The city of Phoenix does not hide its hard water. You can find information about the number and kinds of minerals in the water supply right on the city’s water website. Not hiding its information about hard water is not the same as admitting hard water is a problem. As far as city services are concerned, Phoenix water is safe and adheres to all guidelines. If you find it too hard, you are responsible for setting your water softener to the proper settings of 12 to 17 grains per gallon. The city does not put that grain number in perspective, but other sources (such as SFGate) say anything over 10.5 grains per gallon is classified “very hard.” Before understanding the benefits of a water softener, you need to appreciate the problems hard water creates.
Hard Water is a Hard Problem
Phoenix ground and surface water travels through a lot of soft rock, which dissolves into the water along its way into the municipal treatment system.
Two minerals, calcium and magnesium, leach out of the rock and soil, changing the basic chemistry of water. Without getting too technical, water has hydroxide and hydrogen ions in it, making it neutral.
The minerals interfere with water’s ability to dissolve things, like soaps. Hard water makes lathering, dishwashing, shampooing and clothes washing very difficult.
Rather than surround and remove dirt particles, soap adheres to the dissolved minerals, and often these minerals leave a filmy coating on surfaces like glassware and shower tiles. Hard water makes daily living a lot more difficult:
- No suds for cleaning
- Residue and staining on surfaces
- Soap scum
- Scale and sediment in hot water heaters
- Buildup in pipes
Almost (almost) all effects of hard water are cosmetic: you do not feel as clean; your clothes are not completely clean; glassware is spotted and streaked. Some effects, though, go beyond cosmetic, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS):
- Your skin feels dry and rough
- Energy efficiency is robbed from hot water heaters, dishwashers, and clothes washers
- Pipes clog
- Appliances can break or meet an early demise
- Your energy bills go up
- You waste water and electricity
Hardness in water is not solved by buying bottled water. You cannot afford the amount of bottled water needed to wash clothes, dishes and family members. You cannot afford to heat bottled water on the stove and revert to pioneer living with a big tin wash tub in the kitchen.
Even if you roughed it, your pipes, sinks, and toilets would still be circulating hard water. You need to address hard water with a whole-house water softening system.
What a Home Water Softener System Does
A whole house water treatment system can change the mineral content of water as it enters your Phoenix home, essentially performing a continuous water system repair day in, day out.
Some companies offer salt free water softener systems that attach to individual spigots, so your kitchen and bath sinks can produce glass-by-glass softer water. This is not an efficient way to deal with hard water.
With complete water softener installation in Phoenix, AZ homes, Day & Night Air can answer your need for residential water treatment services. Our systems are salt-free, easy to maintain, and affordable. Best of all, they work! You will feel a difference in how much your family enjoys every aspect of daily living:
- Soothing showers
- Cleaner dishes
- Enhanced cooking flavors
- Cleaner clothes
- No stains or soap scum
- Soap that richly lathers
- Shampoos that rinse thoroughly
- No films on glasses, plastics and ceramics
Your appliances get no scale, sediment or buildup. Mechanical systems last longer, family members feel better, and your energy bills drop.
Depending on the water treatment services you select, a water softener will replace calcium and magnesium with something else (like sodium, which is not the same as salt) through an ion exchange. The “wetter” water carries away dirt and oils easier, allowing soaps and shampoos to lather fully.
The ion exchange works continuously, and the system recharges itself periodically to flush away calcium and magnesium and resupply the sodium.
More thorough systems can even provide filtration to eliminate chemicals and other contaminants. Should you already have a water softener system, Day & Night Air can also perform water softener repair to restore your existing system to full operation.
Want a Water Softener Quote? Contact Day & Night Air Today!
Besides a notably improved ability to clean, your Phoenix home’s water supply system will extend the life of appliances, reduce energy consumption, reduce scale in pipes, and provide you with a cleaner plumbing system. Save on repair costs for appliances. Get faster water heating from your hot water heater. Extend the life of dishwashers and clothes washers.Your family deserves reliable, properly softened water. Contact Day & Night Air today to find out all the benefits of a water softener in your Arizona home.