are available for your residence, please contact Rayne today.

Sources

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a28280250/water-softener/
https://www.thespruce.com/soap-scum-information-1900291
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/hardness-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
Ungvarsky, Janine. 2018. “Hard Water.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/hardness.pdf
https://extension.psu.edu/water-softening

What is Reverse Osmosis?

Posted October 14, 2019 by Rayne Water

You’ve probably heard of the reverse osmosis (RO) process, and most likely have drunk water, taken medicine, or eaten food whose production includes reverse osmosis. Even though you have most likely heard of it, you may have also wondered “what is reverse osmosis?”

Although the term can seem daunting, at its core, reverse osmosis is a process for filtering substances. Usually, those substances are water, but they can be other liquids or even gasses.

Gaining a better understanding of what reverse osmosis is and how it works can help you decide on the appropriate water treatment option for your needs. At the end of this, you might find yourself on the hunt for a reverse osmosis filtration system.

What is Osmosis?

To understand how reverse osmosis works, you must first get a better idea of what the process of osmosis is. Osmosis is a natural process that occurs in our bodies and in the world around us. It is how your cells take in nutrients and water, and how plants receive nutrients and moisture from the soil they are planted in.

Osmosis occurs when a solvent moves across a semipermeable membrane from a solution with a low concentration of solutes to a solution with a high concentration of solutes.

Let’s break down what these terms mean:

Semipermeable membrane – This is any membrane that allows some molecules through but not others.
Solvent – This is any fluid that passes through the membrane.
Solute – This is a dissolved substance in the fluid.
Solution – This is both the solute and solvent combined. The solution exists on both sides of the membrane.

The term osmotic pressure is used to describe this tendency for a fluid to move across a membrane to a solution that has a higher concentration of solutes.

How is Reverse Osmosis Different?

Reverse osmosis doesn’t occur naturally. Instead, reverse osmosis requires the application of force, in the form of hydrostatic pressure, to a solution with a high concentration of solutes. This solution is then forced through a specially designed membrane that blocks molecules larger than water. The result on the other side is a solution with a low concentration of solutes.

How is Reverse Osmosis Used?

The practical application for reverse osmosis systems is to reduce the number of dissolved solids, or solutes in a solution.

Most often the solution used in a reverse osmosis system is water. Water is forced through a membrane that has pores large enough for water molecules to pass through, but too small for the minerals, metals, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants that water often contains. This helps answer the question, “what is reverse osmosis water?”.

Reverse osmosis was first invented in 1748 by a French physicist and clergyman, but it spent nearly 200 years confined to laboratories. It wasn’t until the University of California Los Angeles opened the first desalination plant in 1950 that reverse osmosis entered the public sphere.

Here are some of the most common uses of reverse osmosis:

Agriculture – Reverse osmosis water is used in agriculture to remove carbonates from water, allowing for more effective nutrient delivery to plants.
Power Plants – Power plants use RO water in the boiler for steam generation, improving efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.
Pharmaceuticals – Medicines are manufactured using RO water due to purity requirements.
Winemaking – Winemakers use reverse osmosis to reduce the amount of alcohol in the wine.
Food Manufacturing – Reverse osmosis is used to manufacture fruit juice concentrate and to extract whey protein isolate from cheese.

There are many other applications that reverse osmosis is used for, not the least of which is for removing contaminants from residential potable water. Residential RO systems are a cost-effective and highly efficient alternative to purchasing bottled water or utilizing a bottled water delivery service.

Here are some of the core advantages of using RO systems in a residential setting:

Saves space – RO systems require less room than other filtration methods, making them ideal for installation under sinks.
More efficient – Reverse osmosis systems are more efficient than many other comparable filtration systems.
Effective – Residential RO systems can often filter remove 95% or more of total dissolved solids from a sample of water.

If you have ever asked, “what is RO water?”, the short answer is water that contains very little contaminants. With a residential reverse osmosis system, filtered water is delivered straight from the tap water source at your kitchen sink. The benefits of reverse osmosis water are right at your fingertips.

Closing Thoughts

Reverse osmosis is an incredibly important process in today’s world. It is used to manufacture the medicine we use, the food we eat, and most importantly to filter the water we drink.

Reverse osmosis is a process that can remove impurities and unwanted contaminants. In a reverse osmosis system, water is forced through a specially designed membrane that allows water molecules through but doesn’t allow other contaminants. The result is potable water without many of the carbonates, metals, and other substances that it normally carries.

To learn more about reverse osmosis systems for residential drinking water, please contact Rayne Water today. We have locations in both Arizona and California! Everything from reverse osmosis systems in Phoenix, commercial to water softeners in San Diego, and whole house water softener system in Ventura! Check out the location nearest you!

Sources

Lasky, Jack. 2019. “Reverse Osmosis (RO).” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, et al. Molecular Cell Biology. 4th edition. New York: W. H. Freeman; 2000. Section 15.8, Osmosis, Water Channels, and the Regulation of Cell Volume. Available from:
https://sciencestruck.com/osmosis-examples
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/israel-proves-the-desalination-era-is-here/
https://university.upstartfarmers.com/blog/reverse-osmosis-systems
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/how-does-reverse-osmosis-work-and-whats-it-for-5360

What is Hard Water?

Posted October 13, 2019 by Rayne Water

*Reviewed by Ken Christopher, Senior Vice President at Rayne Dealership Corporation

You may have heard of hard water but are curious about what makes water hard. Understanding what is considered hard water is the first step toward gaining a better picture of the many ways that hard water can have an impact on your daily life.

Exploring the topic of water hardness will touch on exactly what water hardness is and what natural processes lead to hardened water. It is also a good idea to understand how hard water impacts your home and body since these effects can be a quick way to tell if you have hard water. Read on to learn exactly what hard water is to determine if you need to invest in a home water softener system.

Water Hardness Defined

For those people who have asked themselves, “what is hard water?” the answer is simple. Hard water is water with relatively high mineral content. To convert hard water to drinking water, one needs water softeners.

How Does Hard Water Form?

Water becomes hard through natural processes and mineral buildup. As groundwater moves through soil and stone, it acts as a solvent, breaking apart chemical bonds and picking up mineral ions. Water is known as the “universal solvent,” which can be clearly seen in the process through which water becomes hard.

Water usually becomes hard as it moves through soil rich in dissolved calcium or magnesium. Calcium is most commonly dissolved in limestone, while magnesium typically comes from dolomite. Water can also harden as it moves through soils rich with other minerals or even metals, such as ferrous iron. Other metals that can cause hard water include aluminum, zinc, barium, and manganese.

The different minerals that hard water picks up on its way through the crust can change the impact it has around your house. For example, the buildup left behind by hard water that contains primarily calcium bicarbonate will be off-white in color, whereas water that is heavily laden with ferrous iron will leave behind reddish deposits.

Because of the way hard water forms as it slowly moves through the ground, there is a strong regional variation to the hardness of the water. There is also variation between surface water and groundwater, the latter of which typically has a much higher mineral content as it is closer to soil and stone that is rich in minerals.

How Do You Know if You Have Hard Water?

If you have lived in the same region your whole life, you may have only ever known hard or soft water. Most people are curious about how to tell if they have hard water, particularly once they become homeowners, and the impact of hard water around their house can become a source of constant frustration.

The most accurate way to know whether you have hard water, and to understand exactly how hard your water is, is to use a water hardness test kit on the water in your house. These test kits are cheap or free in most cases and can quickly tell you how hard your water is. Companies specializing in water purification, like Rayne, can also professionally test your water and tell you exactly how hard it is and what types of minerals have been found in your water supply.

If you don’t want to test your tap water yourself or have someone come out to your house and test it for you, you can also check with your municipal water supplier. Municipal water suppliers regularly assess the water they are piping through their systems. These assessments check for the presence of any contaminants, ensuring that the water reaching your residence is fit for consumption. What most people don’t know is that their water supplier also tests the mineral content of their water, and many will publish that information regularly. In contrast, softened water can contain higher levels of sodium.

Water quality reports are a great way to gain a better understanding of exactly what is being piped into your house from your water supplier. The tests provide an accurate snapshot of the mineral quantity of your water and what types of minerals are hardening your water.

Is Hard Water Dangerous?

Water with a high mineral content isn’t dangerous to human health. Most places around the United States have hard water. This is particularly true across the southwestern United States. Multiple studies have also reinforced the understanding that, while frustrating and difficult to deal with, hard water isn’t detrimental to our overall health.

How is Hard Water Measured?

Although water can become hard by a variety of mineral and metal ions, the hardness of water definition is most often provided by the content of calcium carbonate that the water contains.

Calcium carbonate is the most common mineral that contributes to water hardness. Look at the water quality report for your municipal water supplier or have someone come out to your house to measure your water hardness. You’ll receive a report stating the number of grains per gallon (GPG) of calcium carbonate your water contains.

By using grains per gallon to measure water hardness, you are looking at the actual quantity of calcium carbonate that your water contains. Water hardness is a spectrum, starting at soft water and going all the way to hard water, with water hardness levels increasing in between.

Typical ranges for hard water are as follows:

Water that measures less than 1 GPG of calcium carbonate is considered “soft”.
Water that measures between 1 – 7 GPG is “moderately hard”.
Water that measures between 7-10 GPG is “hard”.
Water that contains over 10 GPG of calcium carbonate is “very hard”.

The Effects of Hard Water

As hard water makes its way through your house, it leaves the minerals it contains behind as an insoluble precipitate. These insoluble mineral deposits can be unsightly, are difficult to remove, and can reduce the lifespan and efficiency of appliances. The minerals left behind by hard water will impact the health and moisture of your skin and hair. Understanding these impacts can help you make an informed decision about whether you might require a water softening solution.

Soap Scum

Soap scum is a substance created from a reaction between the hard water minerals in hard water and soap. This reaction creates an insoluble residue that is difficult to remove altogether. Soap scum appears as a whitish-grey film on surfaces that come into contact with hard water and soap. Soap scum is common in sinks, showers, shower doors, faucets, counters, tile, pipes, and other bathroom and plumbing fixtures.

In a household with hard water, it is challenging to completely remove soap scum. After a thorough cleaning, you may get your bathroom surfaces looking clean, but more soap scum will inevitably form. Despite the residue’s unsightly appearance, soap scum isn’t necessarily damaging. It can, however, serve as a fertile breeding ground for mold.

Mineral Deposits

Hard water will leave behind mineral deposits on the surfaces it interacts with. These deposits are referred to as “scale.” Scaling usually appears as a whitish or green substance that has a chalky texture. The scale is primarily composed of calcium and magnesium carbonates. The mineral deposits that hard water leaves behind can also consist of iron, zinc, or other metal ions carried in your water.

There are a couple of easy places to see the effects of mineral deposits in your house. One is in appliances that heat or boil water. Dishwashers, coffee pots, and water heaters are prime suspects for mineral buildup. Boiling or heating hard water will produce a substantial buildup.

Showerheads and faucets will also accumulate mineral deposits at a higher rate than other areas in your house due to their regular contact with hard water. Over time, these mineral deposits will reduce the efficiency of how these appliances and fixtures operate. The flow of water is slowly but persistently reduced.

Flat and Brittle Hair

Hard water has long been thought of as having a negative effect on the health of our hair. Multiple experiments have confirmed this belief in recent years. Through a chemical reaction with your hair structure, the mineral ions contained in hard water are absorbed into your hair, resulting in oxidative damage. Over time, this damage produces hair that more easily breaks than hair that is washed in soft water.

Alongside decreasing the strength of your hair itself, the mineral coating that your hard water leaves behind on your hair will weigh it down. Hard water effects on hair also include causing the hair to have less volume over time. It will also look different. Healthy hair appears vibrant and shiny. The minerals in hard water will rob the hair of its natural luster and give it a dull, matte appearance.

Dry Skin

If you live in an area with a hard water supply, you may notice that your shampoo or soap produces a weak lather. In order for the soap to lather, it must have an abundance of free molecules in water to react with. With hard water, those molecules aren’t free because they are occupied by mineral ions. When shampooing or using soap to wash your body in an area with hard water, you’ll produce a weaker lather than you would with deionized or distilled water, both of which are considered soft.

The weak lather your soap produces isn’t just a nuisance, it also becomes harder to wash out of your hair or off of your skin. Some of the soap and shampoo you use will be left behind as a thin film. This film upsets the skin’s natural PH levels. Additionally, the barrier of minerals and soap left behind by hard water makes the moisturizers you use less effective by preventing them from completely penetrating your hair or skin.

These effects of hard water on the skin will often be seen in sensitive areas of the body. Many people experience problems with their scalp and face. Since the problem is in your water itself, and that water makes topical treatments less effective, individuals suffering from hard water-induced skin conditions often struggle to find relief. The effects of showering with hard water are dry, irritated skin that requires transitioning to soft water to be completely addressed.

Stiff Laundry and Weakened Fabrics

If you are washing your laundry with hard water in your washing machine, you will probably have to use a fabric softener if you don’t want your clothes to be stiff. The minerals in hard water are deposited into your fabric during a wash cycle and don’t easily wash out. When you dry clothes washed in hard water you can see these mineral deposits as white streaks. They are particularly noticeable if you are washing dark clothing.

The mineral deposits left by hard water will also weaken the fabric themselves. The fibers that make up your fabric will become more dry and brittle when washed in hard water over a period of time. This will cause your clothes to wear out more quickly than they would otherwise.

Closing Thoughts

Hard water is simply water with relatively high mineral content. As the water flows through the ground, it picks up dissolved mineral ions. Most commonly, this includes calcium and magnesium, but various metals can also cause water hardness. The opposite of hard water is “soft” water, which is any water that contains less than 1 grain per gallon (GPG) of calcium carbonate. Water can be varying degrees hard if it contains more than 1 (GPG) of calcium carbonate.

While the hardening of water is a natural process, it produces some undesirable effects on our bodies and around our homes. Hard water reacts with soap to produce soap scum, an insoluble precipitate that coats surfaces and fixtures with a whitish film that is difficult to clean off. Even areas that don’t come into contact with soap will have mineral deposits left on them. These mineral deposits can leave an unsightly residue, and impact the efficiency of appliances like your dishwasher over time.

The most effective way to address hard water is to transition to a water softening system. Water softening systems are typically installed at the municipal water supply line coming into a house so that all of the water flowing through your house is softened through a gentle deionization process. These systems are environmentally friendly, easy to maintain, and address the negative effects of hard water at their source. If you are still cautious regarding the water quality, you can utilize an at-home water testing kit to determine whether your water supply needs water treatment or not.

To learn more about how to address hard water in your home by installing a water softener, please contact Rayne Water today.

Sources:

https://water.usgs.gov/owq/hardness-alkalinity.html#hardness
https://www.wqa.org/learn-about-water/perceptible-issues/scale-deposits
Ungvarsky, Janine. “Hard Water.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2018.
Luqman, Muhammad Waqas, Muhammad Haris Ramzan, Usama Javaid, Roshan Ali, Muhammad Shoaib, and Muhammad Ayyas Luqman. “To Evaluate and Compare Changes in Baseline Strength of Hairs after Treating Them with Deionized Water and Hard Water and Its Role in Hair Breakage.” International Journal of Trichology 10, no. 3 (May 2018): 113–17.

Water Softeners

Salt-Free Systems

Hybrid Softener/ Conditioners

Drinking Water Systems

Portable Exchange Service

Specialty Solutions

Bottle Free or Bottleless Coolers

Commercial Water Softeners

Commercial Reverse Osmosis

Portable Exchange Service

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Why Filter Water?

How Water Filters Work?

Reverse Osmosis

Activated Carbon

Ion-Exchange

Closing Thoughts

Sources

Increase Your Efficiency

Refresh Your Landscaping

Make it Easier to Maintain

Improve Your Quality of Life

Remodel Your Bathroom or Kitchen

Closing Thoughts

Sources

What is in Your Drinking Water?

What do Water Filters Remove?

Reverse Osmosis

Activated Carbon

Ion-Exchange

Putting it all Together

Sources

How Do Tax Deductions for Home Improvements Work?

Improvement Versus Repair

What is Your Tax Basis?

Weighing the Tax Benefit of Home Improvements

What Home Improvements Are Tax-Deductible When Selling?

Prioritizing Improvements That Add Value

Final Thoughts

Sources:

What is Water Hardness?

How Does Water Become Hard?

How Water Softening Systems Work

Resin Tank

Brine Tank

Do Water Softening Systems Require Maintenance?

What About Salt?

Closing Thoughts

What is Soft Water?

How do Water Softeners Work?

How to Tell if Your Water Softening System is Working?

Soap Scum Won’t Form

No Mineral Deposits

Water Spots on Your Dishes

Easier to Wash Off Soap and Shampoo

Closing Thoughts

What is Hard Water?

Health Impacts of Hard Water

The Impact of Hard Water on Skin

The Impact of Hard Water on Your Hair

Hard Water Solutions

Closing Thoughts

What is Soft Water?

Can Soft Water Occur Naturally?

How is Water Made Soft?

Soft Water Benefits

Eliminate Soap Scum

No Mineral Deposits

Benefits for Hair

Benefits for Skin

Closing Thoughts

What is Osmosis?

How is Reverse Osmosis Different?

How is Reverse Osmosis Used?

Closing Thoughts

Sources

*Reviewed by Ken Christopher, Senior Vice President at Rayne Dealership Corporation

Water Hardness Defined

How Does Hard Water Form?

How Do You Know if You Have Hard Water?