Review for the NuvoH2O Water Softener System
.You may have already experienced the power of the NuvoH2O no-salt, environ-friendly water softener technology without even knowing it!
If you’ve ever visited Disney world or stayed at one of their hotels, been to MGM studios, stayed at a Loews hotel, Hotel Coronado, or attended a NY Yankees or Pittsburg Steelers home game … or eaten at a Panda Express, Hardees, Carl’s Jr., or McGrath’s restaurant (just to name a few), then you’ve been in the world of the NuvoH2O water softener system.
You see, along with many other leading companies, these establishments have been privy to a leading technology in water softeners that was only available to the commercial client. So while the typical household was fighting with the old salt-based giant water softeners, these companies were ‘secretly’ enjoying the benefits of a unique no-salt system and saving a ton of money (and space) at the same time.
I’m sure you’re aware that most of the technologies available to commercial companies are often not available to the household user. It’s like the “prescription strength” medicine you can never buy over the counter—you need a doctor’s prescription.
But not in the water-softening business anymore. For the past 25 years the technology behind the NuvoH2O water softener system was only available to some big Fortune 100 companies—a few already mentioned above. Just when you thought the last hotel you roomed at had such scale-free bathrooms and kitchen fixtures because of the superior janitorial staff, they may have just been using the commercial family of the NuvoH2O water softener system!
Advantages of a Salt-Free Water Softener
Just in case you’re not yet convinced about the many advantages of a salt-free water softening system (in addition to being less expensive) over the old salt-based system here are the main benefits:
- Less risk to your health (especially if you suffer from hypertension) to having increased sodium and potassium in your drinking and cooking water.
- Less maintenance required. You no longer have the hassle to lug those heavy bags of salt around to keep your salt-based water softener running.
- No electricity required and less space needed for installation since there are no bulky salt tanks needed. (Recover some basement or garage space.)
- No heavy discharge of brine (heavily salted water) into the environment, which by the way is now banned in several municipalities. The cleaning phase also wastes hundreds of gallons of water each month. According to The Southern California Salinity Coalition (SCSC) “on average, a single residential self-regenerating water softener can discharge a pound of salt per day and between 70 to 300 gallons of water per week when it regenerates and “flushes” away the brine!
- Salt is corrosive to your home’s metallic plumbing, appliances and fixtures leading to even more expenses.
The bottom line is that a salt-free system would save you space, time, money and cause less risk to the environment and your family’s health.
If you are a current owner of a salt-based system, then you know too well the many headaches involved in maintaining the system year after year.
But there is a better way!
First let us consider what is meant by “hard water”. The “softest” water you can get is distilled (pure) water because it contains no dissolves minerals at all. (Rainwater would also be very soft as well.) Pure water is colorless, odorless and tasteless—yes, it is the dissolved minerals that give water its taste.
On the other end of the hardness scale would be sea water because it contains so many dissolved salts—about 3.5g per liter. In between those two extremes would be the municipal water that is piped to your home which normally originates from a natural spring or ground water.
Water that is considered “hard” contains dissolved salts, mainly that of calcium and magnesium. This hard water is not a health hazard, otherwise it would be illegal to pipe this water to your home. You may actually be presently taking calcium and magnesium supplements as a part of your vitamins pills because these are important minerals in any healthy diet.
The Hard Water Menace
So what’s the big deal with hard water? When the water evaporates it leaves the formerly dissolved salts behind which is a general nuisance and pain to any home owner in several ways:
- The most visible effect is the buildup of scales on bathroom fixtures such as toilet bowls, sinks and the film on glass shower doors, shower walls and bathtubs. In addition, the clogging of the shower head can kill your water pressure so you lose that ‘spray’ effect. This means that toilet bowls, sinks and mirrors will always seem to need cleaning because of these spots and scale build-up left behind by the hard water.
- Scales are to your home’s plumbing as cholesterol is to your arteries—they both cause eventual blockage from accumulation over time. While a heart attack is a lot more serious than clogged pipes, your plumber’s bill may turn out to be close to a that of a heart surgeon’s bill.
- Hard water causes household appliances such as water heaters, dish washers, electric kettles, steam iron and the icemakers to lose their peak efficiency. In fact a one-year study carried out by researchers at Mexico State University found that the energy used by residential water heaters was considerably higher for those who used no water softeners compared to those who did. The accumulated scale on the water heater elements means that the water no longer has direct contact with the metal heaters causing a lot of electricity to be wasted. The group using no water softeners had almost 40 pounds of scale build up in their water heaters over 15 years compared to about 4 pounds for water softener users.
- Hard water also affects the efficiency of household cleaning products such as detergents because it takes more of the products to get the same lather/cleaning effect. The hard water also reacts with soap to form a sticky, ugly scum. This translates into more spent on laundry detergents and dishwashing liquids in addition to the cleaning products to deal with limescale buildup on bathroom fixtures. Households with water softeners may save up to $2,000 per year in reduced household expenses.
- While the hard water may be healthy for the inside of the body it wreaks havoc on the outside. Hard water can result in lifeless, limp hair and can also cause sensitive skin to become dry and irritated.. And because towels laundered in hard water comes out stiff and rough your skin again suffers during drying.
How the ‘old’ salt-based technology works.
If you dissolve a teaspoon of table salt (chemical name sodium chloride) in water then the salt goes into solution and form ions—sodium and chloride ions. The traditional way to soften water was to exchange the ions in hard water with sodium ions. The hard water is passed over some resin beads saturated with sodium chloride. The sodium ions “exchange” places with the calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water. So calcium and magnesium is taken out of the water while sodium goes into the water.
These resins get ‘used up’ after a period of time as the sodium is depleted and the exchanged calcium and magnesium have to be flushed out of the resin beads with a large quantity of water and brine solution to ‘recharge’ them with sodium ions. The efficiency of the resin beads decreases over time (faster if you have iron in your water common to well water) and so have to be replaced.
As mentioned before the salt-based system is corrosive to your metallic plumbing and it also does nothing for the present scale buildup. If you have heart or circulatory problems or are on low sodium diet, then the salt-based system would not be the best option.
How the ‘new’ salt-free technology works.
There are two basic salt-free methods for water softening systems available to residential users today. One method uses the questionable Anti-scale Magnetic Treatment or AMT which claims to use magnets to soften water. The vast majority of scientific studies of the effectiveness of this hard water treatment method does not support the claims of its proponents. One study from Purdue University found “….no significant, beneficial variation in the physical or chemical water quality parameters measured.”
The second method is called chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun). Chelators are used in the food industry as preservatives and also the synthetic chelator EDTA is used in shampoos to counteract the effect of hard water. A chelator works by surrounding and imprisoning the dissolved salt ions in the water and so prevents the salt from sticking to surfaces. The calcium and magnesium salts are still in the water, but they can no longer attach to surfaces to form scales and spots. Not only are new scales prevented from being formed but the old scales are gradually removed.
The 25–Year NuvoH2O “secret”.
The commercial arm of the NuvoH2O has for the past 25 years been using this chelation technology to benefit some major companies. Now the same science is available in the NuvoH2O residential water softeners.
NuvoH2O uses a FDA approved food-grade chelate called “Citryne” that keeps the beneficial minerals in the water and therefore it is healthier and safer for all of your household uses, including drinking, bathing, washing and plant watering. You will not taste, smell or see the Citryne in the water. It works on an invisible level to give you visible results.
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Depending in the size of your home, and level of water hardness you can choose from several models of cartridges. Each of the whole-house cartridge will treat up to 50,000 gallons of water and the Studio model up to 25,000 gallons.
Installation.
Along with taking up less space the NuvoH2O systems takes less time and money for installation. Many homeowners are able to do it themselves with only a few additional parts required. There are no electronics, no bypass loop or drain needed as in the salt-based softeners. Installation may take less than an hour, depending on how the pipes are configured in your home. Customers typically pay from $150 for a quick installation. In some cases where many pipes require reconfiguration then you must be prepared to pay more. Considering that the Whole-House System measures only 6″ wide x 24″ long the system can be located in places other softeners can’t go, such as condos, small utility rooms, or even outside in warm climates.
Dealers are available in both United States and Canada who are experienced in installing these systems and information on how to contact an installer is just a phone call away.
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Cost
The NuvoH2O system costs 50% to 80% less than other comparable salt-free and salt-based water softener systems. The yearly maintenance cost (replacement cartridges) would be about $120 for a typical household compared to $250 for a salt-based system. But the NuvoH2O literally pays for itself in savings of over $2,000 per year for the average family of four. (See table below)
Here is a table showing how the NuvoH2O system stacks up against other leading water softener systems, both salt-free and salt-based:
(Click the image below to view our detailed water softener comparison)
Product and Customer Support
Although online shopping for physical products is becoming more and more popular, there are still many people who are wary about buying certain products online. While there are many less-than-reputable companies on the web, the parent company of NuvoH2O is no fly-by-night company and provides a 90 day money-back guarantee, less shipping and handling. Your purchase is not final until you’re satisfied with the results of your NuvoH2O since you are free to return the unit for a full refund. You have nothing to lose for trying out the system except a small return shipping fee.
They also provide a lifetime guarantee so if you ever need help you can just pick up the phone and speak to a real person.
What would make the NuvoH2O system perfect.
Even though NuvoH2O is a lot cheaper compared to other salt-free systems, it is not maintenance free. The cartridges have to be replaced every 6 months or so with the price ranging from $49 to $89. This maintenance cost is a lot less than that for the salt-based systems, but a little more than other comparable salt-free systems.
Installation of the product is about the easiest of any water softener system, but if you are not handy with tools, then you’ll have to pay a plumber to do the installation. This one-time cost would depend on the size and complexity of your home’s plumbing,.
Also, in the rare case that you are not satisfied with your purchase you will have to pay a small shipping fee to return the product.
The bottom line.
According to geological surveys, 85% of American households suffer from hard water to some degree. Traditional salt-based systems are becoming more frowned upon by both owners and state authorities because of their bulkiness, burden of maintenance and harm to the environment.
The NuvoH2O saves home owners up to 80% with a water softener technology that was for the past 25 years only available to Fortune 500 commercial companies. This system comes with some strong qualifications which includes:
- Prevents and even eliminates existing hard-water buildup to renew the life and performance of your water heater, plumbing, fixtures, and appliances
- Costs 50% to 80% less than other water softeners.
- Saves $1,000s in annual household expenses.
- Eco-friendly—no salt, no waste water, no electricity, recyclable.
- Simple installation—can be done by a non-plumber.
- Uses no salt or potassium. Has no effect on water taste.
- Compact design—perfect for condos and other limited spaces.
- Healthy, FDA-approved formulation—no salt or harmful chemicals.
- Promises healthier, smoother skin and hair.
- Requires the use of significantly less soap, conditioners and lotions.
- Backed by over 25 years of commercial experiences
- Extends the life, texture and color of clothing.
- 90-Day Money-back guarantee and lifetime product warranty
When you consider the NuvoH2O overall rating taking into account its low cost, simple installation and maintenance, and the results enjoyed by present owners, the NuvoH2O system seems to be a winner.
A water softener article
Water is a very important part of your health and your home. You need it for cleaning and cooking, bathing and washing, nourishing and drinking. Water touches your life in many ways, so you’ll need it to be as clean as you can make it.
You may get your water from a well or a city supply, and you may need softer water just for your kitchen, or for your whole house. An advanced water softener will help give you better water for drinking and cleaning.
You can treat your water with softening and filtration solutions and products, and a water filtration system will solve many of the problems you have with hard water. It will give you clean and clear water for your family and your home.
Hard water results when magnesium, calcium and other minerals react with your appliances and your pipes, and it can’t be fixed with scrubbing or chemicals.
Hard water can also result in lifeless, limp hair; rough, dry skin; stiff laundry; soap scum in your tub or shower; cloudy, spotty glassware and dishes, and lower water pressure.
But you can overcome all those problems with a water softener. You can have soft and clean water in your whole house. With soft water, you will find that your will have cleaner showers and tubs, silkier hair and softer skin, more luxurious baths, softer laundry and the ability to clean more things with less soaps, detergents and chemicals. This will keep your hands smooth and save you money at the same time.
Water that is unpleasant smelling or foul can be a troubling problem for you and your family. Smelling the water all the time is just a reminder of the problem. If your water smells, it can make it more difficult to wash, bathe, clean and cook.
Standard faucet filters, water filters and pitcher filters can’t fully eliminate the contaminants and chemicals in your water, that lead to foul-smelling water. You can get to the source of this problem by installing a water softener.
Drinking water that doesn’t taste “right” is a common issue for people who have hard water. It’s frustrating, because your physician has probably told you to drink more water, and bottled water is too expensive. Even a bit of bitter, sour or salty taste in your water can make it harder to use for making ice, cooking and brewing your morning coffee.
To improve your drinking water taste, your can use water softener systems that will give you water that tastes as good as bottled water, at a fraction of the cost. In addition, a whole house system will make it easier to grab a drink from any tap in your home.
Problem hard water is not hard to discern. The chemical and mineral impurities like calcium and magnesium that are found commonly in water can result in water that is discolored. If your water is orange or yellow, leaving stains and rings in tubs and showers, you can use a good water softener. In addition, it will help you to get rid of soap scum from shower doors and crusty build-up on shower heads and faucets. You’ll also find that with soft water, you won’t have spots on your dishes, corrosion in your appliances and plumbing or a shorter life span for appliances.
Water softeners can be just the solution for your water issues. A water softener or system will reduce discoloration, which will give you clearer, cleaner water in your entire house. Your tubs and showers will look cleaner, with much less work on your part.
Water quality is an important part of the way your home looks and functions. Well water is more likely contaminated with impurities from the ground around it. Well water’s quality can decrease over years, and you need to test it frequently. Otherwise, there may be changes in the supply that you aren’t aware of, that can change its quality.
You can take your water to a testing facility, to find out an analysis of the chemicals and contaminants it contains. A water softener can be a solution to your water problems, to help you with cleaner drinking and cooking water.
Soft water in your home gives you a cleaner kitchen and shinier bathrooms; softer laundry; clear dishes; more efficiently working appliances and smoother hair and skin.
For your drinking water, a water softener will give you more flavorful drinks and coffee; safer and cleaner drinking water; a less expensive option than bottled water, and healthier alternatives to sugary fruit drinks and sodas. Soft water will make your working and drinking water safer for everyone in your home.
Water impacts every part of your life. It can improve your drinking and cooking, or make it less appealing. Good water can keep you productive and healthy. But water treated with too many chemicals can make it less healthy for you and your family to drink and cook with.
Water softeners can make your everyday life easier. With soft water in your bathroom, laundry room and kitchen, you can spend a lot less time scrubbing and cleaning, and overall your life will be easier with a water softener working for you.
You’ll find after you install a water softener that your faucets and sinks will be shinier, and your glassware and dishes will rinse more cleanly with fewer spots. Your tubs and showers will be free from that nasty soap scum, and your skin will feel smoother and softer. You’ll use less body wash, shampoo and cleaning products, which is good for your family, your budget and the environment.
You’ll also find that your linens and clothes are softer and brighter, and your appliances and pipes will have less scaly build up. Your hot water heater will last a lot longer, and run more efficiently, and your washing machine and dishwasher will do more work with less detergent.
Soft water is better for your family, and better for your home’s pipes and appliances. It will save you money since you won’t have to buy bottled water anymore, and you won’t need to spend as much money on shampoos, soap, detergents and cleansers. Your clothes will last longer, since softer water is gentle for them, and you’ll have less scaly buildup on your appliances and plumbing.
After you do the math and find out how much a water softener can save you, you’ll think it’s an even better idea to have one installed. They are better for you, your family, your home and the environment. Water softeners reduce the number of chemicals you’ll need to use around your home, since showers, tubs, sinks and faucets will be easier to clean, without using more harsh chemicals on them. Most modern water softeners are also are quite energy-efficient, which will save you money.
You’ll have less dirty water flowing out of your home, too. Washers and dishwashers won’t need as much soap or detergent, so they will work more effectively. You won’t be using as many bottles of water, either, so that will help clean up the landfills and reduce your carbon footprint.
Once you’re used to having a water softener, you will wonder how you ever dealt with the hard water you used to have. The conditioned, treated soft water from your own water softener will make life easier for everyone in your home.
The newer water softeners on the market are quite efficient and you’ll love the effects of soft water long after you have it installed. You’ll know you made the right choice, since you’ll enjoy the drinking and cooking water, and your water will taste so much better. It’s a lot handier than using filter pitchers or filters mounted on all your faucets. You’ll like not having to carry heavy bottled water home from the grocery store, too.
If your city’s water system isn’t meeting the standards it should, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Your water softener will filter out the impurities, along with the calcium and magnesium that make your water taste bad, and cause build-up in your pipes and appliances.
You’ll enjoy your showers so much more, since your skin will feel as smooth as silk. In addition, your soaps and shampoos will rinse out easily, which makes your showers take less time. You won’t have rings in your bathtub, and you won’t need as many cleaning supplies.
Water is called “hard” if it has a lot of magnesium or calcium dissolved within it. It usually causes two basic problems, those being scale forming inside your pipes, tea kettles and water heaters. The magnesium and calcium stick onto things, from the water. The scale is not a good conductor of heat, and it will also reduce the water flow through those pipes. If it is left untreated, your pipes pay eventually be fully clogged.
In addition, hard water reacts with soaps and forms a sticky type of scum, reducing your soap’s lathering ability. It’s more difficult to wash in a shower or tub with hard water.
To rid your home of hot water, you can filter it by reverse osmosis or distillation, which will remove the magnesium and calcium, or purchase a water softener. Filtration is expensive for all the water pipes, so water softeners tend to be less expensive.
Water softeners work on a simple idea. The magnesium and calcium ions in your water are replaced by the softener, with ions of sodium. Sodium does not react with soap or stick to the inside of your home’s pipes, and so it can correct both of your hard water problems.
In order to replace the harmful ions with sodium ions, you will run the water in your home through a zeolite matrix or a bed of plastic beads. These are covered by sodium ions. When the water flows over the sodium ions, these replace the magnesium and calcium ions. As the zeolite or beads filter your water in this way, they will themselves contain only magnesium and calcium, and no more sodium. They won’t soften the water anymore, so that is when the salt in the unit is replaced.
Regeneration of water refers to the soaking of the water softener beads in sodium ions. Sodium chloride, or salt, when you add it, causes the water softener to mix up a brine solution that is flushed through the beads. The brine water will replace all the magnesium and calcium that has previously built up in the beads or zeolite, and it is once again replaced with sodium.
State of the art water softeners can be found in many sizes, with one that will work well for your home. You should look into various types of water heaters, and ask which one will work the best in your home.
Salt free water softeners harden the calcium in your hard water into small particles that simply wash away with your home’s waste water.
Water softeners that use salt have been previously described – they replace magnesium or calcium ions with sodium ions.
Reverse osmosis units use filters or membranes to make your water cleaner and softer.
Magnetic water softeners use magnets to charge the calcium from your water, and then they wash the calcium away.
After you have decided on what type of water softener you want for your home, compare various other factors like the initial price, the maintenance needed, and how much energy they require.
Some people experience problems with salt based water heaters. It may affect pets and plants, and may not be the best to drink or cook with.
Reverse osmosis water softeners tend to waste water, and sometimes only a small amount of treated water is actually recovered. It may also remove minerals that can otherwise be beneficial. In addition, this type of treated water may also not be the best for pets, plants or drinking water.
If you want to buy a water softener for your home, check through reviews of the types and brands of units available. The features vary, the methods of treatment vary, as do the prices. Compare all the models that will work in your home, and determine which model will work the best in your house. Buy a system with a guarantee. If you aren’t happy with the way your new water softener performs, you will want to be able to return it. Make good comparisons so that you can find the best water softener for your family and your home.
More and more online shoppers are depending on review websites like this one for unbiased evaluation of products to help them make informed buying decisions.
