The best way to figure out what size water softener to get is to have a plumbing expert from Academy Air come out to your home. Your plumbing expert from Academy Air will take a few different factors into consideration such as the size of your home, the number of members in your household, and your water needs.

There are many tell-tale signs that you need a water softener in your home including hard calcium stains around your faucets, irritated skin after showers, and feeling dehydrated even when you’ve had an adequate amount of water. The only sure way to determine if your home needs a water softener is by testing your water. A water assessment will tell you what minerals and contaminants, if any, are in your water. Call Academy Air to have a trusted plumber come out to your home and test your water to see if a water softener is right for your home.

A water softener is a device that removes unwanted, and potentially harmful, minerals like calcium, magnesium, etc. that cause hardness in your home’s water. In order to soften water, a salt solution, or brine, is used to perform a “Scientific swap” between the salt and hardness minerals present in the water in your home.

Water softening can be extremely beneficial as hard water can dry out your skin and hair, cause water spots to appear on freshly cleaned glassware, and cause calcium and limestone buildups within your plumbing system that lead to potentially damaging clogs and low water pressure. Installing a water softener can make cleaning your home, showering, and appliances much easier.

The main difference between salt water softeners and salt-free water softeners are while traditional salt water softeners remove the minerals making your water hard, salt-free water softeners restructure those minerals using a method called Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC), rather than removing them all together. Salt softeners can be more expensive while salt-free water softeners can save money in the long run. Both systems require the same amount of maintenance. If you’re struggling to figure out which option is right for you and your home, call Academy Air to help you choose.

Installing a water softener can be a do-it-yourself project, but it is normally recommended that an expert install any water softeners. That way you know you can rely on the water softener to function properly and efficiently when you need it most.