Water Wells and Soft Water Systems: Do They Work Together?

Water well systems in Columbia, TN do not work like municipal water systems, in that the water is not treated. Instead, it comes right out of the ground and goes into your home. One of the issues with this is that well water can be full of minerals that aren’t found in treated water. While you can use water filters in your home to extract minerals from smaller amounts of water, you’ll need to use a water softener if you wish to filter larger amounts of water, such as the water used in dishwashers, laundry machines, bathtubs and showers.

First, keep in mind that these minerals are not necessarily harmful. They are usually completely safe to drink. However, over a longer period of time, magnesium and calcium deposits can build up and cause problems in water systems in your home. “Hard” water will prevent soap from dissolving properly, leaving a sort of sudsy “film” on your skin after a shower. It could also lead to buildups of soap inside your appliances and drains.

Those minerals can also prevent your glasses or white laundry from appearing truly clean. The glasses especially can form a “cloudy” or “milky” appearance when washed with hard water.

Test to see if you need a water softener

Not every home that uses well water will necessarily need a water softener, so it’s important to test first to see if it’s worth investing in a soft water system. You’ll be able to find water test kits from many companies that sell water softeners, or you can go online to find water analysis kits.

What you’re looking for is water that measures between 60 and 120 grains per gallon. This qualifies as hard water, and would benefit from the use of a water softening system.

If you do decide to install a water softener, it will come in the form of a tank that attaches to your home water system. The softener filters the water before it even enters your home, removing magnesium and calcium from the water and replacing it with sodium through the process of reverse osmosis.

Again, hard water is not something you typically need to worry about from a health perspective. If you drink the water directly from the well, you will be just fine. The real reason you would opt to install a water softening system in your home is to prevent the hard water from resulting in a buildup of mineral deposits that could damage your drainage system and appliances.

Sodium in water softeners can be problematic for people who need to be on low-sodium diets, and can cause a slightly salty taste in the water. There are ways to avoid this issue, though—you can install a separate water intake line where you get your drinking water, or replace sodium with potassium chloride in your water softening system. While potassium chloride is a more expensive option for your water softening purposes, it will also not pose the same problems mentioned above.

For more information about water well systems in Columbia, TN, contact us today.

Categorised in: Water Well Systems