We all know that soft water has certain benefits. It cuts down on incidences of eczema and psoriasis, especially in children, and it eliminates scale build-up in your sinks and bathtubs. However, there is more to water softeners. Yes, diluting the minerals in your water can garner many more benefits than just reducing skin problems and saving you from scrubbing your bathtub. Some of those benefits are not obvious, but you will have to admit that the following are indeed reasons to get a water softener.

1. Lowering Your Energy Bill

Any appliance that uses water, from your coffee pot to your dishwasher, functions more efficiently with soft water. There is no limescale interfering with transferring heat or clogging pipes.

Particularly, a water heater will use 22%-29% less energy over a year if it uses soft water than if it uses hard water. This is because 1/16-inch of scale on a pipe reduces energy transfer by 12%. The average American home uses a lot of hot water every day, so your water heater is a big part of your energy bill. Making that appliance more efficient can save you a ton of money.

2. Prolongs The Life Of Pipes And Appliances

Limescale on pipes encourages galvanic corrosion, meaning that it eats away at the surface of anything that is even slightly conductive to electricity. This shortens the lifespan of any pipe it builds on, and it is very inconvenient and expensive to replace pipes.

Besides the pipes, other appliances and furnishings have to be scrubbed clean more often if you use hard water. The minerals in hard water have ions that form into insoluble salts, called soap scum, which can leave insoluble stearates on places such as tubs and sinks. It also forms scale in coffee makers and everywhere else it sits. The more you have to scrub these items, the more you run the risk of scratching up the surface, especially since scale can’t be dissolved away easily. These scratches can weaken your appliances and hasten their demise.

3. Environmental Benefits

When your appliances use less energy and last longer, you are using less of Mother Natures resources. This reduces your carbon footprint and preserves our planet for a little longer.

4. Reduces The Use Of Soaps

Hard water interferes with the lathering of shampoos and soaps, which induces you to use more of both. You can use 75% less shampoo with soft water. If you have a lot of hair or people in your house, the savings from this can add up quickly.

5. Keeps Fabrics Soft And Bright White

This is another area where you are indirectly saving quite a bit of money with a water softener. Minerals from hard water can get trapped in fabrics, which makes them stiff and dulls their colors. You can keep your favorite shirts in prime condition for longer if you wash them with soft water, and that will reduce how often you go shopping for new clothes. It will also make you feel better about hand-me-downs: younger children will look nice in the clothes they inherit from their older siblings.

6. Makes Watering Plants Easier

One thing that drives gardeners nuts is chlorine in water that they need to use for their delicate plants. For most people wanting to water their house plants with tap water, they have to let their water sit  in an open container for a half hour before using so that all the chlorine drifts out of the water. Otherwise, the lilies get a dose of pool chemicals every time they are watered. With a water softener removing the chlorine from the system, you can water your houseplants straight from the tap.

7. Helps Prolong The Life Of The Sewer System

Limescale reduces the diameter of pipes by developing in a layer around the inside. This increases water pressure, which can damage the sewer system. Especially with the weather around New Jersey being what it is, you don’t want to weaken the pipes that keep your home sanitary.

If you think your home could use one of these benefits from a water softening system, contact us. We have years of experience installing water softening systems and improving water quality, and we’d love to do the same for you.