Many people find themselves in a situation where they need to use a water softener because the water in their home or business is simply too hard.
Hard water is full of impurities that can clog faucets and small appliances and even irritate your skin.
If you find yourself having itchy skin after you get out of the shower, it is probably because of all of the minerals that are in your hard water.
Many times, you will find that your water is exceptionally hard if you have an aquifer or as well as your source of water. As a direct result, most people eventually make the decision to install some type of system that utilizes a water softener.
With that being said, there has been quite a bit of banter in the news recently regarding whether or not these types of systems are actually safe.
So, are water softeners safe? Obviously, you want to be certain that they are safe before you install one in your home and end up exposing your loved ones to something that might be potentially harmful.
Therefore, it is important to carefully analyze the different systems that are out there as well as their level of safety.
Reverse Osmosis System
It is important to start out by making it clear that some systems utilize processes like reverse osmosis while others use chemicals to soften the water.
More often than not, residential water softeners utilize salt in order to soften the water by neutralizing many of the other naturally occurring minerals that already exist in the water.
If the system that you are thinking about purchasing uses reverse osmosis, you can rest assured that it is entirely safe.
However, if the system utilizes salt, you might be concerned that it will make sodium levels too high in the water.
Again, this is usually more of a myth than anything that resembles the truth. Typically, most water softeners do not include enough sodium to make the water unsafe to drink.
If you are concerned about that, additional products can be added to bring the sodium content to a lower level.
Other Processes
Other types of systems might use various chemicals to soften the water.
The main reason that this gets so much bad press is because of municipal water sanitation systems that utilize chemicals to make water safe to drink, only to find that it is the chemicals themselves that are causing the bulk of the problem.
It is important to note that there is a huge difference between that particular process and the process of adding a water softener to a residential or commercial building.
Unfortunately, the two have a tendency to get mixed up when people hear news reports or they read something about water being unsafe to drink but it is not because of the systems used to soften the water.
Conclusion
In closing, water softeners are safe. In fact, they can make the water safer to drink and make it more pleasant for you and your loved ones, not to mention your home appliances, to be in contact with this water on a daily basis.
There is no doubt that once you get a water softener inside your home, you will come to love it. Chances are, you will wonder how you ever managed to get along without it.
