Water Wisdom

You should never over-fill your salt tank   But how much is enough? Well, the answer will be different for different homes, but here's a general idea. Factoring in a few variables will make this easier to explain. The bigger the family, the more salt you will use. Also, the harder your water, the more salt you will use. So, if you are a family of six, with a water hardness of 30 grains per gallon, your salt consumption will be double that of a family of 3 or a family of six with 15 grains of hardness. That's not...

Does Salt-Free work in Waterloo Region? You have probably heard about the Region's interest in salt-free water conditioning. Notice I didn't say salt-free "softener." Well, that's because these systems do not actually soften the water. Softened water occurs by way of an ion exchange process which is what happens when you use a sodium based water softener.  Salt-free systems are better described as "scale inhibitors." And now the question you've wanted to hear the answer to -- do they work?    The answer is a loud and clear YES!   In light of the recent salt shortage in Kitchener, Waterloo and...

 Resin exchange, is it worth it?   So your water pressure is low and you suspect your water softener. This is a common problem for water softener owners on city water where chlorine and ammonia is added to the water supply to control bacteria. These chemicals are hard on resin, especially low grade resin, and will sometimes cause it to break down. When ion exchange resin fails, it expands and becomes soft. As the beads puff up, it reduces the amount of free-board or empty space in the resin tank and the result is low water pressure throughout the house. Many people think this is...