Trusting Your Taste Buds To Find Problems With Your Water Softening System

When you want to make sure your water is refreshing and clean, a water softening system is by far one of the best choices you can make as a homeowner. That whole house water softening system you had installed a few years ago may have been well worth the investment cost, but lately your taste buds tell you something, somewhere is wrong. When water softening systems start to fail, you can usually trust your sense of taste to fill you in on the problem. Here are a few distinguishing flavors you should be aware of in your water.

Water Tastes Like Plastic

Right after the water softening system is installed, you can expect that the first few glasses of water would taste slightly off. This is only due to the sealants and resin that are used to seal off the installed plumbing. However, if you are experiencing water that tastes like it is coming fro a water hose after this short seasoning period, there is a good chance you have a problem. This can be related to the resin materials sealing plumbing breaking free into the lines. Call a water softener repair professional like Metro Water Conditioning Inc to come out and take a look at your system.

Water Tastes Overtly Salty

Water softeners use sodium to absorb hard minerals from the water. The sodium brine is held in a basin at the base of the unit itself and will often require you to add more salt. Unfortunately, older systems can become overrun with salt and start to disperse the taste in the water supply. If you are tasting heavy salt in your water, it is important to talk to a service professional immediately. Released salt can wreak havoc on copper pipes and even cause problems in your septic system with deterioration.

Water Tastes Like Chlorine

During the water softening process, a large amount of chlorine will naturally be eliminated even though the systems are designed to remove mostly minerals that cause hard water. If the chlorine taste starts to make its presence known again, this is an indicator that salt levels in your system are low. Consult with your manufacturer's guidelines to find out how to replace depleted sodium levels in your system.

When it comes to getting clean water, water softeners are a great addition to plumbing. Make sure you let your tongue do the investigating when you think there is something askew with your system.