City Living: Is a WaterCare® Water Softener the Right Solution?

Maybe you are a new homeowner looking to buy your first house, or perhaps you have lived in a rural setting your whole life and have decided to finally make the jump to the big city. Identifying how your water is supplied to the new home plays a key factor in how you need to treat it. Water that comes directly to your home from the city is a remarkable convenience. However, there are still some common city water problems that should be addressed if you want pure, clean water for years to come.

Where Does My Water Come From?

There are two main sources where most homeowners get their water from. In most cases your water either comes from a municipality (city water) or from a private water well. The easiest way to tell if your water supply comes from a private well is to look to see if you have a pressure tank. A pressure tank keeps the water pressure coming from the well at a constant level. The pressure tank uses compressed air to push the water out of the tank and into your home.

If you do not see a pressure tank on the premises, there are other easy things to help you assess where your water comes from. First and foremost, do you pay a water bill? If you receive a water bill from the city, then you are certainly on a municipal water supply. You can also check to see if there is a water meter located on the property. The water meter on your property measures the volume of water that is supplied to your home from a public water supply.

Does City Water need to be Treated?

Once you have established that your water supply comes from the city, it is time to look at the quality of your water. Common complaints from homeowners that are on a public water supply are that the water tastes like a swimming pool or reporting various signs of hard water throughout the home.

The "swimming pool" taste and smell you notice in the water is due to the chlorine added by the municipality to help disinfect it before it makes its way into your home. The chlorine is necessary to remove all the bacteria that would otherwise be in your water supply. The problem with having chlorine in your water, besides the irritating odor, is that chlorine is infamous for causing your skin and hair to dry out.

Apart from chlorine there is also the hard water issue that should be addressed. While hardwater isn't usually a health risk, it does have some lingering side effects on not only you, but your home as well.

Buildup of Minerals: A tell-tale sign of hard water is when your faucets and shower walls develop a white film from excessive amounts of limescale and soap scum. This can be difficult to scrub off and lead to less water pressure coming out of the shower head and sink if left unaddressed.

Clogged Plumbing: Hard water can also cause scale buildup in your pipes, restricting water flow. This can lead to backups and will require assistance from a plumber to fix.

Ugly Stains on your Toilet Bowl: Dingy stains on your porcelain toilet are due to hard water as well.

Itchy, Dry Skin: Soap scum buildup doesn't just occur on your shower walls, hard water will also leave soap behind on your skin causing it to feel dry and itchy. The mineral deposits left on your body can also suck moisture right out of your skin.

Spotty Dishes: Washing your dishes or using a dishwasher with hard water will cause your glasses and dishes to look cloudy or spotty.

If you suffer from some of these hard water problems on city water, installing a WaterCare water softener could be the perfect solution.

Is a WaterCare Water Softener Right for you?

In the world of water treatment there are numerous solutions depending on your specific water quality. For hard water, a WaterCare water softener will help to remove things like calcium, magnesium, and even small amounts of iron using a process known as ion exchange. With soft water, you can say goodbye to that itchy skin, scale buildup on your shower head, and ugly porcelain stains.

But what about the chlorine in my water? WaterCare has a unique product known as the CaresSoft Elite® RC (Resin Carbon) that can not only soften water, but also removes chlorine thanks to the 2 chambers inside the tank. The resin media in the unit removes the hard water minerals while the carbon filters out the chlorine.

Installing a WaterCare water softener is a worthwhile investment that will save you time cleaning, as well as money in the long run. Find a WaterCare dealer near you to request a free water consultation and learn how a WaterCare water softener might be the perfect solution for you!