How To Choose The Best Water Softener For My Needs
The best water softeners in the market are mainly categorized into four main groups: salt free, magnetic, ion exchange as well as reverse osmosis. These are the processes used by the softeners to soften and purify the water. Salt free softeners come with filters hence the ions present in water are not affected. This is the reason they are very popular amongst various clients although, they are not to be used with hard water. Ions present in the water are replaced with potassium and sodium ions when ion exchange softeners are used to make the water soft. The calcium ions removed from the water are the ones that make it hard therefore dishwashers as well as washing machines that are negatively affected by hard water can then last longer.
When the best water softeners using ion exchange are used, then it must not be drunk as it contains a high level of sodium. The magnetic softeners make use of magnetic fields around magnets to make hard water soft. They are usually used either in water pipes or even on them but the softened water only remains soft within a period of 48 hours after which it hardens again.
Osmosis is the process in which water molecules move from a region that is less concentrated to one that is more concentrated through a semi-permeable membrane and the process used by reverse osmosis softeners by applying pressure is the exact opposite. When pressure is exerted, impurities are removed from the water via the semi-permeable membrane.
Although water is purified through this process up to ninety eight percent, all the nutrients and minerals that were present are all removed. The brands of the best water softeners are Kinetico 2020 and Culligan that both use ion exchange, the Pelican PSE1800 which is considered the best due to its softening and filtering properties, Soo-soft digital water treatment system that uses magnetic fields as well as Tapworks AD softener that uses reverse osmosis among several others.
You should not just pick a softener but the one that best suits your needs and fits your budget. It is therefore important to know what to look out for when searching for the best softener. Click here to read our buying guide
You must first test your water to determine the level of iron in it and the degree of hardness using a test kit or a water hardness map for the latter. Once this is found, you can then choose a softener from among the many that uses one of the three methods when functioning: manually, meter-based or timely regenerated that is used manually, according to the amount of water used and time respectively.
You then have to choose the softener that comes with a warranty, is reliable and easy to install and also matches your water capacity, rate of flow as well as size. With soft water, soap detergents will last long, clothes will not wear out fast and even machines like the ones for washing will be durable. Use of the best water softeners in the market will ensure that you save the extra money used to replenish items that get used up quickly due to the hard water used on them.
