If you live in a region that has hard groundwater, chances are very good that you have talked long and hard with your family about possibly getting a water softener.
One thing that might be keeping you from pulling the trigger and getting a fantastic water softener for your home is the price. It is true that a soft water system typically ranges in price from anywhere between $500 to $2,500 depending on the size of your home, the difficulty of installation, any additional features, and periodic servicing.
However, what you probably have not considered is the many ways in which a soft water system can actually save you money.
Luckily, we are here to help you better understand what you could be saving on if you got a water softener.
Plumbing
One way that you will be able to save money is by spending less on plumbing repairs. The reason why soft water is much better for your plumbing system is because it does not clog the pipes like hard water does. Hard water has the potential to clog both pipes and appliances due to the mineral buildup over time.
Appliances
The buildup can not only require plumbing repairs, it can also cause irreparable damage which can ultimately lead you to have to replace expensive appliances altogether. Anything from an expensive shower or bath spout to a dishwasher to the laundry machine can be damaged to extreme points due to hard water and mineral buildup. Luckily, spending some money on a soft water system will drastically reduce the likelihood that you will have to replace any of your great appliances anytime in the near future.
Gas and electric bills
A water softener can actually lower your monthly costs on utilities like gas and electric because it prevents pipe damage. When scale builds up within a pipe, the space that water has to flow through beings constricted and narrowed. This can result in an increased need for water pressure to push the water through the pipes. Additionally, the constricted pipes can make it much harder to transfer heat, forcing your water heater to work harder to compensate. Both issues will result in higher gas and electric bills that can end up making you pay huge amounts of overtime. For that reason, a soft water system can in some ways pay for itself over time.
Soap or detergents
One major issue with hard water is related to how poorly it reacts with soaps and detergents. Hard water keeps soaps and detergents from being fully soluble which means they have less cleaning power. This can lead to skin and hair damage as well as damage to your clothes. Beyond that, hard water users tend to use twice the amount of cleaning solution compared to soft water users. Between that and all the new clothes you will have to buy because hard water can damage clothes easily, you will be spending lots more compared to if you simply had a soft water system.
