Did you know that over 80 percent of people living in the US uses hard water? This is only natural as most of the US soil stands on the ancient sea floor that left a high concentration of limestone. This sediment rocks, specifically minerals of which they’re comprised of, affect the water quality. And we all know that water hardness is determined by the amount of minerals in it. Increased percentage of metal ions such as magnesium and calcium in water change its structure, increasing the boiling point among other things. So, it’s safe to assume that by now you’re aware of the effects that hard water has on your health.
But What About Finance?
Using water softener can help you improve your health, but it can also save you a lot of money. Havingsoft water in your home will provide several financial benefits:
- Lower electricity bills.
- Less frequent maintenance of appliances.-
- You will use less washing powder.-
- Preserve water installation in your home.-
- Save on buying clothes.
To further elaborate on each aspect of financial benefits that water softener provides, let’s go into detailon each of them.
The Energy Saving
Water Quality Association, or in short WQA, conducted research on 30 water heaters over a period of 90 days to determine how much money can be saved on electricity. The water they used had a hardness that ranged from 0 to 30 grains per gallon (GPG). Because minerals change water structure and increase or decrease the boiling point, it will take more or less energy to heat water in your home. The WQA concluded that by using soft water in your home you'd end up saving more than 30 % on electricity bills.
Longer Lifespan of Home Appliances
Hard water also tends to lead to malfunction of your home appliances. This means that your washing machine, dishwasher, as well as any other appliance that uses water, is affected by hard water. Another study conducted by WQA that focused on the effects of hard water on dishwashing machines brought us fantastic data. Over a period of 30 days, two washing machines were used, both washing eight cycles on a daily basis with hard (26 grains/gallon) and soft water. After 240 cycles the one that used soft water had no visible water scale buildup while the other had considerably noticeable amounts of scale buildup on all of the interior surfaces.
Save on Washing Powder
Because of the presence of insoluble salts in hard water, the potential effectiveness of your washing powder and any liquid soap is affected as well. This means that without a water softener in your home, you’ll use more washing powder and soap to shower, wash clothes and dishes. This will undoubtedly add to your expense and have you spending more than 50% on buying these items than when using soft water. So think about how much you can save on a yearly basis.
Functional Water Installation
Your entire water installation can get clogged, causing pressure implosion that can damage the pipes when using hard water. Over time, as calcium and magnesium buildup in the pipes, they can generate huge amounts of scale deposits. By using soft water, you’ll evade this problem and preserve your water installation. The amount of money you’ll save on plumbing services will justify the cost of installing a decent water softener in your home. After a couple of months using it, you won’t even notice how much you’ve spent on a water softener because you'll save that much money on plumbing service alone.
Whiter Than Ever
Did you know that soft water makes you clothes cleaner? Using soft water for washing clothes will make them whiter than ever. Due to the lower amount of salts in soft water, your clothes will also last longer. Salts have an abrasive effect that damages the fabric over time. So by using a water softener, you’ll save on buying new clothes as well. You can rest assured that you’ll be visiting boutiques less frequently before the changing season.