What are the Differences Between Water Softening, Filtering & Purifying?

Here is just a little education for those homeowners who may be interested in a water softener or filter for your home.  Hopefully it will help you understand water treatment the way water treatment professionals do so that you can thoroughly explain your situation when speaking with us.  I get so many calls from homeowners that ask for a water filter for the home but they really mean a water softener or they are asking for a softener and they really mean a water purifier to be installed under their kitchen sink.  I will break it down for you and put us all on the same page.  There are 4 things that homeowners can do to improve their water quality.  They are 4 completely different things which are:

Filtering water is the process of targeting contaminants in water and removing them.  The most typical contaminant that homeowners want to remove is the chlorine in their water due to rashes and skin issues in their family members (eczema) as well as bad tastes and odors.  Water filtering at home can be done at the whole house level or just at the kitchen sink or a single point of use level.

Softening water is the process of removing primarily calcium and magnesium from water which will eliminate hard water problems in the home such as toilet rings, water spots on glass shower wall doors, film and buildup dishes from the dishwasher, soap scum on shower walls.  It will greatly help with dry and itchy skin and give you softer hair and laundry.  It will also protect the plumbing and appliances in your home from hard water buildup greatly extending their life.

Purifying water is simply removing everything from water and is more commonly called Reverse Osmosis.  Reverse Osmosis is NOT a whole house system but rather a point of use system usually installed under the kitchen sink with a line running to a small faucet added to the kitchen sink and also the refrigerator as well if possible.  Reverse Osmosis will keep the water dispensing area of your fridge looking like new without all that white buildup.  It will give you nice clear ice like the ice you buy and it will also remove the white floaters from your fridge water as well.  Not to mention Reverse Osmosis is great for cooking.  Boil eggs or make spaghetti with pure water and there is no white residue left in the pan.  Purified water will also greatly extend the life of coffee makers, Keurigs, vaporizers and humidifiers

Lastily, Disinfecting water is the process of killing bacteria and viruses that may be in water.  Usually this is accomplished with an UV (ultra-violet) lamp

Utah is the hard water capital of the world (in my opinion) and the most common products purchased are a water softener and a reverse osmosis system.  Whole house filtration and disinfection are definitely a growing industry as more people move into the area and water levels stay the same.

Sam Nielsen – Royal Water Systems 801-850-1839