The Benefits of Water Softening
March 25, 2016
When we were in the market for a single family home last year, one of the items on our list of must-haves was a water softening system. Our geographic area tends to have fairly hard water, and as a chemical engineer, I’ve always appreciated the benefits of soft water. Today, I’m going to discuss how a water softening system works, along with the many benefits of soft water. I’ll also be sharing why I’m loving the Morton Salt Water Softening products!
The Benefits of Water Softening
The Benefits of Water Softening
Want to see a video that explains water softening in detail? Check out this video that features a stop-motion sequence on the actual ion exchange process involved in water softening!
Did you know that soft water is better than hard water? Yes, soft water leads to cleaner dishes, cleaner clothing, cleaner appliances and cleaner pipes. When water is considered hard, it means there are extra ions in the water, such as Calcium & Magnesium. These hard minerals (Calcium, Magnesium, & more) are responsible for that white build-up you sometimes see on appliances or plumbing fixtures. Not only is this white build-up visually unattractive, it is also responsible for shortening the lifespan of your appliances and/or causing plumbing issues over time. Here are some specific benefits of a water softening system:
- Glasses & dishes that come out of the dishwasher sparkling clean without a cloudy appearance
- Laundry that is softer & cleaner
- Less detergent required when doing laundry or cleaning dishes
- No hard water deposits on the tub, toilet, appliances & fixtures
- Higher efficiency of appliances
- Longer life for appliances
Now that you know why soft water is preferred over hard water, let me explain how a water softening system works. One may think that the process is very complicated or difficult to understand, but it’s really quite easy to understand! Here are the steps of a water softening system:
1. A water softening system contains polystyrene beads (also known as resin) that are negatively charged. These resin beads will typically have Sodium ions attached to them.
The Importance of Water Softening
2. Hard water enters the water softening system. Hard water consists of water molecules, along with various hard minerals, such as Calcium & Magnesium.
The Importance of Water Softening
3. As the hard water passes through the system, the positively-charged Calcium & Magnesium are attracted to & attach themselves to the negatively-charged resin beads, releasing a Sodium ion in the process. The water leaving the system is now soft, as it consists of water molecules and some Sodium ions.
The Importance of Water Softening
4. The Morton Salt Water Softening products recharge the resin beads, replacing the Magnesium & Calcium ions with fresh Sodium ions. This allows the resin to perform at optimal levels.
The Importance of Water Softening
In the above picture, you can see a few Morton Salt products that I picked up complimentary for testing purposes. I found these at my local home improvement store. These bags are really easy to carry with the durable built-in handle. It was also really easy to open these bags and pour the contents into the water softening system. There are different varieties of these Morton Salt Water Softening products, each designed to meet specific water softening needs.
With a water softening system in place, your home will benefit from bathroom fixtures that are clean & free of hard water deposits.
The Importance of Water Softening
Your laundry will come out of the washing machine softer & cleaner than ever.
The Importance of Water Softening
With soft water, your washing machine will need less detergent to achieve the same level of clean.
The Benefits of Water Softening
Furthermore, soft water will result in glasses & dishes that are sparkling clean without any cloudy spots!
The Importance of Water Softening
Does your home have hard water? It’s really easy to find out! Simply visit Morton Salt and fill out a quick form. They will then send you a free water test kit that will determine whether you have hard water. You simply run the test strip under tap water for about one second, and the test will produce a particular color result that will correspond to a specific water hardness level.
Learn more about water softening and get your free water test strip HERE and tell me: Do you have a water softening system in your home? Would you love to save time & money by experiencing the benefits of soft water in your home?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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I thought there was just one kind of water. This has been quire informative.
Wow that is fantastic information and certainly something I have never understood before. What kind of softening system do you use? It sounds really pricey and challenging to install.
Thanks Rachel! It’s actually really a simple process. You can find a system that fits your needs at your local home improvement store. A plumber can install the system in one afternoon!
This is so helpful, and it’s something I didn’t know! I think this is probably the most overlooked topic. I just moved into my own apartment, and I didn’t think that the type of water had something to do with buildup. Thank you for sharing how to change soft and hard waters, I’m going to try this!
I have had a water softener all of my life and would not be without one. You use less product (shampoo, body wash) and it does not leave my skin feeling dry. Thanks for the info
With a water softening system, one can use less soap and less detergent! It saves time and money!
We have hard water. I hate the deposits left in the potties.
So lucky our water in Seattle is soft, my curly hair gets so wonky when traveling to places with hard water!
This is the first time I’ve heard of this concept and I’m impressed. I sure would love to try something like this especially if it helps me use less products on my skin and on my stuff.
We have the worst hard water. If we didn’t soften it would be a nightmare.
Wow! This is really neat. I’m pretty sure that our water is pretty hard here. We have a lot of the calcium build up on our faucets and even fridge for dispensing water. But we do have a water filter we use with the fridge. I’ll have to mention this to my husband.
Thanks Heather! Be sure to sign up for your free water test kit to confirm whether you have hard water!
I knew there were water softeners, but I never t.hought of how they actually worked
I love this! Thanks for taking the time to explain the difference between hard and soft water.
Wow! What a nice and interesting information I have learn today. This information is really new for me and I’m glad and thankful enough to learn this from you. Thanks for sharing.
i look forward to finding out whether i have soft or hard water. i can really tell what a difference the soft water made on the glass
Very interesting article, but nothing that haven’t learned before. I remember my grandmother catching the water from the rain, it makes the detergent in the water lather very much faster and you don’t waste too much detergent to get the water suddy.
This is such great information! Good to know the difference between hard and soft water! I take it into consideration! 🙂
[…] The Benefits of Water Softening – 1 freebie(s)? […]
I didn’t understand the difference in hard and soft water if I am being honest. I’m glad you explained it!
I didn’t even know you could soften your water at home, that’s awesome.
Very interesting information. I didn’t know much about this subject. Thanks.
I much prefer soft water as opposed to hard water too and this was fascinating to learn about the negative ions.
I love science!, but this is the first time ive heard about hard and soft water, Im gonna try out making that soft water, maybe my house will start to look cleaner! =) Thanks for sharing!
Wow I didnt realize there was a water softening system. This was educational I will look into this further.
We really need something to soften our water also.
We do have filters but it would be helpful to have more.
Very good article. Thank you.
What a great info! It is so cool that Morton Salt can give you a free water test kit that cant tell what type of water do I have
This is very informative and I have signed up for the testing.
I have never heard of this! I can’t wait to get my test so I can figure out my water.
We had our well water tested recently. They said we didn’t need a softener, but I think we do.
I’ve always thought that I had hard water. I’m glad that I can finally find out for sure by visiting Morton’s website. I’m going to send for the free water testing kit. Thanks!
This is a really informative post on having soft water and its benefits. I guess it’s much better when it comes to the cleaning, washing and other uses.
This makes much more sense to me now. My mom has always softened her water but I haven’t tried it yet.
We have really hard water in our area. I know it isn’t the best so I should really get a water softening system. It sounds like it will make a big difference.
I never realised I lived in a hard water area until I went to stay with a friend in Scotland. Having a shower was like washing in silk! My hair felt amazing afterwards too. I would love softer water.
I’ve never heard of water softening but I will add this to my wish list of must haves for my house. The water is my area is definitely hard.
It is amazing the difference that a good water softner can make! I hate the hard water build up that can happen and what it can do to your hair as well.
I can not imagine life without my water softener! It really makes all the difference. (Thanks this reminded me to go buy more salt tomorrow!!!)
Well I can say I learned my “something new” for today by reading this. I had no clue about hard water build up, but gosh I guess it can happen often!
Growing up, we always had a water softener so I never realized how great they are – until I moved out! Now it is a must that we have one!
We’re fortunate to live in an area with soft water right now, but our old house had hard water – oh man can it wreak havoc! This is a very informative post.
Our water is pretty good, but I’ve certainly experienced hard water. Eeek, it is not fun to deal with at all. This was great information and I love the educational lesson.
Great information. It’s funny how the idea of hard water is rarely talked about. This was very informative – thank you.
This is so helpful information!! Good to know the difference between hard and soft water. Thanks for sharing!
I find it fascinating that a water softener could help improve your skin’s health while prolonging the lifespan of your plumbing equipment. My uncle saw a couple of ads that offer these for homes around his area. It may be a good idea for him to invest in one if this can help him prevent pipe issues!
Your explanation of what water softening can do to make cleaning easier was extremely helpful to read about. Something like that will help us out a lot in terms of how chores are quite stressful day after the day, especially with anything involving the bathroom. Once I find a water treatment expert in the area, I’ll go and ask them for water-softening appliances for sure.