Your home’s water softener removes deposits of minerals from your water prior to piping it into your faucets and showers. Water has minerals such as magnesium and calcium that make the water hard and prone to build up around pipes and faucets. Your water softener filters out the minerals that cause hard water, delivering clean-tasting, and clean rinsing water to your sinks and showers.

Most water softening systems have a life span of somewhere between 10 and 20 years and can last even longer if you perform the recommended maintenance on the softener. If you don’t take care of the softener as the manufacturer recommends, however, you can greatly shorten the life span of the water softener.

Here are a few of the signs that you need to repair or replace your water softener:

Your Soap Won’t Lather

Hard water doesn’t lather your soap and shampoo as softened water does. You also may be using more soap and shampoo than you normally would try to make up for the lack of lather the hard water is causing.

Your Laundry Is Scratchy

If your clothes feel stiff and scratchy when you get finished washing them, it’s more than likely from being washed in hard water. If you are using a laundry fabric softener, and your clothes still feel stiff and scratchy, there is probably an issue with your water softener.

Crusty Build Up Around Faucets

The minerals in hard water will cause a crusty build-up to form around your pipes and faucets. If you notice that there is a build-up around your pipes or faucets, you most likely have problems with your water softener.

Water Tastes Like Minerals

Your tap water will begin to taste much different once your water softener isn’t working at peak condition any longer. The difference in taste in your water will be drastic and noticeable. Some people report that it tastes like chewing on iron or another heavy metal.

It’s important to address your water softener once you notice it isn’t performing as well as it used to. Sometimes, you don’t need to replace the entire water softener system. Repairs can be made, and replacement parts can breathe new life into your existing water softener system. However, if you have doubts and are experiencing any of the signs above, you’ll need to have a professional take a look at the condition of your current water softener system.

 

For more information, contact Vinny’s Jersey Plumbing, located in Wayne, New Jersey.  We also service other towns in New Jersey, such as Cliffside Park, Bergenfield and Rutherford.