How To Choose the Right Water Softener Size for Your Home

Size matters, and in this day and age, small is increasingly seen as beautiful. We are being urged to drive smaller cars that use less fuel, and everything is under scrutiny. How much concrete do you really need to do that job? How much of that wood can be reused rather than buying freshly plundered stocks from the world's precious forests?

Water is no exception, and in addition to thinking about how much we actually use in terms of taking shorter showers and smaller baths, plus thinking twice before watering the garden, there is the issue of how big your water softener needs to be.

How Many of You Are There?

When choosing the right water softener size for your home, there are two key factors to consider: how big your place is, and how many people live there. Is the number of consumers always the same, or are there seasonal fluctuations, such as students coming home for the holidays or guests who come to stay now and then? You need to be covered, but not oversupplied.

The responsible way of looking at this is to work out your average monthly usage and choose a softener that is big enough for the job, but no bigger. This may be something you have never thought about before. Who really looks at their water bill and sees how much water they've used this time? But maybe it is time to start doing that. If you have municipal water, the supplier will have records that can be enlightening: are there peak periods, and what causes them? This is costing you money, after all, and it also affects the environment.

If you have your own well, you may, in fact, be more water-conscious because there are duties that come with it. You're responsible for the well-being of everyone using your water, so you should be on top of water quality and purity. While you're thinking about it, you will also be conscious of the level in your well and watch the weather to see how you're going to be fixed in the near future.

Side Effects of Water Softening

The more water you are softening, the more wastewater you are generating, and that is having an impact on the planet. You will be flushing away not just the impurities you want to get rid of, and with them the salt you clean the system with, but also losing the water it takes to do that cleaning.

How Much Water Does One Person Use?

As a rough guide, let's say each person uses 80 gallons a day. Does that sound realistic, or does it seem excessive? If you have never even thought about it, you may be surprised. Every time you flush the toilet, that is a considerable amount of water right there.

While water filtration professionals and environmentalists alike may balk at using bottled water brought in from thousands of miles away – and at great expense - that is just another factor in the equation, and it is up to the individual to get the balance right. We all need to stay hydrated, so in hotter climates, water use is always more of an issue.

You may find that water purification companies refer to units called grains rather than just gallons or liters. Find yourself a company that is prepared to speak plain English and help you, rather than blind you with science. You don't need to become an expert in water terminology; you just need a helpful professional who will talk you through it. It is important to get the right size for your household, whether you're looking at a home water softener system or a Kinetico water softener, so maybe the task for this month is to pay attention to water, get to understand it better, and then you can make your decision.