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Are you tired of getting hit over the head with hard water? Luckily, it doesn’t hurt as bad as it sounds. But it will dry out your hair and skin, as well as destroy your plumbing fixtures and appliances.
With all of the options out there, it’s hard to choose the appropriate water softener system for your home. We’ve made things easier by listing 5 features that you need in order to have an efficient and effective water softener system that belongs in the 21st century.
So read on to learn what to look for in your new water softener.
1. High-Quality Resin Beads
Resin beads are the heart of your water softener. It’s what actually removes the minerals in your water and without them, your softener would not work. Even with a salt-free water softener system, look for one with high-quality resin beads.
The difference is like buying a cheap pair of shoes that wear out in a month or a pair that lasts a lifetime.
These beads are sealed inside your system so there is no replacing them for an upgrade down the road.
2. Flow Meter
A flow meter is in charge of measuring your water usage and determines when to recharge your resin beads. Older water softener systems do this at a regular weekly interval, whether you were using double your weekly average amount of water or not using any.
Look for a flow meter that can adapt and measure your water and keep pace with your water usage. This GE water softener review breaks down what size water softener you’ll need to meet the demands of your household.
3. Digital Interface Display
A digital display will provide a lot more options than the analog displays of yesterday. With the old analog displays, you can typically only set your charge cycle for a week at a time, limiting your control of the system. This could be wasteful if your home is not a full-time residence or you take off on vacation for a couple of weeks.
A digital interface can provide up to the minute information about your water softener system. You can also program multiple cycles with a greater degree of flexibility to meet your needs.
4. DIR Recharge Controls
Water softener timer controls are used to control when and how your water softener recharges. An automatic timer is great for a set-it-and-forget-it approach. But this could be wasteful as it will use salt and water whether or not the system needs it.
The best water softener system will have a demand-initiated regeneration (DIR) control, which is a more sophisticated and economical approach. Your system will sense when the resin needs recharging with an electronic meter. A DIR system will save on salt because it will only recharge when necessary.
5. Upflow Brining
Traditional water softeners introduce water from the top of the tank and let gravity carry the water through the resin. This is inefficient as the hard water stays above the lower levels of the resin, only utilizing the top few layers. This increases regeneration and salt usage.
Upflow brining introduces water from the bottom of the tank exposing the water to the maximum surface area of resin beads.
Which Water Softener System Is Right for Me?
There are certainly a lot of options but look for one with these features. You’ll have an efficient water softener system that will last for a long time and provide years of service. If you liked this article, check out the rest of our blog for more great info!
