Well water comes straight out of the ground into your home, never treated like the water provided by municipal water systems. The water is often full of minerals not found in treated water. Although water filters can remove minerals, in small amounts of water, such as the water you drink, water softeners are necessary for larger amounts, such as the water you use for bathing and washing clothes.
Well water often picks up minerals from the ground. Although it's usually still safe to drink, certain minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, cause problems in home water systems. Water with these minerals is considered "hard." Specifically, it keeps soap from dissolving properly. This may make you feel as if you have a film on your skin after you shower, and it can lead to a solid buildup of soap inside your washing machine, dishwasher and some drains.
How to Test
Before treating your well water, test it to see if you need to soften you water. Many companies that sell water softeners also sell test kits, or you can request a water analysis kit from some local college cooperative extension services. Water that measures between 60 to 120 grains per gallon is hard water that could benefit from a water softener.
Water softeners are tanks that attach to your home water system, filtering the water before it goes into the home. They remove the calcium and magnesium from the water and replace it with sodium, using reverse osmosis technology. The tank is filled with negatively charged beads that attract the positively charged calcium and magnesium. The beads are loaded with sodium ions, which carry a weak positive charge. The stronger calcium and magnesium ions force the sodium off the beads and into the water.
Hard water isn't usually harmful to your health if you drink it straight from the well. Of greater concern is the damage the hard minerals can do to your appliances and drainage system. However, the sodium in the water softener can cause problems for people on low-sodium diets and can cause water to taste slightly salty. To avoid these problems, install a separate water intake line in your kitchen where you get your drinking water, or use potassium chloride instead of sodium in your water softener. It's significantly more expensive, but it doesn't add sodium to the water, making it safe for those on a sodium-free diet.
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