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There’s is a lot of confusing information about home water treatment equipment. Well-meaning reporters writing articles on water treatment are part of the cause of this confusion. It doesn’t take long to figure out these reporters don’t have a clue what they are talking about. The goal in this series of articles is to cut away the noise and simplify the subject. In this article, we will compare a water softener and a whole house filter. We’ll start with water softeners. If you are noticing scale build up on your bathroom and kitchen fixtures you most likely have a hard water problem. Dissolved minerals in the water are what cause hard water. Calcium and magnesium are the main minerals to make up hard water. Although, iron and manganese can add to water hardness it is only a small amount. Basically, the more dissolved minerals in your water, the harder the water will be. The scaling happens when your water has a high level of minerals. If you are noticing scaling in your sinks and bathtubs, there is scaling going on in your pipes and appliances too. Another symptom of hard water is using a lot of soap for bathing and laundry. In many circles, hard water is also called the soap consuming capacity of water. The harder the water the more soap you need to create a lather. So, scaling on fixtures and appliance and excessive use of soap are the main reasons to get a water softener. There are two basic types of water softener. The salt based softener and the salt free softener. The salt based softener removes minerals that cause hardness by “exchanging” them with sodium. The process is called ion exchange. The salt free softener is actually a conditioner because it doesn't remove minerals, it changes them so they won't cause scaling. Note: the minerals will still build up in the water heater and in steam irons. The difference between a softener and a whole house filter is a softener will only take care of hardness in the water and a whole house filter will remove hundreds of contaminants. In whole house filters the water passes through multiple stages. The first stage is simple straining. It removes particles that are one twentieth the diameter of a human hair. The next stage is an activated carbon cartridge the remove chlorine, chloramines, pesticides and hundreds of other toxins found in water. The last stage will remove heavy metals like lead, copper and mercury to name three. With a water softener, you will feel the difference because softened water feels slick and gives you a clean feeling. With a whole house filter, you will taste and smell the difference because the water will not have chlorine in it or any other toxins for that matter. While both water softeners and whole house filters offer different and appealing results, here is something you should consider. If you want what both devices have to offer, you can actually have both. Just put them in series with water flowing into the whole house filter first followed by the water softener. Then you will have a soft, clean water to drink, cook with and bathe or shower in. By the way, do you want to learn more about home water quality? If so, download my brand new free eBook called "Home Water Quality Report". Just go to: http://www.enjoybetterwater.com
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water softener, water filter, home water treatment,
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