Home Water Softener Systems
Home water softener systems will save you a bundle on heating costs. Hard water deposits clog pipes and reduce the effectiveness of hot water heaters (not to mention the icky white chalky rings they leave in showers, coffee pots, and tea kettles). You can purchase a home water softener system to rid you of those mineral deposits.
Water softeners replace the magnesium and calcium ions in your water with sodium (salt). Eventually, your softener unit will be full of magnesium and calcium and will need to be cleaned and recharged with sodium ions. It's easy to do this by yourself.
Recharging Your Home Water Softener System
You can buy evaporated salt or solar salt for your softener. Rock salt works, too, although it's less desirable because it's not as soluble as the other two types. You'll end up with residue that will fill your softener, and you'll be cleaning it out more often. Rock salt is easy to find and inexpensive to buy, though, which is why many people use it.
It's a good idea to keep your salt tray relatively full (don't let it be more than 50 percent empty). How often this occurs is dependent on how much water you go through. Families of four will probably need to check once a month; a single person living alone might be able to check it once every two months.
