Much like that trusty old stove that’s been a part of your kitchen for nearly two decades, your water softener may also be reaching the end of its lifespan. It’s a question many homeowners ponder: when is the right time to replace an older water softener? Let’s explore the signs that indicate it might be time for an upgrade and the benefits of newer water softener models.
The Advantages of New Water Softeners
Newer water softener models come with a host of advantages that make them an appealing option for homeowners. Some of these benefits include:
Meter-Initiated Control Valves: Unlike older timer-style valves or newer water softeners have meter-initiated control valves. These units regenerate based on the actual amount of water used instead of a timer like the older models. This makes them highly efficient in terms of salt, power, and water consumption.
Digital Controls: Newer water softeners often feature digital controls, which provide more precise and user-friendly settings for your softening needs.
Signs Your Water Softener is Not Working Properly
Before rushing to replace your water softener, it is highly recommended to have a water treatment service professional test your water and inspect your unit to make sure it is working properly.
Here are some common signs that indicate that it might not be working properly:
Staining and Deposits: If you notice staining in your sinks or toilets or white deposits on faucets and fixtures, your water softener might not be doing its job effectively.
Decreased Water Quality: Softened water should leave your hair feeling silky smooth and ensure that soaps lather easily. If you’re experiencing a decline in water quality, your softener might be the culprit.
Unusual Salt Usage: A sudden increase or decrease in salt usage could indicate a problem with your water softener. It’s worth having a service technician inspect it in such cases.
Outdated Settings: Many older water softeners have fixed settings that may no longer be appropriate for your current household size. To help optimize efficiency, a technician can adjust the control valve settings.
Factors Affecting the Lifespan of Water Softeners
The lifespan of a water softener can vary based on several factors:
Water Quality: The hardness and overall quality of your water supply can impact the longevity of your softener. More challenging water quality may require more frequent maintenance and reduce the unit’s lifespan.
Household Size: The number of people living in your home affects the unit’s workload. Adjusting settings as your household changes can help extend the softener’s life as well as make it more efficient
Maintenance: Regular preventative maintenance can significantly impact the lifespan of your water softener. Neglecting this on-going maintenance can lead to premature failure.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to when you should replace your older water softener, it’s essential to assess its performance, consider the advantages of newer models, and factor in the variables that affect its lifespan. Aquatek Water Conditioning recommends having your water tested and unit inspected to make an informed decision. Whether you choose to upgrade now or in the near future, being proactive about your water softener’s condition ensures you continue to enjoy the benefits of softened water while managing your budget effectively.
Imagine floating in the ocean on a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Inevitably, a gentle wave splashes you, and you taste the saltiness of the ocean water. You think “eck,” that is so salty, but you realize that you are at the beach, floating in the ocean and because you are on the beach, in the ocean, the salty water taste is totally worth it.
Now imagine brushing your teeth first thing in the morning and getting a swig of nice, cold, salty water. “Eck!” What in the world is going on, you think to yourself as you sputter the water out of your mouth. This same scenario happened to me personally a few months ago. It gave me an entirely new appreciation for our customers who call in with their concern that their water is salty!
As water treatment professionals, “Why is my water salty?” is a common question and issue that homeowners ask us. There are a variety of reasons why your water could be salty. Join me as I walk you through our process of determining the cause so that it can be properly treated.
If you are dealing with salty water, the first thing we would recommend is to have a water treatment professional come to your location to do an onsite water test and inspection. This test is going to help determine if the cause of salty water is occurring from the water source, or because your water treatment system is not working properly.
If salty water is coming directly from your water source, you could have a naturally occurring salt well. When this is the case, we provide our customers with options that are going to significantly reduce the salt level in their water. It is important for us to determine what the customer’s wants and needs are, and what they hope the result will be. As with so many things, cost can be a factor in the treatment decision for the family, making it important for us to go over the following questions:
Is there a need or desire for the entire home to be treated?
Does the homeowner just want to treat their drinking water so that there is an improved taste? It must be noted that taste is objective—everyone has a different opinion on the taste of water!
What other water quality issues exist– are there iron and/or hardness concerns that need to be treated as well?
The answers to these questions can help guide the water treatment professional to offer the best system options that will meet the family’s budget, wants, and needs.
When the cause of the salty water is determined to be from the water treatment system, a water treatment professional will start the process of checking over the system. In many cases, the cause could be something as simple as the unit not being programmed correctly. A quick adjustment of settings can get the good water flowing again pretty quickly. Low water pressure is another common scenario we run into. When the water pressure is found to be too low to properly flow through a water softener, it can lead to an incomplete backwash and push salty water into the home. In other instances, you could have a unit that is not sized correctly for your home’s water quality and water usage, again leading to salty water.
If you are dealing with salty water, our best recommendation is to reach out to your local water treatment professional to get your water tested. This should give you a better understanding of the source of your salty water, and some options on how to best treat it!
Now, let’s get back to imagining we are floating in an ocean on a beautiful, warm, sunny day…
Recently a customer shared with me how important it is to her that she trusts a company’s employees enough to enter her home on a regular basis. To us, this is one of the best compliments we can receive. Our team works hard to make it an easy and pleasant experience for our customers. At Aquatek Water Conditioning, delivery to households and businesses in Northwest Ohio and Southeastern Michigan is something that we have been doing well before the convenience of modern doorstep delivery!
For decades, we have provided peace of mind and quality of life for our customers with our delivery service. Our most commonly delivered products are 5-gallon bottles of spring water, water softener salt, and hydrogen peroxide, but we also deliver 5-gallon bottles of distilled water, pond products, chlorine, filters, and more!
Ten Reasons Delivery Service may be for You or a Loved One
Enjoy the ease of having products delivered directly to your home or office. No more frantic, last-minute running because you were too busy or forgot to pick up your product!
Save some gas money by avoiding a trip to town. It’s one less thing you need to worry about!
No more carrying several bags of salt or peroxide into the basement. Our delivery driver does that for you AND he fills up the tanks for you!
Peace of mind for elderly parents or neighbors who are unable to get out, or struggle carrying heavy products.
One less thing to do for parents with young children. No more loading the kids up in the vehicle just to get water, salt, or peroxide!
A great gift for hard to buy for parents or family members! Pay any amount to go toward the gift of regular delivery service!
No more buying bottles of water for your office! We’ll deliver the 5-gallon bottles for you!
A great option for those that have surgery, or an extended illness such as cancer treatments or physical therapy. We can place or put you on a route temporarily.
For manufacturing companies that require large quantities of distilled water, delivery service can help keep your equipment running smoothly and effectively.
Regular delivery can help you with your preventative maintenance. You are less likely to run out of salt or hydrogen peroxide when you are on a regular route.
It’s Easy to Get Started!
If you are interested in learning more about our delivery service, give us a call at 419.719.0652 or contact us here. We will identify if your location is in our delivery service area, what products and quantity you need delivered, and how often you might need delivery. If you are not in our service area, we will add you to our list and contact you when a new route in your area is added. There are no contracts, and we offer one-time deliveries!
At Aquatek Water Conditioning, we are strong promoters of preventative maintenance. One of the most frequent questions we receive from our customers is, “What pond products can I use to help keep my pond healthy, clean, and beautiful all year long?”
Maintaining a pond can be an ongoing challenge. A pond is an ecosystem that is constantly changing due to the environment and nature. It is much more difficult to control the water in your pond like you would in a pool.
Preventative Maintenance seems to be the name of the game when trying to keep your pond healthy, clean and beautiful. Many of our customers utilize a combination of pond dye and naturally occurring bacteria on a monthly basis. They report to us that this combination really helps them stay on top of common issues such as weed, algae growth and overall muck prevention.
Keeping our customers in mind, especially those who use their pond as a potable water (or as a drinking) source, we searched for a company with FDA approved products that we could stock in our store. Sanco Industries produces products are 100% safe for humans, fish, livestock, pets, birds, swimming, potable water, and irrigation. Customers have had a lot of success using the Crystal Blue line of products from Sanco Industries .
Pond Dyes, such as Crystal Blue, do more than just give your pond a beautiful blue color. Pond dyes, in general, can be described as sunscreen for your pond. They give a level of UV barrier from the sun, which can help slow down the growth of algae and weeds. As an added bonus, the dye gives your pond a beautiful color.
Crystal Blue is our most popular colorant. The manufactures recommendation for application is to pour one gallon of dye per, one surface acre into the pond. Application depends on customer preference and can be left up to some experimentation. Frequency of application is going to depend on the weather. You may need to apply more frequently during periods of rainy seasons versus drier times. Customers who use pond water drinking systems should not dose more than the recommended application, as otherwise, they run the risk in having the colored water move through their system into the home. If this happens, the water is completely safe to drink, but could have a blue tint.
Another colorant we carry is Ocean Blue, which provides a more turquoise, ocean-like color. It is a great option to start with if you are worried about going too dark. Application is the same as noted above.
Additionally, we carry Sapphire Blue, which provides a more natural, lake looking color. It appears darker and is great for customers who want to keep their pond looking a little more natural.
The same pond dye/colorant in the same pond can look different depending on several factors: what issues the pond is experiencing, what color the pond is before dye is added, or even the time of day.
The image below shows a pond whose owner used Crystal Blue from a similar angle at different times of the day.
The other preventative maintenance product we carry is Natural Pond Cleaner. This formulation is comprised of naturally occurring bacteria that helps eat away at the muck and dead vegetation in your pond. It is one of the healthiest things you can do for your pond, and there is no over application! It isn’t a quick fix for thick muck situations, but when used regularly, it can make a marked difference in the overall health and feel of your pond.
And for those of you who like a two for one application, we carry a product called Pond Booster. It is a combination of both Crystal Blue and Natural Pond Cleaner. It’s specially formulated for colder temperatures and is a great spring and fall application. We have customers who use Pond Booster all year round. They love the convenience of having both products in one bottle!
We are by no means experts in pond maintenance, but we do receive questions from our customers about maintaining their ponds. We make it a point each year to have representatives from Sanco Industries and Pond Champs share product information, applications and trends with us so that we can best help our customers with their pond needs. When we don’t know, we simply contact the experts that do know so we can get you the information you need to maintain that healthy and beautiful pond!
As warmer temps are on the rise and it’s finally feeling like summer in Northwest Ohio, we have had an influx of customers calling in and stopping by to ask about products that can help with the algae growth in their pond. Even though we are not pond maintenance experts by trade, we do sell products from Sanco Industries that assist with maintaining healthy and beautiful ponds.The pond care products are FDA approved, effective and safe for all our customers!
One of our most popular algae control products is Crystal Plex. Crystal Plex is a liquid algaecide that is highlyeffective for filamentous algae, planktonic algae and chara. The application is simple and you can get the most bang for your buck by using a hand-held sprayer and spraying directly onto the algae mats in the pond. It is advised to only treat about a third of your pond at a time as the Crystal Plex will temporarily deplete the oxygen in your pond.It is also recommended to wait 5-7 days in-between treatments to avoid oxygen depletion.
In warmer temperatures, you can expect the algae to begin turning brown in just a few short hours and in cooler temperatures you can expect it to brown up within 48 hours. Our customers share with us that Crystal Plex has been a really effective algae treatment. Crystal Plex should not be used if your pond contains sensitive fish such as koi, goldfish, or trout. I will highlight another non-copper-based product below that is safe for those sensitive fish.
Plex Mate is a great product to use in conjunction with Crystal Plex. Plex Mate is an aquatic-grade surfactant that helps adhere the Crystal Plex to the algae mats. Simply mix a couple of capfuls into your sprayer along with the Crystal Plex. Crystal Plex will still be effective without the Plex Mate, but it’s just one little bonus helping you to get the most out of your Cyrstal Plex. One bottle goes a long way due to the little amount necessary to be effective!
We also carry a full line of copper sulfate granular products. Copper sulfate is a preferred and effective method of algae control for many of our customers. It is usually cast out on top of thick floating algae mats to break up and kill the thick mats.
For a non-copper-based algae treatment, Green X is a new peroxide-based application that is excellent for algae control with results visible within 48 hours. It is completely safe for sensitive fish like Koi, goldfish, and trout and is effective on smaller decorative ponds, as well as larger recreation ponds. Our customers have shared with us that it has been very effective for algae control.
We are by no means experts in pond maintenance, but we do receive questions from our customers about maintaining their ponds. We make it a point each year to have representatives from Sanco Industries and Pond Champs share product information, applications and trends with us so that we can best help our customers with their pond needs. When we don’t know, we simply make contact with the experts that do know so we can get you the information you need to maintain that healthy and beautiful pond!
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