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A water softener does not put salt into the water.

It merely exchanges calcium ions in the water for sodium or potassium ions. The amount of sodium or potassium coming through in soft tap water is extremely low. For example, in 10 grain hard water, the amount of sodium in an 8 ounce glass of soft water is typically equivalent to the sodium in one slice of white bread. Soft water, by dietary standards, would be considered a “low sodium” beverage. Consumers may use potassium as a regenerant if they prefer not to clean out the system with sodium. Be sure to check on the efficiency of the water softener before using potassium as it is higher priced and 25% less efficient than sodium as a regenerant.

Your city water supplier is not required to provide you with soft water. Many municipalities reduce the amount of hardness to some degree. But according to the U.S. Geological Survey, 85 percent of American homes are still supplied with hard water. Your city is required to provide you with water test results that show water hardness; just call the number on your water bill. Compare the figure they give you to the Water Quality Association hardness classification system to see if you have hard water.

Many people that use city water choose to soften it to save money on soaps and cleaners. This helps protect their plumbing systems and appliances from scale buildup, provide better water for bathing and eliminate hard water spots.

Water softeners improve the water we bathe in and clean with throughout the home. Softeners are not purifiers and will not reduce a wide range of potential contaminants. Many consumers want to purify their water for drinking, cooking, and ice cubes. Our drinking water systems provide high quality, chemical-free water right at the faucet.

A water softener is usually installed where water enters your home. This placement ensures that all the water distributed throughout your house is softened, meaning it has had dissolved hardness minerals removed. By doing this, a water softener protects your water heater, appliances, plumbing, sinks, bathtubs, faucets, and more from scale buildup and damage.

For the water you drink and use in food preparation, a dedicated drinking water system, often a Reverse Osmosis system, is used. This system typically services a special faucet at your kitchen sink, reducing a large number of dissolved solids to provide purer, cleaner water. While whole-home reverse osmosis systems are available, most people find that a point-of-use system at the kitchen sink is more cost-effective for their daily needs.

Over 85% of the United States has hard water. Since hardness is really dissolved rock, the average family of four will have more than 15 pounds of rock per year in their water for each grain of hardness.

These mineral deposits in your home from hard water can:

• Ruin water bearing appliances (cutting the life of washing machines, dishwashers, and hot water heaters by up to 50%)
• Increase energy costs for water heaters by 33%
• Destroy faucets and fixtures (costing hundreds of dollars to replace)
• Buildup scale on fixtures and shower doors
• Clog plumbing (re-piping your home costs thousands of dollars)
• Produce cloudy ice cubes
• Make unsightly rings in the toilet and bathtub (soap scum)
• Dry out skin and hair
• Leave spots and stains on dishes and silverware
• Turn white fabrics gray, fade colored laundry, and cause towels to feel hard and stiff
• Require additional cleaning time and the use of environmentally unfriendly cleaning products with phosphates/water softening agent

The cloudiness you’re seeing is simply trapped air being released in tiny bubbles. Iron filters use air to oxygenate your water and remove iron particles. In the process, some air is left in the water and can come out of the faucet, temporarily making water appear cloudy. It’s more common for newer filtration systems, which use more air while the system “breaks in.” This is an expected, harmless effect of the filtration process and doesn’t require any special service or corrective action.

If you notice a sulfur or rotten egg smell when using hot water, but the cold water has no odor, the issue is likely with the anode rod in your water heater—not your softener or treatment system. The simplest and most cost-effective solution is to replace the anode rod with a new one.

Water Doctors offers a durable, electrified anode rod that resists breakdown better than traditional styles. Contact us for more information.

Pellet salt is the cleanest option and requires the least maintenance for your brine tank. Solar salt is also a cost-effective choice, but it may require more frequent cleaning and maintenance over time. We offer both options, as well as a pellet salt variety with extra iron protection for well owners. With our Salt Delivery Program or Aqua Care Club, you can have either type of salt delivered right to your home—even directly into your brine tank! We do not recommend using rock salt or large blocks for your softener.

Your softener’s bypass valve should be engaged before any plumbing work is done on your home. If this isn’t the case, debris can get into the line and stuck in the softener’s control head. This is possible for any brand of water softener. Try a manual regeneration, which could loosen the troublesome debris. If that doesn’t work, put the equipment in bypass and schedule a service visit.

When Daylight Saving Time arrives in spring and fall, it’s smart to check on your water softener’s clock to ensure that it’s set to the correct time. This not only makes the equipment “spring forward” or “fall back” with you but also helps you catch accidental changes due to power outages. If your single tank system has the wrong time, it might end up regenerating in the middle of your morning shower! To adjust your softener’s clock, check out your owner’s manual for instructions, or give us a call and we can walk through it together. Every softener is slightly different, so yours might use an app, a digital display, or even an analog clock to set the time. Or if it’s been a while since you’ve had your equipment serviced, schedule a visit from the Water Doctors team!

Studies have found that minerals in your drinking water essentially make no contribution to your health and may even be present in forms your body can’t absorb. Unfortunately, the myth that drinking water with minerals is healthy is perpetuated by companies that promote “mineral water”. In fact, the Water Quality Association, the trade association of the water treatment industry, prohibits health claims in any of its members’ literature and advertising.

The Kinetico K5 Drinking Water Station is customizable to your home’s specific filtration needs and can actually add minerals back to your water to restore alkalinity.

For more information about the water you drink, contact your local water authority. Each year they are required to produce a report on what’s in the water in your area.

Drinking water generally contracts lead from plumbing that has been connected with lead solder (outlawed in 1986) or from outdated water distribution lines. There are a number of things you can do to reduce the risk of lead in your drinking water.

Some sources suggest running your tap water for a couple of minutes before filling a glass to flush any accumulated lead from the water line (lead dissolves into standing water over time). This isn’t a foolproof solution, however, since there is no way of knowing whether all of the lead has been removed and since lead can still dissolve into running water.

Never use hot tap water to prepare drinks or meals. Hot water attracts more lead than cold water does. If you need hot water, heat cold tap water on the stove or in a microwave.

In their informational brochure “Living Lead Free,” the American Water Works Association recommends having your water tested for lead to find out whether you should take action. Your local Kinetico water expert can have your water analyzed by a laboratory and help you decipher the results.

Use a carbon drinking water filter or reverse osmosis system that has been certified to protect your drinking water from lead. Check that the manufacturer’s claims have been verified by the Water Quality Association or NSF International; not all systems are certified for lead reduction.

Many people prefer bottled water as an alternative to tap water, but is it really the best option? While bottled water can offer better taste, it may not be the most effective long-term solution. Bottled water is not only expensive and inconvenient to carry from the store, but it can also contain harmful BPA chemicals and bacteria. Plus, the environmental impact of plastic bottles piling up in landfills is significant.

A home drinking water system, on the other hand, offers a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative. These systems provide high-quality, great-tasting water right in your own home, whenever you need it, at a much lower cost per gallon compared to bottled water. They’re also more environmentally friendly, eliminating the need for single-use plastic bottles.

If you’re considering a switch, make sure the drinking water system you choose is certified to protect you from a wide range of contaminants, and that the manufacturer’s claims have been verified by the Water Quality Association or NSF International.

Your K5 has an indicator at the top of the unit that will slowly drop with use. This gives you an early warning that it’s time to order new filters. Once the filters have maxed out their usable lifespan, you’ll notice a loss of pressure as your K5 slows to a trickle and shuts down. We suggest purchasing shelf-stable replacement filters once the system indicator is below the halfway point–that way, you have them on hand and don’t have to scramble to find filters while guests are arriving for a dinner party. You can even change the filters yourself with our easy-to-follow Kinetico RO Filter Change Instructions.

1. Turn off the main valve to the drinking system and the valve to the tank. If unsure, it’s best to turn off any valves connected to the system by following the tubing. Now depressurize your system of all air and water by opening the RO faucet. There should be no water running out of the tap/faucet.
2. Remove the old filter. This will be yellow or purple.
3. Fill the new filter with water. This will replace the pre-filter (yellow or purple filter) that was just removed
4. Remove and replace post-filter (orange or blue filter). This will be under the blue indicator/meter.
   *Remove and replace any K5 auxiliary filters, if applicable. DO NOT REMOVE the membrane filter (green sticker), usually located in the middle.
5. Slowly turn the water supply back on to the drinking system and tank.
6. Turn on water and let it run until the tank is empty.
7. Allow unit to refill with water for at least 2 hours before using.

Download Kinetico RO Filter Change Instructions

No. According to a report issued by the Water Quality Research Council, water softeners do not have any detrimental effect on septic systems and may actually enhance their performance in certain situations by encouraging the growth of additional bacteria.

In fact, the flow from the softener is typically less than the waste water discharged from an automatic washing machine. The studies credited the high levels of calcium and magnesium present (in the flow that results when the softener cleans itself) with improving soil percolation in many instances. These studies were conducted by scientists at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the National Sanitation Foundation.

When you wash in soft water, you feel your skin the way it’s supposed to feel, clean and silky smooth. According to the U.C. Berkeley Wellness Letter, when you wash in hard water, the soap you’re using reacts with the hardness minerals in the water “to form an insoluble residue that’s difficult to wash away.” The “squeaky” feel/sound many people associate with being clean is, in fact, your skin sticking because of this residue. Soft water rinses your skin and hair better than hard water and doesn’t leave a soap or shampoo residue behind. People that use soft water consistently enjoy the “truly clean” feeling they get when washing with it.

Soft water itself doesn’t corrode plumbing. However, it’s less likely to cause scale buildup, which means it can help extend the life of your pipes and appliances. Corrosion in plumbing is typically caused by other factors, such as acidic water (low pH) or the presence of certain chemicals. Softening your water actually helps protect your plumbing by reducing the hardness minerals that can lead to scale and buildup, keeping your system running smoothly.

If your water smells like rotten eggs, it’s because of a gas called hydrogen sulfide. This gas can get into your water as it moves through the ground. When you turn on the faucet, the gas escapes from the water and makes that bad smell.

This can be fixed by adding and Iron filter, it adds air to the water to change the gas into something that can be filtered out. Once it’s filtered, the smell goes away, and your water will smell fresh and clean again.

Iron in your water is the most likely culprit. It stains faucets, sinks, bathtubs, counter tops, appliances and even clothing. You can usually remove the iron with an iron filter.

Depending on how much iron you have and which kind of iron you have will determine the best way to treat it. This is why we recommend an in home water test to suggest water treatment.

Explore the tap water database to learn more about what pollutants have been found in your local tap water, just search by zip code: Visit ewg.org/tapwater/