Water softener myths busted! If you’ve been reading our blog on a regular basis you will know all about the benefits of having a water softener installed in your home. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few myths about residential water treatment that people believe. Many of which are just misconceptions, others which are complete lies. Read on to get those water softener myths busted…
1. Water softening takes away healthy minerals
When some people hear how water softeners remove calcium and minerals they think the softening process is taking away important nutrients. After all, calcium and magnesium can benefit things like bone health.
The truth is that the calcium and magnesium deposits in hard water are inorganic minerals, which don’t provide the same benefits as obtaining minerals from food or supplements. The calcium and magnesium in hard water cannot be easily absorbed by the cells in your body.
Plants are able to transform inorganic minerals into an organic state, which is why you need to eat your fruit and vegetables, but drinking hard water won’t do much for adding minerals to your diet.
2. Water softeners purify water
Water softeners are specifically designed to reduce the hardness of water. They do an excellent job of removing minerals and metals that cause scale and create all sorts of household headaches.
However, water softeners do not filter out all contaminants. This is another reason why you may need a reverse osmosis system for the water your family actually consumes.
3. Water softeners put salt in your water
It is understandable why people make this mistake but you are not drinking salt water if you install a water softener in your home.
It’s true that you’ll need water softener salts, but you shouldn’t taste salt in your water. Water softeners use an ion exchange process to remove minerals like calcium and magnesium, which make the water hard.
A special resin stored in the tank makes this process possible. The resin is charged with sodium ions, which replace the hard minerals in your water. So it isn’t salt (NaCl) that gets added to your water, it’s sodium (Na).
4. The amount of sodium in softened water is unhealthy
How much sodium a water softener adds to your water depends on how hard your home’s water is in the first place.
That being said, the typical amount of sodium in softened water is too small to have any sort of negative impact on your health. Studies have shown that the added sodium shouldn’t be an issue for most healthy adults.
Not everyone likes the taste of softened water, but they don’t want to deal with hard water problems either. However,there are options. We install as standard a mini tap for drinking and cooking purposes whilst the rest of the household water supply will be from the water softener.
Better yet, you could install a reverse osmosis system to get pure and refreshing drinking water straight from the tap at your kitchen sink.
5. Soft water leaves a film on your skin
Some people notice a different feeling on their skin when they first shower in soft water. It feels slick, and some might even say slimy.
This is not a film being left behind on your skin, and it isn’t soap that doesn’t wash away either. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When you have hard water it does leave soap scum on your skin. What you notice after showering in hard water is not a sign you’re “squeaky clean,” but instead, that you are covered in a sticky soap residue.
The slickness on your skin when you bathe in soft water is actually your body’s natural essential oils. It’s how clean is supposed to feel! After washing in softened water you are left with silky smooth skin instead of a build-up of soap scum.
6. Water softeners cost a lot of money
Putting a water softener in your home will require an initial investment. However, it will save you quite a bit of your hard earned money in the long run.
Yes, some water softeners will use electricity, you’ll have to buy salt, and it will need to be serviced on occasion. But in reality, water softeners put much more money back in your pocket.
One of the biggest savings comes from your boiler. These appliances operate much better on soft water while hard water makes them inefficient and forces them to run at a higher temperature. That’s one way a water softener will lower your utility bills while extending the life of appliances.
7. Water softeners waste water and energy
It’s true that some water softeners can waste water and salt during the regeneration process. This is the cycle your system goes through to re-charge the resin with sodium ions. Modern water softeners are however designed to keep this at a minimum and work as efficiently as possible.
There are also other ways in-home filtration can help the environment though. Soft water is more efficient at cleaning which means you’ll use less detergent and chemical-filled cleaning products, which in turn reduces water pollution.
If you also have a reverse osmosis system, you can stop buying water in plastic bottles. The environmental impact of bottled water is huge!
So, water softener myths busted? Why not get in touch and arrange for your free, no obligation quotation. You too could be enjoying all the benefits of softened water soon!