FAQ
At Superior Water Softeners, we’ve done our best to create a Web site that anticipates and satisfies our customers’ needs. With that goal in mind, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question here, contact us at 210-415-0797 or superiorwater@msn.com.
Water FAQ
Question: What is hard water?
Answer: Water that is considered hard contains dissolved particulates such as magnesium, iron, calcium, and manganese. The Water Quality Association considers water with more than one GPG (grain per gallon) hard.
Levels of hardness are:
- Soft Water – less than 1 GPG
- Slightly hard – 1 to 3.5 GPG
- Moderately hard – 3.5 to 7 GPG
- Hard – 7 to 10.5 GPG
- Very Hard – 10.5 and higher GPG
Hard water leaves deposits in your appliances such as hot water heaters, coffee makers, dishwashers, and etc. shortening their lives. The mineral deposits also build up on your dishes and glasses giving them spots. Hard water stays on your clothing after you’ve washed them leaving them dull and dingy. The scum and scale build-up on faucets, toilets, etc. make cleaning virtually impossible unless you use dangerous, harsh chemicals to remove the deposits.
Worst of all, hard water stays in your hair and on your body after a bath or shower. Yuck!
Question: What is soft water?
Answer: Water that is considered soft has little to no dissolved particulates or minerals such as calcium, manganese, iron, or magnesium.
Water softener/filtration systems can remove not only the dissolved minerals but also absorb harmful chemicals like chlorine that are present in your water!
Soft Water Benefits
Question: What are the benefits of soft water?
Answer: Adding soft water to your home will make a noticeable difference right away! Soft water provides:
- Less mineral scale build up in sinks, toilets, and faucets
- Less soap scum in bathtubs, showers and on shower doors
- Laundry that is softer and brighter
- Hair and skin that is cleaner
- Pipes that are cleaner
- Longer life for appliances as they are no longer working harder to combat the mineral buildup
You will also spend less money on cleaning supplies and detergents!
Water Softener FAQs
Question: How do water softeners work?
Answer: Water softeners use a process call “ion exchange” to remove the mineral particles from the water that cause the hardness. These particles generally cannot be removed using a regular water filter. The softener uses resin bonded with sodium attract the minerals and “exchanges” the sodium for the minerals to soften your water.
Question: Do all water softeners use salt?
Answer: Yes. They use a combination of salt or salt and potassium.
Question: How often do I have to refill the salt?
Answer: That depends upon the hardness of your water and as well as the usage of the system. Generally, you will need to refill salt two to three times per year based on regular use and moderately hard water.
Question: What is regeneration?
Answer: Regeneration is the process the water softener uses to remove the minerals from the resin and “recharge” the resin beads so the softener can continue to produce soft water. A system that is sized correctly for your home with average usage should recharge every 7-10 days. It is important to have the correct sized system in place or the recharging will become more frequent thus wasting water.
Question: Will soft water harm my lawn or garden?<
Answer: Soft water should not affect your lawn or garden. However, if your home was not pre plumbed for a water softener, upon installation, we provide faucet access so you do not have to use your soft water outside.
Question: Should I use soft water in my small appliances like coffee makers and humidifiers?
Answer: Absolutely! Soft water will help keep mineral build-up from your appliances. Plus the cleaner water should enhance the taste of your coffee!
Question: What do I need to know before I buy a water softener?
Answer: Here are some things to consider:
General Topics
How hard is my water?
Superior Water provides a complimentary water analysis to determine your water hardness level.
What is my average water usage and household size?
Those factors will help determine the size of the softener you will need.
What is the impact to my water pressure?
Superior Water ensures that we understand your needs so that any impact to your water pressure is openly discussed.
Is installation included in the price?
Often, installation is not included especially for homes that were not pre plumbed for a water softener. At Superior Water, installation is included on all purchases.
Does the company use licensed, bonded and insured installers?
Superior Water only uses licensed bonded and insured installers ensuring the best for our customers.
Does the company pull city permits for installation?
Superior Water has an excellent reputation with the local cities/townships for pulling permits and meeting inspections. This is critical for the customer as the cities can require the customer to pay a fine if the systems were not properly installed following local codes.
Does the company service their systems?
Many companies and plumbers sell and install water softeners but they do not always service them. Often companies that do not service their systems are not always the most knowledgeable about proper installation causing problems for the customer. At Superior Water, we not only service our own systems but we service systems sold and installed by other companies as well.
What payment options are available?
Superior Water uses a local company to provide financing for qualified buyers. There are several options and term lengths available and the interest rate is very reasonable.
Who is the company I am considering doing business with?
Superior Water is a locally owned and operated company. We have been working in the water softener industry for more than six years.
What do the company’s customers say?
Superior Water has an impeccable reputation for service that meets the customer’s needs. Please visit our testimonial tab to hear what some of our customers have said. We are happy to provide references!