Is limescale constantly clogging your pipes or soap scum becoming a persistent issue? Maybe discolored or stained bathtubs, toilets, and sinks give you sleepless nights. In either case, the best solution involves using a top-tier water softener to eradicate the minerals that make hard water a household menace. But, there's one problem: many different softeners are available today, including salt-based and reverse-osmosis products. So, choosing the right solution can be tricky if you lack the necessary information. However, you can ensure the water softener you pick is the best fit for your home by considering the factors outlined below.

1. Household size

According to statistics, an average person uses around 80-100 water gallons per day. Therefore, the amount of water required in your home largely depends on the household size. Typically, a house with many residents demands more soft water, and vice versa. If you have a sizable household, look for a higher-capacity water softener to meet your needs. Pay close attention to that because an undersized product will have problems softening all the hard water residents use to do laundry, wash, drink, cook, etc. If a softener can't effectively tackle a particular usage level, it's likely to let hard water through your home's plumbing system. And that will wreak havoc and cause problems like blockages and low water pressure.

2. Common contaminants

Iron, zinc, strontium, manganese, and barium ions are some of the culprits that harden water. Most residential water softener systems use ion exchange units to remove most of these minerals and exchange them with relatively harmless ones like sodium or potassium. However, no two water softeners are alike. Like catalytic carbon filters, some also get rid of contaminants such as chlorine or chloramines. Therefore, if you want a whole-house solution for these chemicals, they may be an excellent place to start. Otherwise, picking a product that cannot tackle such contaminants will be pointless because it won't trap them and improve aspects like odor or taste. In brief, you should establish the pollutants in your home's water and use the information to isolate a fitting water softener.

3. Product features

Water softeners have unique features. For instance, some use salt, while others are salt-free. Salt-based systems eliminate minerals that cause water hardness, but salt-free products condition the water. Softeners also have a specific number of cylinders. You may find a product with a single component or one using multiple cylinders. Not to forget, some water softening systems are electric, and others are non-electric. As the names suggest, electric softeners use electric timers to establish the right time for resin bed regeneration, but non-electric products don't need electricity to operate. All in all, carefully going through product features and comparing them with your softening needs and preferences is a prerequisite to choosing the best solution for your home.

To learn more or to find a water softener for your home, talk with a supplier near you.