Choosing A Water Softener For Tampa
Tampa Water Softener Specialists
Northwest Plumbing Tampa
4902 Joanne Kearney Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33619
813-549-7041
When choosing a water softener for a Tampa or St. Petersburg area home, there are a few things you need to know. This information will help you make sure you get the best value when you buy a water softener.
Sizing a Water Softener for Tampa
First, you need to make sure you pick a water softener with enough capacity. This really isn’t hard to do. Water softeners are sized based on “grain capacity”, which is just a way to say how much hardness the unit will remove before it needs to be “regenerated”. The more “grains per gallon” of hardness minerals in the water, the more capacity you need.
Since the average water hardness in the Tampa Bay area is about 7-10 grains of hardness per gallon of water, you should choose a water softener around the 25,000 to 30,000 grain capacity range. If you have a large family you may want to go a little higher, say to a 40,000 grain unit. It won’t hurt to oversize the unit, it will just go longer between regenerations. Undersizing the water softener, however, will mean more frequent regenerations and the possibility of an interruption of service.
Water Softener Efficiency
All water softeners are not created equal. They all use salt and water during the regeneration cycle, to flush away the hardness minerals that have been removed. Some use less than others. As a general rule, you want to look for models that use not much more than about 40 gallons of water per regeneration and have a salt efficiency of around 5000 grains of minerals removed per pound of salt used. This will save you money in the long run on both salt and water.
Water Softener Convenience
In today’s typically hectic lifestyle, the last thing most people need is something else to manage. While there are some maintenance tasks required for all water softeners, you can minimize these by choosing the right model. There are two main factors affecting convenience.
The first is the need to add salt periodically. All standard “ion exchange” water softeners use some type of salt and it has to be replaced as it is used up. You can cut down on how often you need to add salt by choosing a water softener with a high salt efficiency rating, as mentioned in the last section. This can be a big deal as there can be as much as a 100% difference in the amount of salt used between different models.
The second factor affecting convenience has to do with the controller. There are a couple of issues here to watch out for. Some units require you to manually turn the unit to a “vacation” setting if you will be away from home for a while. This can be a hassle and is just one more thing to remember. Another thing to be aware of is some water softeners need to be manually reset if there is a power outage. Since they are usually programmed to regenerate in the middle of the night, a power outage can disrupt the internal clock. If these units aren’t reset after power is interrupted, the regeneration could take place right when you are taking a shower. The best units protect against this without you even having to remember to change batteries.
Get Help Choosing A Water Softener
Northwest Plumbing Tampa can help you choose the best water softener for a Tampa Bay area home. All our units lead the industry for efficiency, saving you money and headaches. We are a Licensed Plumbing Contractor, so you can sleep at night knowing your water softener is installed correctly. Give us a call at the number below or click here to email a customer service specialist.
Call Northwest Plumbing Tampa Today
For a fast solution to hard water problems.
813-549-7041
