How to Soften Water on a New Homeowner Budget

As a new homeowner in Florida, you may be wondering how to cope with the water issues in your house without breaking the bank. It’s a legitimate concern. Hard water is a major problem here, but it can be costly to install a whole-house water filtration system if you don’t already have one.

The good news is that not all water softening methods have to be super expensive. There are things you can do to soften water (or mitigate the effects of hard water) without blowing through your budget.

Install a Water Softening Shower Head

One of the biggest complaints about hard water is that it dries out your skin and hair and makes it so that you use more soap than you would with soft water.

Installing a shower head with a water softening filter is an inexpensive way to take care of the problem. Most such filters use an activated carbon filter to remove minerals, chlorine, and other contaminants before the water reaches your body in the shower.

Typically, a filter in one of these shower heads will last several months. That helps keep the cost low since replacing filters is the only ongoing cost associated with installing a water softening shower head.

Use Water Softening Cleaning Products

Another common issue with hard water is that it causes minerals to “scale” and build up on the inside of appliances that use water, including washing machines and dishwashers.

One easy way to prevent build-up in your washing machine is to buy a water softening agent and add it to your laundry. 20 Mule Team Borax is one example of an easily-accessible and affordable product to use with your laundry.

The same thing applies to your dishwasher. There are several products on the market that combine detergent with a water softening agent. The water softener helps prevent spotting on your dishes and – more importantly – it keeps minerals from building up inside your dishwasher.

These are both “point of use” solutions that prevent some of the more harmful results of having hard water.

Get Rid of Mineral Build-Up

The truth is that hard water can end up seriously damaging your appliances if you’re not careful. If you’ve moved into a home that doesn’t have a water filtration system in place, then the chances are good that the appliances and fixtures may already have sustained some damage.

The good news is that there are ways to get rid of it that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. For example, white vinegar is extremely effective at removing mineral build-up. Here are some suggestions on how to use it:

• Remove your shower head and soak it in a tub of white vinegar overnight. This will remove lime scale and clean the shower head. In the morning, simply rinse and reattach.
• Pour a small amount of vinegar into the bottom of your washing machine after you remove your clean clothes. Let it sit until the next time you do laundry and it will remove the accumulated minerals in the machine.
• Put vinegar into kettles, pots, and pans to remove mineral build-up and make them look like new.

Since vinegar is very inexpensive, this is a cost-effective way to get rid of the effects of hard water.

Whole Home Filtration

If your budget allows for it, the best and most comprehensive way to soften water throughout your home is to install a water filtration system like our Guardian Water Services water refiner, which uses a 7-method system to soften water and remove contaminants.

To learn more and to schedule your free water quality test today, please click here.