When you are concerned about your home’s water, it only makes sense to call in your trusted water professional, a licensed plumber. But before you make that call to request an appointment, it is vital to understand more about your options for water treatment systems and water softeners. Many homeowners use these two terms interchangeably and do not realize that they are very different.
Water Treatment VS. Water Softening
Water treatment systems are used to filter contaminants out of your home’s water supply. The system uses many layers of different materials to filter your water. As the water moves through the various layers processes, including catalytic conversion, micro-filtration, ion exchange, oxidation, and absorption, remove potentially harmful contaminants from the water. Over the years, the filtration systems have been improved and refined to remove arsenic, lead, bacteria, and other harmful or undesirable organic materials from drinking water.
Water softeners use salt and a process called ion exchange to remove unwanted minerals from water. Hard water does not pose a threat to your health, but it can be hard on your water lines and plumbing fixtures. The mineral build-up can clog or damage these components and substantially shorten their life expectancy. In addition, hard water, water with a high mineral content, can have a metallic or other unpleasant taste.
The key difference to remember is that water softeners do not remove any contaminants from your water. They only extract the naturally occurring minerals that can detract from the taste of the water and damage plumbing components.
The Benefits Of A Water Treatment System
Living in the United States, we tend to take water quality for granted. But in some areas, the water quality is drastically lower than in others. Local industries and other pollution contribute to the number of contaminants found in some city’s water supply. You might think that the bad taste of the water is just something that you need to learn to live with. But your genuine concern should be the long-term health risks of consuming contaminated water. A water filtration system is an investment in your health as much as it is an investment in your home.
Not only will a quality water treatment system reduce the health risks of your drinking water, but it will improve the taste and smell as well. And that means you will enjoy drinking water more, which offers significant health benefits. The average person’s body requires 64 or more ounces of water each day. When your drinking water smells or tastes bad, you are not getting the hydration that you need. Dehydration can impact how you feel, your energy level and how well your entire body functions. And the more pure your drinking water is, the better it will flush and hydrate your body.
Finally, your water treatment system will pay for itself very quickly when you stop buying bottled water. With the average cost of a bottle of water being fifty cents, you are spending $4 each day just for a minimum hydration level. And that is for only one person. A family of five will spend $20 a day, or about $600 a month, just for drinking water. And over the course of a year, that cost comes to over $7k. Your water treatment system will only cost a fraction of that $7,000, and it will function for far longer than a single year.
To learn more about water treatment systems, call (512) 233-6308. The pros Parobek Water will answer your questions and provide you with a free price quote for a safe and healthy water solution.