A Water Conditioner Protects Your Plumbing From Limescale Without The Need For Salt
Posted on: 20 July 2023
If you're concerned about hard water damaging your plumbing, you may be looking into water softeners. However, water softeners aren't the only way to deal with hard water. Water conditioners work just as well, but they protect your plumbing in a different way. They even have a few advantages over a softener. Here's how a water conditioner works and some advantages one of these units has over a traditional water softener.
How A Water Conditioner Works
Instead of removing minerals that cause hard water scale buildup, a water conditioner causes a reaction in the water that keeps the limescale from clinging to pipes. In this way, your plumbing has protection from scale buildup even though the water is still technically hard.
These appliances have different modes of operation depending on the manufacturer. Some use magnetism that affects the minerals in water, others work by adding an electric current to the water. Even though they work differently, all conditioners protect your plumbing by making it hard for limescale to build up on pipes.
Why You May Prefer A Conditioner Over A Softener
In some areas, water softeners are prohibited. In that case, if you want to protect your plumbing, you need a water conditioner. The reason water softeners are banned in some areas is because they use a lot of water, and the wastewater is high in salt and minerals. The wastewater can cause problems with agriculture due to altering the chemistry of the aquifers or groundwater where the softeners are discharged.
Even if you're allowed to have a water softener, you may prefer to get a conditioner so you don't have to bother with filling the salt tank consistently. You might need to clean parts of a water conditioner regularly, but you won't have to pack home big bags of salt or maintain the salt level since a conditioner doesn't use salt.
A water conditioner can sometimes do more than just protect your plumbing from scale buildup. Some can prevent biofilm buildup too. Other conditioners double as filters that remove iron from your well water.
How To Buy The Right Appliance
A water softener only softens water, so if you want a filter or biofilm prevention, you'll need a conditioner. However, with so many conditioners to choose from, you may not know which one to buy. Start by having your water tested. If it's high in iron, or if your tub or sink has iron stains, make sure the conditioner you buy can remove iron and you can save on the cost of buying a separate whole-house filter just to remove iron. Once you know the chemistry of your water, you can decide what you want to remove and look for a conditioner that handles your needs.
Learn more about getting a water conditioner by contacting a professional service near you.
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