About 85% of the water that comes out of American taps is hard water. Many Americans don’t appreciate the unique flavor and smell of this water. They especially don’t like the bright red and orange stains it leaves on everything.
The solution is to soften your water. It will remove the calcium and magnesium present in the water. What you get to enjoy is an easier time cleaning, more enjoyable showers, and fewer mineral deposits on your pots and pans.
To gain all of these benefits of soft water in your home, you need to know how to soften water the right way. This guide will tell you everything you need to know.
Ion-Exchange
This type of system is the most effective for softening all of the water coming into a house. There are two types of water softeners that fall into this category, resin and brine tanks.
Resin Tank
The water enters a large holding tank that has salt coved resin beads. The minerals in the water and the salt react and switch places. This reaction will continue to happen until you’ve exhausted the salt on the beads.
You’ll replace the beads, and the process continues. This system’s drawback is that it adds potassium and salt to the water, which may not be good for people with certain health conditions.
Brine Tank
This system is very similar to the resin tank. The main difference is that large chunks of salt replace the resin beads. As the system softens your water, the salt rocks dissolve into the water, and the minerals are flushed out.
There are three types of salt you can use in your system, rock, evaporated, or solar. The type you choose will depend on your water usage demand and budget. You can learn about RainSoft water and decide if an ion-exchange brine tank is right for your home.
Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC) or Nucleation Assisted Crystallization (NAC)
This method of softening water doesn’t use salt, making it healthier. They technically aren’t softeners but are more accurately called conditioners or descalers. The minerals aren’t removed from the water.
Instead, they change the form of the minerals into a crystal that won’t adhere to surfaces. They offer similar benefits to salt systems and require less energy to run.
Chelation System
When using this style of system, you’ll notice it’s similar to a TAC process. The minerals bond with a chelation agent. The minerals get suspended in the water, so they can’t leave buildup, limescale, or mineral deposits.
Magnetic or Electronic
This method of softening water is the newest idea. You’ll attach an electronic or magnetic device to an outside water supply pipe. As the water flows by the device the ions in the water will change electromagnetic properties and begin to repel from each other.
You Know How to Soften Water
After reading this guide, you should have a solid understanding of how to soften water. If you’re tired of dealing with the effects of hard water in your home, then it’s time you install a water softener. Look for a system that uses one of these processes to soften or condition your water.
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