How To Determine If Your Home Needs A Water Softener
If one of your neighbors recently mentioned that they had a water softener installed in their home, then you are probably wondering if one is necessary for your home as well. The good news is that it is easy for you to determine if your home's water needs softening or not. To this end, follow this simple procedure to determine if a water softener installation would improve your home's water:
Step 1: Gather a Few Basic Supplies
To test your home's water for hardness, there is an easy test that you can perform using supplies you already have laying around your home. To perform this test, you need an empty drinking water bottle or a soda bottle. You also need a small amount of liquid dishwashing detergent. If you use a soda bottle, then it is vital that the bottle is clean or your results could be skewed by the sugar residue left inside of the bottle.
Step 2: Place Some Tap Water into the Empty Bottle
Open the top of the empty bottle and fill it about half way to the top with water from your home's tap. For this test, you should use cold water. Using hot water can cause the test results to be inaccurate.
Step 3: Place Some Liquid Dishwashing Soap into the Bottle
Once the water is in the bottle, then add a few drops of the dishwashing detergent and place the cap securely onto the bottle.
Step 4: Shake the Soap and Water For One Minute
Place the water bottle with the soapy water in one of your hands and shake it vigorously for about a minute. Once you are done shaking the bottle, look inside and see if the water has produced soap bubbles or if it has simply turned a milky white color.
Finally, if the water in the bottle has a lot of soap bubbles, then you do not need a water softener installed in your home. However, if the water inside of the bottle turns white and does not make suds, then it is very likely that your home's water supply could be greatly improved by having a water softener installed. The reason that the soapy water in the bottle has not produced suds is because of the excess hardness in the water. This hardness is typically calcium salts and they tend to prevent soaps from working well. By installing a water softener, you can help get your laundry and dishes cleaner because the detergents you use will work better.
Contact a company like Provision Mechanical LLC to learn more about your water softener options.