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What Is a Water Softener: Benefits for Your Plumbing System

You’ve probably noticed white, chalky buildup on your faucets or felt your skin getting dry after showers. These are telltale signs of hard water in your home, and they can be more than just a minor annoyance — they can lead to serious plumbing issues down the line.

What is a Water Softener?

Water softening is a process that exchanges calcium and magnesium ions (hardness minerals) for harmless sodium ions. These minerals react with heat and soap to form troublesome scale buildup and curd.

A professional plumber can help you understand what a water softener does — it works through a process called ion exchange, replacing hard minerals with sodium or potassium ions.

The water softener protects your pipes, showerheads, and taps from pressure loss while preserving water heater energy and efficiency.

Why Do I Have Hard Water?

The story of hard water begins underground. As rainwater falls and seeps into the earth, it picks up minerals along the way — mainly calcium and magnesium from rocks and soil. By the time this water reaches your home through municipal systems or private wells, it’s loaded with these minerals.

In fact, about 85% of homes in the U.S. have hard water. If you live in an area with a lot of limestone or chalk deposits, you’re more likely to have extremely hard water issues.

The Benefits of a Water Softener System

Here are some of the standout benefits of getting a water softener in your home:

Improve Energy Efficiency

Scale buildup causes decreased efficiency of your water heater, reduced life of water using appliances, and pressure loss in pipes and fixtures over time.

This is particularly important for water heaters, where hard water can reduce efficiency by up to 24%, leading to increased energy costs and potential damage over time.

Save Money on Cleaning

The benefits of a premium water softener system go beyond protecting and preserving your plumbing, it extends into everyday activities as well.

You can expect to see a dramatic reduction in soap and detergent usage of up to 50% while getting even cleaner results in your laundry with cold water.

Laundry comes out brighter and more vibrant, dishes emerge spot-free, and household cleaning becomes notably easier as surfaces resist soap scum and mineral buildup. These improvements translate to real savings in both cleaning products and time spent on household maintenance.

Help with Skin Conditions

If you’ve got sensitive skin or conditions like eczema, hard water isn’t doing you any favors. The minerals in hard water can leave a residue on your skin that clogs pores and causes irritation. Soft water rinses cleaner and lets your skin’s natural oils do their job, leading to softer, healthier-looking skin.

Improved Food and Drink Quality

Your kitchen can benefit from soft water too. Coffee and tea taste noticeably better when made with soft water since there aren’t any minerals interfering with the extraction process. Not to mention the many potential chemicals that can be filtered out by adding the Novo QCRO-4v50 RO System to the Novo HTO — protecting your family from deadly outbreaks and other health problems.

When cooking, soft water helps dissolve ingredients more effectively, enhancing the flavors in your favorite recipes. Plus, you won’t see any weird film on top of your morning coffee or spots on your ice cubes.

Why We Use the Novo Premium HTO System

Novo’s premium HTO (Hardness-Taste-Odor) System stands out as the best solution for whole house water filtration and water softening. It uses an innovative catalytic carbon filtration system along with a high efficiency softener featuring the unique and patented upflow regeneration technology that sets it apart from your typical softeners.

This system more efficiently manages salt usage and water consumption leading to more optimal performance, less waste, less environmental impact, lower operating costs, and less maintenance.

When comparing water softeners and filtration systems, it’s crucial to understand what different certifications actually mean for performance and safety:

NSF/ANSI 44 is the most comprehensive certification for water softeners. It verifies not just material safety, but also confirms structural integrity, pressure drop, softening capacity, and most importantly, proves that the system performs as claimed with accurate brine delivery.

NSF/ANSI 42 focuses on aesthetic water improvements, specifically addressing taste, odor, color, turbidity, and aesthetic-related mineral content.

While NSF/ANSI 61 is sometimes highlighted by manufacturers, it only verifies basic material safety compliance. It doesn’t evaluate the system’s effectiveness or actual performance in treating water.

Our system holds all three certifications (NSF/ANSI 44, 42, and CSA B-483.1), demonstrating our commitment to meeting and exceeding industry standards for both safety and performance.

Do you want to see if your tap water is safe to drink? Enter your zip code here and find out!

Frequently Asked Questions About Water Softeners

Does soft water taste salty?

With a properly functioning water softener like the Novo HTO, this isn’t a concern because it doesn’t put salt (sodium chloride) in the water because once it is in the water after the ion exchange, it ceases to be salt and only the sodium is used and the chloride is not. In fact, an 8oz glass of HTO softened water will only contain up to 20 mg of sodium, while 1 teaspoon of Heinz Ketchup contains 204 mg of sodium and 1 slice of white bread contains 161 mg of sodium.

Do water softeners remove essential minerals from the water?

The essential minerals like calcium and magnesium are primarily taken in through food, not water, so you won’t be missing them in your drinking water.

Does soft water leave a film on your skin?

Hard water leaves a scum film behind, while soft water leaves nothing but your skin’s natural oils.

Final Thoughts

While a water softener isn’t something a lot of homeowners will think about, a premium system like Novo’s HTO isn’t just “another system” – it’s a true investment in your home and your family’s daily life.

From protecting your water heater’s efficiency and extending appliance lifespans to delivering softer skin and cleaner laundry, the benefits address both practical needs and quality of life improvements.

The signs of hard water are readily apparent: spotty dishes, soap scum buildup, dry skin, and chalky residue on fixtures. But the hidden damage can be even more significant, with hard water capable of reducing water heater efficiency by up to 24% and creating scale buildup throughout your plumbing system.

A properly engineered solution like the Novo HTO system, with its innovative upflow regeneration and precision brining technology, can address these issues while using up to 30% less salt than traditional systems.

While the initial investment might cost you a bit, the money you’ll save on repairs, replacements, and cleaning supplies will more than make up for it over time. Plus, we are partnered with Synchrony Bank to offer 0% financing options, so you don’t have to worry about affording to fix your plumbing issues.

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