How Long Do Water Softeners Last?
How long do water softeners last? Well, water is a special blessing for us. However, it is always not appropriate to consume tap water or filtered water as it is. Instead, you have to provide proper treatment to ensure that all the impurities and unwanted substances are removed from the water and it is safe to consume.
To make water the best fit for use, multiple substances are available on the market. Among all these substances, water softeners are also one of the materials used to make water appropriate to consume or use for general purposes such as cleaning, cooking, and washing.
Most people living in developed countries know the answer to “how long do water softeners last?” and their general functioning. However, people living in third-world countries lack information about safe water use and consumption.
This article will focus on the benefits of water softeners, different types, installing a water softener, and compact water softeners, and we will discuss the answer to “how long do water softeners last?”.
What Are Water Softeners?
Water softeners are specially designed equipment that turns hard water into soft water. Water softeners remove minerals like calcium, magnesium, and multiple other minerals and ions from hard water and turn them into soft water.
Hard water is water that has all the minerals mentioned above. At the same time, soft water is water having a lower concentration of these minerals and ions than hard water, or water that has these minerals and ions neutralized. This article will further focus on water softeners or soft water benefits. However, soft water generally uses less soap when cleaning houses or clothes. It also prevents mineral and ion buildup in pipelines, as well as day-to-day plumbing costs.
Different Types Of Water Softeners
Although water softeners were introduced to the market long ago, there have been multiple different types of water softeners. However, each water softener is customized for a different purpose, and the answer to the question “how long do water softeners last” is different for different types.
The following are some of the most common types of water softeners.
Salt-Based Water Softeners
Salt-based water softeners are also known as ion exchange water softeners. This is one of the most common types of water softeners as it offers high flow rates. In addition, it works on ion exchange phenomena through the resin, which attracts calcium and magnesium ions and replaces them with sodium. The resin can be regenerated using sodium.
This type of softener requires timely maintenance. However, it will not remove bacteria. This water softener has a long lifespan for people who are wondering “how long do water softeners last?” But you will have to buy salt bags regularly for this kind of water softener.
Salt-Free Water Softeners
These water softeners do not require continuous regeneration of resin or salt. These water softeners do not remove the minerals. Instead, they neutralize the present minerals in the water and prevent them from clumping and accumulating together. These softeners do not need timely maintenance. However, they are expensive to have, but they have associated benefits such as removing bacteria and impurities.
Portable Water Softeners
Portable water softeners are perfect for people who travel. You can have ideal, perfectly consumable water on the go. These water softeners do not require any electricity or tools. However, these are salt-based systems, and they might not be enough if you have a team with you. But how long do water softeners last? Sadly, these water softeners do not have a long life span.
Shower Head Water Softeners
These water softeners are designed to supply clean water to the whole house. Hence, these are expensive investments. However, if you aim for clean hair, skin, and body, shower head water softeners are the best choice. They are easy to install. But the question remains, “how long do water softeners last?” These softeners only last for 2 to 2.5 months. These water softeners do not promise to eradicate bacteria, which can be present in the water coming out of the showerhead.
Before we head on to the benefits of water softeners, let’s quickly understand “how long do water softeners last?”. Depending on the type of water softener, it can last anywhere from a few months to around 10 years. Electric water softeners can last between 2 and 10 years.
Now that we have gone over the different types of water softeners, let’s explore water softener benefits.
Benefits Of Water Softeners
Although the benefits of water softeners are restricted to many factors, these benefits are optimized for each type of water softener. In addition to this, these benefits are also based on the longevity of the water softener and the types of minerals they remove.
The following are some of the most common and generalized benefits of water softeners.
Healthier Skin, Nails, And Hair
As discussed above, water softeners improve your skin, hair, and nails. The effect of water softeners is especially noticeable on the skin as it starts to look more healthy. Hard water filled with impurities and ions is harmful to your skin, nails, and hair. It makes your hair rough and dry, your skin flaky and patchy, and it makes your nails look pale.
Water softeners will pull out all the hard impurities from the water you use. This will leave your skin moisturized and soft.
Soft And Clean Clothes
One of the benefits of water softeners is that they make clothes soft and clean. You must be aware of how expensive sweaters become hard and rough after washing. This is attributed to the hard water we use without water softeners. Hard water leaves mineral backup on your clothes, making them look dirty and rough.
Washing your clothes with soft water will make them look newer, brighter, and softer than when you bought them from the store.
Removes Bland Taste From Water
You must have felt the bland and earthy taste of water when you bought it from a roadside store or local store. Well, that’s hard water. It has traces of minerals and metallic ions, which give it a bland and earthy taste. Installing a water softener will improve the quality of that water and make it better for drinking purposes. Moreover, it will also prevent damage to your health and body by preventing the accumulation of metallic ions in your body.
Save Money With Soft Water
Soft water will reduce your hospital bills, but it will also reduce your electricity bills. Calcium, one of the minerals in hard water, doesn’t conduct heat. Hence, the accumulation of calcium in your tank will allow your tank to work harder and put in more effort to work. This way, your water tank will consume more energy. Using water softeners will prevent calcium buildup in your tank. Hence, it will indirectly reduce energy expenditure and lower your electricity bills.
Cleaner Dishes
Using water softeners and soft water indirectly will result in cleaner dishes. There will be no minimum residue of minerals on your dishes. You often feel a chalk-like residue on your dishes, and this is entirely the film of minerals left on your dishes when the water evaporates. Hence, absolutely no residues will be left on your dishes when you install a water softener at your place.
How To Install A Water Softener
Clients often look for the best water softener depending on their needs. Moreover, one of the most common questions asked by clients is: how long do water softeners last? This is because they are eager to invest in something with a long lifespan.
The following are steps to learn how to install a water softener.
- First, ensure that the water supply from the central supply systems is turned off.
- Next, you have to drain all the water lines and ensure that none of the lines have any water running during the installation process.
- After draining the water lines, make stable connections. For this purpose, you can also install a remote bypass.
- Now fill the brine tank with half water and half salt. Brine is a concentrated salt water solution.
- Ensure that the bypass is completely shut. After this, slowly and gradually turn on the water supply and allow the water to flow.
- Check thoroughly for any potential leaks.
- Complete the start-up procedure and enjoy using soft water.
Now that you know how to install a water softener, let’s check out compact water softener.
What Is A Compact Water Softener?
People are moving towards more direct and more beneficial items with everyday accomplishments. Similarly, to replace huge, tacky, and challenging to install and operate water softeners. With the help of science and technology, a new class of water softeners was introduced, called compact water softeners.
These types of water softeners have added benefits compared to conventional water softeners in multiple aspects. They are compact and take less space. In addition to this, they are also built-in, have the self-cleaning ability, and can filter dirt and sediments with ions and bacteria.
It has a finer mesh that will allow better and more efficient water filters. The mesh of this type of softener is smaller than that of the standard mesh. This software uses less salt than the standard ones. It works fast and also consumes less water.
Conclusively, water softeners aid in this era of pollution and impurity. Isn’t it true that there isn’t much purity these days? Hence, we should ensure that the water we consume is pure and free of impurities as this directly affects our health and body.
When opting to install a water softener, always look to answer one question “how long do water softeners last?” so that you are comfortable with making this one-time investment.
