Do I Need a Water Treatment System? - Wisler Plumbing & Air

In a previous post, we discussed some of the advantages of installing a household water treatment system. Now, let’s talk about some of the situations where a water treatment system would not be needed.

Some homes just don’t have enough room to install a unit of proper size. Maybe the home doesn’t have a basement, or it has a very short crawlspace. Or maybe there just isn’t any room on the main level to install one of these systems, which stand about 60-64” tall and are about 2 feet wide. If you don’t have a closet, basement, or tall enough crawlspace, it can be problematic to find adequate space for the unit indoors. In any case, we do not recommend installing a system outdoors and exposing it to extreme temperatures (potentially impeding performance).

There are some smaller water treatment systems available that are small enough to be installed under the house. These short units have very little capacity, and you have to be very careful to make sure that you don’t exceed the capacity marked on the unit’s specifications. If you were to go over capacity, it would revert to providing hard water, along with using excessive salt during more frequent backwashing (cleaning). Ultimately, if you don’t have the space to install a system of proper size for the amount of water consumed, it is not advisable to install the unit.

If you don’t want to install a water conditioner because it uses salt, then you should not purchase a saltless system to remove hardness. Not only are they largely ineffective, but they are also a waste of money (we covered this topic in more detail in a previous blog post). If you were to use a simple test kit to test for hardness, it would indicate no change, since it is not removing any of the minerals from the water. The best choice is to decide against installing a water conditioner instead of wasting your money on a system that simply won’t provide results.

Finally, if you rely on a well system with a weak pump, it will not provide adequate water pressure or water volume to allow the conditioning system to work effectively. Remember, these water treatment systems rely on the plumbing’s water pressure to clean themselves. A lack of adequate pressure would result in some of the contaminants remaining in the unit. Over time, these contaminants would continue to build up and eventually become a problem.

If you have any doubts about whether or not your home is suitable for a water treatment system, give us a call. We’ll be happy to help you make the decision based on how much water your home uses, whether you have adequate water pressure, and whether you have adequate space for the unit. Give us a call today at (540) 483-9382.