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Hard Water Solutions for Home

What is Hard Water?

Do I Have Hard Water?

How Does a Water Softener Work?

What Minerals Does a Water Softener System Remove?

How Can a Water Softener System Benefit You?

Shop Water Softener Systems

What is Hard Water?

Hard Water is when your home's water supply has too many hard minerals like calcium and magnesium. The buildup produces chalky hard water stains on your appliances and leaves spots on clean glassware. After too much time, your hard water will even cause you to have less water pressure from all the scale buildup in your plumbing. Is hard water safe to drink? The answer is yes; there are no dangerous risks from drinking hard water. However, there are effects of hard water on skin and hair, such as dryer feeling skin and hair after showering. The benefits of soft water vs hard water are undeniable: With softer water, you'll spend less time cleaning and repairing water-using appliances and fixtures and even save on the amount of soap you use. At Spencer's TV & Appliance, you'll find the hard water solutions for home plumbing, like an Envirotec water softener, which will combat your home's hard water problems. Find your water softener today.

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Do I Have Hard Water?

There are several ways to detect the presence of hard water, such as scale buildup on your appliances, hard water stains, reduced water pressure, and constant issues with plumbing and water-using appliances. But that might not give you a clearer picture of what's in your water. So, how do you test for hard water at home? You can try the soapsuds test by filling a clean, empty bottle with a third full of water, adding a few drops of pure liquid soap, shaking it for 15 seconds, and setting the bottle down. If there aren't fluffy bubbles or if the water appears cloudy or milky, your water is hard.

However, since several soaps are designed to lather regardless of water type, this might not be the most accurate test. Other options on how do you test for hard water include checking the municipalities' report from your city or local water provider and using a high-quality hard water test kit. Most water testing kits report hard water levels in grains per gallon of calcium carbonate, which you can then compare to the water hardness scale:

Water Hardness Scale

Classification Soft Slightly Hard Moderately Hard Hard Very Hard
Grains per Gallon (gpg) <1 1-3.5 3.5-7 7-10.5 >10.6
Classification Grains per Gallon (gpg)
Soft <1
Slightly Hard 1-3.5
Moderately Hard 3.5-7
Hard 7-10.5
Very Hard >10.6

If your test results come back as less than 1 gpg, then your water is considered soft. But if your report shows your water is between 7 to 10 gpg, then your home has hard water. So, if you have high hard water levels, it's time to look for hard water solutions for your home.

How Does a Water Softener Work?

After establishing you have hard water, the next step is how to treat hard water at home. The easy solution on how to treat hard water is with a water softener. A water softener works by reducing the amount of calcium and magnesium in your water through an ion exchange. This works by moving water through a bed of resin, which traps calcium and magnesium and replaces them with sodium ions. The resin bed is negatively charged, while calcium and magnesium are positively charged chemicals, which are attracted to the sodium ions on the resin beads. After that, regeneration happens to recharge the resin beads. This happens by washing off the hard minerals and draining them out of the system.

A water softener system consists of a mineral tank, control valve, and brink tank. Hard water is softened inside the mineral tank as the water moves through the control valve. Once the control valve estimates that the softening capacity of the resin is diminishing, it triggers regeneration, which is where the solution from the brine tank moves through the mineral tank to recharge the resin beads. Keep in mind that the separate brine tank means you'll need to periodically replace the water softener salt to ensure your system is working at peak capacity.

Where is a Water Softener System installed?

Where your water softener system is installed depends on the size of your system, but typically they are installed near the water heater, so all your equipment is in one place. But you don't have to worry about installing your Envirotec water softener yourself — we're happy to do it for you! Our experts handle every aspect of your water softener installation so that you can focus on the benefits. If you have more questions about how to treat your hard water at home, give us a call, and we'll happily assist you.

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What Minerals does a Water Softener System Remove?

As part of hard water solutions for home residents, a water softener system is designed to remove hard minerals such as calcium and magnesium from your water. However, the ion exchange process can also attract other positively charged ions like iron and manganese. The type of iron that a water softener can remove has to be in a soluble state like ferrous iron, so keep that in mind.

    • Calcium (Ca2+)
    • Magnesium (Mg2+)
    • Ferrous (Fe2+)
    • Manganese (Mn)

How Can a Water Softener System Benefit You?

The effects of hard water on skin are harmful enough, with constantly dry and itchy skin and hair, but continuously repairing your plumbing and appliances can be expensive. Your clothes will also fade faster and feel stiffer, too. Plus, with the scale buildup, you'll find yourself asking, "Is hard water safe to drink?"— it is, but no one likes doubting their water source. But when you buy an Envirotec water softener, you'll see the benefits of soft water vs hard water. With a water softener, you'll reduce your water heating bill up to 30 percent, protect your pipes, appliances, and fixtures from harmful scale buildup, and save yourself on repairs. In addition, you'll use less soap to clean, wash clothes and dishes (no more spots on glassware!), and shower, which saves how much you'll spend on soap. Not to mention, your skin and hair will feel vibrant and soft after your shower, just like they're supposed to. So, if you're wondering how to treat hard water, look for a water softener from Envirotec. Envirotc designs every product for harsh desert water conditions, so you know your water is being treated right. Shop our selection of Envirotec water softeners today!

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Contact Us/Where to Find Us

Ready to shop hard water solutions for home plumbing? Stop by Spencer's TV & Appliance! We exclusively sell Envirotec water solutions at our store, and we have the expertise to install every product. Are you unsure whether a water softener is right for your home? Contact us, and we'll help you assess your home's water needs. Regardless of your water conditions, we have the high-quality products to solve your problems.

Where to Find Us

Where can you find the closest Spencer's? We have 10 valley-wide showrooms in Maricopa County, AZ. We have showrooms in East Gilbert, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Arrowhead, Mesa, Glendale, Goodyear, Phoenix, and Scottsdale, so stop by the nearest store. You can also browse our Envirotec products in our online catalog too. Remember that we only deliver throughout the state of Arizona.

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