What Size Water Softener Do I Need?

Considering the purchase of a water softener? A quality water softener is an excellent home investment that will provide a host of advantages ranging from better tasting drinking water to longer service life in water using appliances. Before purchasing, you will need to determine what size water softener you need. This requires determining your household’s daily softening requirement based on two important factors: the hardness level of your water and how much water your household uses.

Calculating your Household’s Daily Softening Requirement

The hardness level of your water is basically a measure of how much dissolved calcium, magnesium, and other minerals your water softener will have to remove on a daily basis. We recommend getting as accurate as possible rather than guessing a number. If your home uses city water, we suggest that you contact your local water utility company or consult their Consumer Confidence Report.

If your home’s water is supplied by a well, you should have it tested to determine the level of hardness. Even if you had it tested years ago, well water is always changing based on the environment. Your hardness levels may have changed. We recommend having your well water tested at least once a year for the most current contaminant reading.

Once you know the hardness level of your water, you need to calculate your daily household water consumption. You can find this by simply looking at your water bill from the city and calculating the amount of water you use per day. If you’re unable to obtain this information, you can get an estimate by multiplying the number of people living in your home by 75 gallons/day. That is the average for most adults.

Once you have both figures, you can calculate your daily softening requirement by multiplying water hardness by your water consumption.

For example, if your water hardness level is 10 grains per gallon and there are two people in your household, your equation would look like:

2 people x 75 gallons per day = 150 gallons per day.
150 gallons x 10 grains
= 1,500 grains per day daily softening requirement.

Water Softener Sizes

All water softeners will include specifications on what capacity of hardness they are able to handle before they need to regenerate.The more resin media it has inside, the longer it can provide soft water to your home before it performs its brine, backwash and rinse cycles to reset the media. Using the example above, if you installed a unit with 6,000 gains capacity in a home that is using 1,500 gallons per day, the system would run out of its ability to soften your water after 4 days.

WaterMax® Quality Water Softener Meets Flexible Needs

In some households water needs fluctuate, such as families with kids away at college. The Hague Water WaterMax is an excellent option for homes that need flexibility. This patented, comprehensive water softener system is both efficient and flexible from a design and operational standpoint.

The WaterMax regenerates on demand both by calendar days or by exact water usage. So if you have guests over to use 3,000 gallons per day, the unit will know and adjust it’s regeneration cycles to ensure you always have good, quality water. This system also automatically calculates compensated hardness, has been tested for over 100,000 cycles with no detectable wear, has a capacity guard to protect reserve bed, and is extremely quiet in operation.

No matter the size of your household, you can count on both Hague Water and the WaterMax for reliable, safe, and high-quality water. For more help choosing the correct water softener for your home’s needs, contact EPA Water Consultants. We are your Greater Philadelphia Hague dealer providing service in towns like Warminster, Wayne and Whitehall, PA.

EPA Water Consultants have been working with homeowners, home builders and businesses for years throughout Pennsylvania to solve multiple water-related problems. Each install is completed by an EPA Water employee as if it was our home – no subcontractors! With our 100% water quality guarantee, EPA Water Consultants will provide the best water available to you and your home or business!