The 7 Ways Water Softeners Save Money
With nearly 90% of North American homes running hard water, most people don’t realize just how much mineral-heavy water is costing them. Hard water is, put simply, water that is carrying alkaline mineral molecules. It leaves a chalky mineral residue on everything the water passes or dries on. It creates water spots, dries out skin, and can make tap water taste funny.
The solution to hard water is a water softening unit, which – like a filter – runs your tap water through resin beads that remove the extra minerals before the water runs through your home pipes. This ‘softens’ the hard water and can be felt immediately, as soft water feels slippery in your hands in comparison. Softening water has widespread effects, lowering household expenses wherever tap water is run.
Let’s spotlight the seven primary ways that water softeners save money for your household.
1. Your Fixtures Stay Polished
To start with, you can slow down your surface-cleaner budget. The first thing most people notice about soft water (other than the hand-feel) is the lack of water spots on the faucet, sink, and tub. Without those minerals to leave behind, your water will evaporate more cleanly and wash away completely. No more white chalky residue making your clean surfaces look imperfect. And in effect, no more having to finish every cleaning job with a chemical cleaner to get that finished shine.
2. Use Less Laundry Soap
A water softener saves money in the laundry room, as well. Hard water minerals reduce the sudsing capabilities of soap. Most notably, homes that run hard water need more laundry soap and laundry additives (like softener and cleaning powders) for your clothes to come out soft and clean. When you switch to soft water, prepare to use a lot less detergent and laundry additives. You won’t need nearly as much fabric softener or cleaning powders, and you can often reduce your detergent use per load.
3. Skip the Dishwasher Rinse Aid
Rinse aid is by far the priciest part of running the dishwasher. It’s used to reduce the white spots on glasses and dishes when the dishwasher dries. But those spots are left by hard-water minerals. With a water softener, you won’t need rinse aid – or much less of it – to get pristine spotless dishware out of your dishwasher.
4. Enjoy a Simpler Skincare Routine
Hard water dries out the skin and can coat hair, making it dull. The minerals can also clog pores, causing breakouts. Families who regularly bathe and shower in hard water often need more rigorous skincare routines and hair care products to stay healthy. When your water softens, you may notice skin naturally recovering and glowing without the need for a product-rich routine. Your hair will soon shine more and lose the hard water dullness, meaning less product to look great each day.
5. Stop Drinking Bottled Water
If you’ve been drinking bottled water because your tap water tastes “off,” that might be changing. By filtering out the hard water minerals, the taste of your tap water will change noticeably. More to the point, it will have less of a taste. Soft water will not leave your mouth feeling dry and makes a better base for plain or mixed beverages. Softened water will mix better in cooking and even taste better coming through a filter.
For this reason, homes that use bottled water can reduce that cost by switching to soft water from the tap.
6. Call the Plumber Less Often
The minerals in hard water build up on everything they cross, not just your faucets or laundry or hair. They also build up on the inside of pipes. As your household pipes run hard water, both the outflow pipes and the drains will close and clog up. By switching to soft water, you stop and even reverse this process. Ultimately, this means fewer clogs, fewer breaks, and a lot fewer costly calls to the plumber.
7. House Plants Get Healthier
Finally, even your house plants benefit from switching to soft water. Mineral-heavy hard water will leave the same scale buildup on the leaves, soil, and roots of any plants watered with it. This means more plant care and, often, better fertilizer or plant food to keep your home garden healthy. Water softened with resin is healthier and safer for plants, meaning fewer plant care expenses to keep your plants looking great.
If your household budget could benefit from these changes, we would be proud to install your new soft water system. Contact us today to consult on your home’s water softening needs.