Hard water can be tough on a home and your family. If you’re looking for the best saltless water softener for your house, you may have quite a few questions. You need to know the main problems with your hard water, before you decide on the proper softener unit for you.

If your water is hard, it contains large amounts of calcium or magnesium, and this can cause problems for your house and your family. These unwanted chemicals react with the water in your home, and in your bathroom, this shows up as soap scum on your shower or tub. Your family probably already complains about soap not lathering properly when they shower or bathe, since hard water just doesn’t allow soap and shampoo to work the way they should.

Hard water will also damage the heating elements in your home appliances, causing them to work inefficiently, and cost you more money. Your washer, dishwasher and hot water heater can’t work properly if they can’t properly heat the water needed. If they are coated with magnesium and calcium, the buildup may result in expensive appliance repairs.

A saltless water softener is a simple and cost efficient way to get rid of hard water, and this type of unit performs more efficiently than traditional salt-based water softeners. Traditional systems do remove the calcium and magnesium from your water, and they replace them with sodium. So you end up with softer water, but it may have a salty taste to it. Salt-based units will give you softer water for your baths and showers, too, but there is a negative side to salt-based softeners.

The salt you need for traditional softeners has to be purchased (or delivered, at a higher cost) and loaded into your softener, in order for it to continue working properly. This means dragging heavy salt bags around and refilling your softener periodically. You won’t have that work to do if you use a saltless water softener. It will give you healthy, softer water without you having to hassle with loading the salt all the time.

One of your main concerns will also be cost, and usually a salt-free softener costs more initially than the salt-based units. But this money can be saved by not having to buy salt all the time. Distillation units will clean your water by boiling and condensing it, to remove all the unwanted minerals. Reverse osmosis units use electrical fields or other processes to soften your water.

You are probably a bit hesitant to change to a saltless water softener, but it can save you a lot of money over the years, over a salt-based unit. You won’t have to buy salt all the time. It will also save you the back-breaking work of loading the salt into your softener.

Saltless water softener units may be more reliable if you select one from a name brand, and from a professional you trust. You can save money buying a softener at a home appliance store, but be sure they have someone qualified to install it, and make sure that your new unit has a warranty, regardless of where you purchase it.

Be sure that your saltless water softener installer is familiar with the unit and the way it works. Some areas of the country won’t have as many qualified installers; don’t settle for someone who doesn’t really know what he is doing, or you won’t get the proper effect from your softener.

The main unit of your saltless water softener should fit the needs of your home and family. Don’t buy a unit that won’t soften enough water, but don’t allow yourself to be talked into a unit that is larger than you need. The more water your family uses, the better it is to invest in a larger and more efficient unit, since it will have to work harder.

Saltless water softener units will save you money by using less – or no – electricity, and that should be factored into the amount you are willing to pay, initially. Not buying salt will save money, too. After you have chosen the saltless system that will work the best for you, make sure it comes with a proper warranty, in case you have problems down the road.