Can A Water Softener Really Pay For Itself?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “It’ll pay for itself in no time,” but in the field of whole home water softeners it can be proven with a calculator.  Too good to be true, you say?  Well, let’s take a look at the facts.

For all of these prices we’re going to be using Walmart, simply because the prices are comparable to anywhere else.

Let’s start with laundry detergent.  A family of four with the national average of 10 grains per gallon (gpg) of hardness.  Some areas it’s higher, as in San Antonio, where it ranges from 15 to 20 gpg, according to the San Antonio Water System.  Or how about the water in Scottsdale Arizona coming in this year at 16-25 gpg , depending on which part of town you test.  That’s okay – it just means that you’ll pay off your water softener 25% to 50% faster!  

Averaging out the price of all leading detergents sold at Walmart, the average cost of a bottle is $14.08 and the price per load is $0.37.  The average family of four runs 300-390 loads each year.  Assuming the number of loads per bottle are actually correct, that means you are conservatively spending $129.50 a year of detergent.  This is most assuredly on the low end, as Consumer Reports argues that the number is closer to $275/year, due to higher detergent costs.  We'll split the difference for our example.

Now we come to personal items, such as shampoo, body wash, bar soap, lotions, cream rinse, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, etc.  I could break it all down for you, but the bottom line per the American Cleaning Institute is that the average family of four spends $628.00 each year for these personal items.  The difference, of course, is in the shampoo/rinse brand (and probably lotions, as well).

We can’t forget about cleaning products, stuff like Comet, glass cleaner, antibacterial spray, and the like.  Why do we take cleaners into account?  Hard water means you are dealing with soap scum, calcification on countertops and sinks, and other places.  Again, according to the American Cleaning Institute, the typical family spends $504 every year on cleaning supplies.  This would vary depending on your level of clean, obviously, but let’s go with that number.

Hard water does a number on your towels, clothes, and linens, so it would be remiss if we didn’t factor the cost of these items in.  The US Department of Commerce estimated back in 2014 that the usual family conservatively spends $600 a year in this area.  They didn’t poll my wife, obviously!  That’s seems unusually low, but let’s go with that number for our comparison.

A couple of more things.  Hard water is just that – hard on your appliances and hard on your plumbing.  You have to figure in the cost of repair and replacement costs on your pipes, washing machine, dishwasher, water heater, etc.  It’s amortized, of course, but the US Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the usual cost of decay in a home’s water system is $10 a month, or $120 a year.

Finally, let’s consider the water heating bill.  Soft water drastically reduces the level at which the water heater must work, so the consumption is less.  If the average gas and electric bill at a house is $163/month, then 16% of that is directly attributed to the heater.  That’s $313 you’re paying each year for the water heater to do what the water heater does.  

Okay, so let’s add it up.  

 

Yes, that’s right.  You save $884 (more or less) each year with a whole home water softener in your house.  Depending on the system you opt for, it pays for itself in either no time at all or in just a little while. 

For a more definitive list of what each cleaning product costs, check out this list.

Is 2017 the year your house gets the clean, filtered water it deserves?  Give us a call at 877-534-5837 or simply email us and make the switch today!

 

The Annual San Antonio Water Report is Out and It's a Doozy

The 2016 Water Quality Report for San Antonio was recently released , and it contains a few interesting observations.  First, the SAWS (San Antonio Water System) admits that “…all drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.”  It then goes on to describe how to “minimize the potential for lead exposure” by running your tap for a couple of minutes before filling your glass or cooking utensil.  

Nice. That sounds wasteful and unsafe. 

The report lists  a bunch of contaminants that may be present in source water, including microbial (“such as viruses and bacteria which may come from sewage treatment plants”), inorganic (“such as salts and metals … from oil and gas production”), pesticides, herbicides, organic chemicals (“including synthetic and volatile chemicals … from gas station runoff”), and radioactive contaminants.

This thing reads like a Stephen King best seller.  Sewage treatment plants?  Gas station runoff? Radioactive contaminants? [deep shudder]

Here’s a paragraph that stands out:  “You may be more vulnerable than the general population to certain microbial contaminants, such as Cryptosporidium, in your drinking water.”  The CDC has this to say about that little guy:

"Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis. Both the parasite and the disease are commonly known as 'Crypto.'  There are many species of Cryptosporidium that infect animals, some of which also infect humans. The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very tolerant to chlorine disinfection.

While this parasite can be spread in several different ways, water (drinking water and recreational water) is the most common way to spread the parasite. Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of waterborne disease among humans in the United States." 

So, the SAWS admits that the water is more vulnerable to Cryptosporidium, which is "very tolerant to chlorine disinfection". That’s wonderful. It's a superbug, and San Antonio's water sources are lousy with it.

Let’s take a peek at the actual report.  The first thing that jumps out is the chlorine level.  Chlorine, of course, is used to try to kill off all the gas station runoff, sewage, and radioactive material, in the city of San Antonio’s water.  So it’s no real surprise to see that the average concentration found is 1.14 ppm.  But look at the minimum (0.11) and especially the maximum (4.5 ppm).  Wow, that’s a lot of chlorine running through the tap!  The EPA allows up to 4 ppm, so the SAWS is within those parameters, but the EPA also admits that drinking water filters and reverse osmosis systems are a better solution.

What else shows up in San Antonio’s water?  Copper, lead, barium, fluoride, nitrate, radium 226 and radium 228 (honestly, that can’t be good, right?), and a cute little chemical named Tetrachloroethylene.  This guy is manufactured for dry cleaning and metal degreasing.    I’m sure it tastes wonderful, also…

One last thing.  The report doesn’t mention this, but the SAWS was fined by the TCEQ last year for too much coliform bacteria in the water.  You probably received a letter about this.  

Of course, San Antonio doesn’t have to take this laying down.  Dupure has been working with quality homebuilders around the area for many years now, and plenty of your neighbors are reading this report with total confidence.  Why not join them and enjoy clean and clear water today?  Dupure offers a single-stage activated carbon filter system, a dual-stage pre- and post-filter system, and a reverse osmosis drinking water purification system. Any one of these filters out Chlorine, Chloramines, heavy metals (such as that lead we mentioned above), pharmaceuticals, chemicals, organics, and many more.  Check out each page for more information.

Dupure and San Antonio, Texas – eliminating sewage and superbugs in your water, one family at a time.

 

Just What is Reverse Osmosis, Anyway?

Spend any amount of time researching a clean drinking water solution for your home and you'll inevitably run into the term reverse osmosis (or RO for short).  If you're a normal individual and not a scientist or a water engineer, the phrase should give you pause.  Sure, you could google "Reverse Osmosis" and get temporarily lost in jargon, or you could read on and get a fuller understanding of the best system for your home's drinking water.

Reverse osmosis is simply the process by which the water is purified.  Inorganic materials such as ions, molecules, particles, bacteria and other things that you really don't want to consume are flushed out through a semi-permeable membrane, leaving only pure, filtered drinking water.  The membrane is filled with tiny pores that allow the hydrogen and oxygen molecules to pass through, as long as they aren't attached to anything else.  In other words, while H2O is small enough to pass through the pores, C8H14ClN5 (Atrazine, an herbicide commonly found in tap water) isn't coming through because it's too big for the membrane's pore.  C6H4(CH3)2 (Xylene, a solvent also found in your water) isn't making it out either.  And there are many, many more.

The one thing you don't want to forget is this: H7O57 is too big to make it...that's E. coli.

How does the system work?  There are three (and an optional fourth) components involved:  A pre-filter, which takes in the tap water andfilters out heavy metals such as rust and mercury and large sediments like calcium carbonate, up to 5 microns.  

The remaining fluid is shot through the membrane at high pressure.  Constructed of several layers of polypropylene mesh, the membrane's tiny pores stop virtually all elements other than H2O, leaving purified water.  The list of contaminants the RO sends to waste is quite long, but here's a sampling:

 

• Chlorine
• Bacteria/Viruses
• Nitrates
• Cadmium
• Radium
• Lead
• Pesticides

Then the water passes through the last carbon filter, called a post-filter, which filters out anything the other filters somehow missed.  The purified water then goes into a 2.2 gallon (or an optional 3.2 gallon) tank, where it is stored until the spigot is activated.   

The result is pure, clean, healthy water in your glass or pan.