Water Softener Installation in Plano, TX
Hard water isn’t necessarily bad for you, but it does have some major drawbacks. Notice white, cloudy spots on your dishes? Those are the mineral deposits left behind by hard water. Hard water can affect your plumbing, too, as the mineral deposits can collect inside your pipes and on your fixtures.
Plano is categorized as having moderately hard to hard water with levels at around 146.5 parts per million (PPM) or 8.6 grains per gallon (gpg). This often means drier skin, spotty glassware, and plumbing that has mineral buildup stuck to its surfaces.
You don’t have to live with hard water, though. You can contact a plumbing company, like Total Air & Plumbing, for water softener installation services.
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What Is Hard Water?
Hard water has high levels of dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium. When water flows over rocks and soil, it naturally absorbs these minerals. In Plano, for instance, the city’s water first flows over mineral-rich geological formations, like limestone, before being treated. If you’re unsure whether or not you have hard water, here are some signs to look out for.
- Mineral buildup: Mineral deposits will show up as white, crusty deposits on your faucets, shower heads, and fixtures.
- Stains: There may be reddish-brown stains around your sink drains and your toilet bowls.
- Cloudy spots: After washing and drying your dishes, you'll see white, cloudy spots on glasses.
- Dry skin: Your skin may feel unusually tight and dry after showering or bathing.
- Dull hair: Your hair may feel dry and somewhat brittle after washing it.
- Stiff laundry: You may notice your laundry feels stiff or rough.
- Lack of soapy bubbles: Your soap or detergent won't bubble easily, forcing you to use more of it.
Why Should I Soften My Water?
Hard water isn’t detrimental to your health, but it can destroy your plumbing and your appliances. It also leaves your glassware looking unclean. Here are some important reasons you should consider softening your water with Total Air & Plumbing’s water softener installation services.
- Protects your plumbing: Over time, mineral deposits can accumulate on the insides of your pipes, narrowing their diameter and eventually shortening their lifespan. Soft water, on the other hand, prevents these buildups from forming and can even help dissolve older ones.
- Reduces expensive repairs: Mineral deposits can start to erode your plumbing and appliances, resulting in costly repair services. To prevent these repairs in the first place, schedule water softener installation services with our Total Air & Plumbing team in Plano.
- Helps clean more efficiently: Soft water helps soaps and detergents lather more effectively. The result? You'll have cleaner items, and you'll use fewer cleaning products. You'll also spend less time cleaning.
- Healthier hair and skin: Minerals can strip your skin and hair of its essential oils. By using soft water to bathe or shower in, you're ensuring your body retains those oils. Overall, your skin will feel softer and your hair will feel healthier.
- Softer and brighter clothes: Mineral deposits tend to cling to fabrics, leaving them dull and stiff. With soft water, that buildup doesn't occur, allowing your laundry detergent to clean your clothes more effectively.
How Does a Water Softener Work?
A water softener removes minerals, such as magnesium and calcium, from your water and replaces them with sodium ions.
This process, called the ion exchange process, can be broken down as follows:
- Hard water enters the water softener tank and flows over resin beads that are coated with negatively charged sodium ions.
- The negatively charged sodium ions attract the positively charged minerals, extracting them from the water.
- The positively charged minerals attach to the resin beads and displace the positively charged sodium ions.
- The resulting soft water, now free of magnesium and calcium and carrying positively charged sodium ions, flows out of the tank.
The Water Softener Installation Process
When you contact our Eagle-eyed Plumbers at Total Air & Plumbing, we can install a water softener for you. The process is often complex, which is why it’s crucial that professionals do the job.
Our process is as follows:
- Shut water off: First, we shut off the water in your home and drain any remaining water from your pipes.
- Find a location: Next, we’ll choose a location to set up the water softener. Besides being level, the location should be near the main water line, a power outlet, and a drain.
- Cut the pipe: Our plumbers will cut out a section from your main cold water line. This is where we install the water softener.
- Insert the bypass valve: Then we’ll install the bypass valve, which has an inlet and outlet port.
- Connect the water softener: The bypass valve outlet port will connect to the water softener, while the inlet port will connect to the hard water supply.
- Connect the drain line and overflow line: Lastly, our plumbers will connect the drain line to an outlet and connect the overflow line from the brine tank to a drain.
To complete the installation process, we’ll fill the brine tank with water and salt and then restore your main water supply to check for leaks.
Water Softener Maintenance
Our plumbers will go over the maintenance steps needed to keep your water softener running smoothly.
Some steps to keep in mind include:
- Salt levels: Make sure to regularly check the salt levels in the brine tank and add salt when needed.
- Salt bridges: Look for any hardened salt deposits, called salt bridges. If you find one, break it up so that the salt can dissolve properly.
- Leaks: With time, the water softener could develop a leak. Check for leaks every so often, and call one of our plumbers if you suspect you have one.
- Clean the brine tank: Once a year, empty out the brine tank, remove any sediment, and wash the inside. Then refill it with water and salt.
- Flush the resin beads: As the resin beads pull out minerals, they become saturated. Every so often, flush them out with a specialized water softener cleaner.
- Schedule annual maintenance services: Schedule an annual inspection so our plumbers can ensure your water softener is working effectively. Besides performing a thorough test of the system, our plumbers can also replace any worn-out components.
Our Experts Can Help
Total Air & Plumbing has been serving the Plano neighborhood for over 60 years and always provide top-notch solutions. Plus, we’re a BBB-accredited business with a licensed, experienced team.
Worried about the effect hard water is having on your plumbing fixtures? Contact Total Air & Plumbing! Our Eagle-eyed Plumbers will ensure you get a professional water softener installation every step of the way.
