Which Type of Water Softener Is the Best for Your Home?

The water supplied at your home by a municipal corporation or an underground borewell typically contains minerals that make it hard.

Using this hard water at home can result in multiple issues like dry skin, flaky hair, residue build-up on surfaces, bad shower experience, etc. 

A water softener can be a solution to easily take care of these issues by effectively reducing the water hardness. It works by removing calcium, magnesium, and other minerals from water.

In order to identify and choose a top water softener that’s right for your home, you’ll need to understand the different types of water softeners available in the markets:

Types of Water Softeners

Salt-Based Water Softeners

Salt-based water softeners are the traditional softeners used by many homeowners. These are ideally meant to supply soft water to your entire house.

In an ion-exchange procedure, the resin disperses positively charged sodium ions to exchange with the hard minerals in the water. You can regenerate the resin using salt. These softeners will not remove any chemicals or bacteria from your water. 

There's a bit of upkeep required on your part because regeneration needs to occur once a week, and you'd need to buy bags of salt. The lifespan of the resin is quite long, and you can eventually replace it after depletion. 

Salt- Free Water Softeners

Unlike the salt-based water softeners, the salt-free ones do not require much upkeep. This is because they don’t need salt for regeneration. Instead of removing the hard minerals from the water, these softeners neutralize them and prevent hard water formation. 

These systems are generally more expensive at the start, but they are cost-effective in the long run because regular upkeep and bags of salt are not required. They are more compact, and many salt-free softeners provide for multi-stage filtration to the water. They can also remove bacteria or chemicals from water.

Portable Water Softeners

These are best for travelers due to their small and compact size. They can last up to weeks without regeneration and require no electricity as well.

A bit of salt will only be needed to regenerate them since most portable softeners are salt-based. They are less expensive than their counterparts and can serve up to a few people for drinking or a single bathroom.

Showerhead Water Softeners

If you're looking for an affordable option in water softeners, you can go with showerhead softeners.

These will help you get healthy hair and skin and improve the overall bathing experience. These are easy to install, but they can require a replacement every two months.

Reverse Osmosis Water Softeners

These softener systems not only minimize the hard substances in the water, but they also re-introduce healthy minerals to it, and you can use them for drinking purposes too.

The RO membrane offers a great extent of water filtration. They can be quite expensive and can generally be installed only in your kitchen.

Magnetic Water Softeners

These are new in the market, and they work like the salt-free water softeners but in a more affordable range. They are easy to install and can only run on electricity.

You can go through the benefits of the above options and choose the top water softener that best suits your needs.