Hard water causes cloudy or foggy water stains on clean dishes, shower doors and faucets.  This water "hardness" results from excess calcium, magnesium or iron and produces two major problems:

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1. Scale. Scale forms when calcium and magnesium precipitate out of water and adhere to the inside of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles and more.  If left untreated, scale can eventually completely clog water pipes, destroy fixtures and damage appliances. 

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2. Scum buildup. Hard water reacts with soap to form sticky scum which reduces lather and wastes handwashing and shower water.

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We recommend installing a top-quality water softener to treat hard water in New Hampshire and Maine which will measurably improve your water for many years to come.

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The benefits of soft water:

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• Softer Skin & Hair

• Brighter Clothes

• Uses Less Soap

• Makes Cleaning Easier/Less Household Cleaners Needed

• Reduces Spots on Dishes and Fixtures

• Extends Life of All Appliances and Hot Water Tanks

• Extends Fabric Life

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How Cation Exchange Systems (Water Softeners) Work

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We install cation‐exchange water softener systems in New Hampshire and Maine which substitute sodium or potassium salts for "hard water" minerals. Water is considered hard if it contains so called “hardness minerals“. These are primarily calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions and, to some extent, iron (Fe2+ or Fe3+),  manganese (Mn2+ or Mn3+) and others. Hard water enters through the main supply line, flows through a bypass and into a softener’s head valve. From there, water travels into the resin tank to the distribution tube.  Along the way, hard interacts with resin beads that are supersaturated with sodium ions (Na+) or in rare cases, potassium ions (K+). These small beads remove hardness minerals from water by a process called “ion exchange” – cation exchange to be more precise. Water is "softened" by the time the water reaches the bottom of the tank.

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The ion exchange process is fairly simple:

Positively-charged hardness ions attach to negatively charged resin beads which act like a magnets, substituting loosely held Na+ because calcium, magnesium and the like carry a stronger positive charge. In this way, all hardness minerals are removed from water and any sodium present goes into solution. This produces soft water with slightly increased sodium levels which then travels up the riser tube back into the head valve and is finally distributed throughout your house.