Here at the Lake of the Ozarks, hard water is a problem that every homeowner deals with. But having hard water isn't the only issue that we face with our water sources. To help homeowners understand the types of water problems that are typical in Lake of the Ozarks region, Lindyspring Systems has put together a list of common contaminants relating to water quality in Missouri. Take a look.


Iron
While iron in the water doesn’t pose any health risks, it can certainly be a nuisance. If you notice red, rusty stains in your sink, toilet, and tub – iron is probably to blame. High iron content in the water can stain your laundry, too. Plus, it may give your home’s water a metallic taste and affect the flavor of beverages like coffee and tea. It can also cause other problems such as clogged or corroded pipes and damaged appliances.

Manganese
When manganese is present in water, it is every bit as annoying as iron, perhaps even more so. In low concentrations it produces extremely objectionable stains on everything with which it comes in contact. Deposits collect in pipelines, and tap water may contain black sediment and turbidity due to precipitated manganese. When fabrics are washed in manganese-bearing water, dark brown or black stains are formed due to the oxidation of the manganese.

Hydrogen Sulfide
If you live in a home with water that stinks like rotten eggs, there’s a good chance that hydrogen sulfide is the problem. Once again, there is no major risk to your health, but no one wants to bathe in or drink water that smells like rotten eggs.

Nitrates
Nitrate is a compound that is formed naturally when nitrogen combines with oxygen or ozone. Nitrogen is essential for all living things, but high levels of nitrate in drinking water can be dangerous to health, especially for infants and pregnant women. Runoff from fertilization may cause nitrate contamination of private wells. Yet another thing to keep in mind is that the presence of nitrates in water indicates the possibility of E.coli contamination. This is why it's so important for those whose water source comes from a private well to test their water regularly.

Every Home’s Water Situation is Unique
Residential water treatment is a science that takes time to master. Hooking up a water softener or an R.O. you buy at a big box store is unlikely to completely solve your water problems. You need a professional to come to your home, identify the issues, and assemble a system that meets your specific needs. Let us schedule a time to come out to test your water and determine what is needed to treat your specific water needs. We sell and lease residential and commercial water treatment systems at Lake of the Ozarks. Any type of water problem can be taken care of by us. Visit our website for more information.

For All Your Household Water Conditioning and Treatment Needs Count on LINDYSPRING!

Many people wonder if buying a water softener at the Lake of the Ozarks is worth the money. We at Lindyspring Systems know that not only is it worth the money you'll spend on getting one, but it'll save you a lot of trouble and expense in the long run. To better help you understand the benefits of having a water softener at the Lake of the Ozarks, we've answered some frequently asked questions for your convenience.

Can you drink soft water?

Although many people believe soft water should not be drunk because of the sodium content, most do not realize how little sodium is in the water. Over 95% of our minerals come from our food and less than 5% from drinking water. The amount of sodium a water softener adds to tap water depends on the “Hardness” of your water. The higher the concentration of calcium and magnesium, the more sodium needed to soften the water. Still, the amount of sodium in softened water that was originally very hard shouldn’t be cause for concern. (www.MayoClinic.com)

Why does soft water not rinse the soap off? Showering in soft water makes my skin feel “slick”.

Showering in soft water may give you the sensation that soap and shampoo haven’t been rinsed away.  The “slick” feeling is actually your skin and hair thoroughly clean. Bathing with soft water, skin and hair retain natural moisturizing agents, feeling softer and smoother. Your skin will be healthier all winter long and not be so dry and itchy. Hair needs less conditioner and will not get so much build up on it from styling products.

Are water softeners expensive to operate?

A water softener is the only household appliance that can save you money. The cost of the electricity it uses is less than $6.00 per year. Soft water will help your appliances such as your water heater and dishwasher run more efficiently and last longer. Soft water also uses 50-70% less detergent to laundry and dishes. A Lindyspring water softener can also save you hours of housework by eliminating mineral deposits and soap scum on your fixtures.

Should I buy an electronic or magnetic device to soften my water?

Do not be fooled! While a lot of these devices do exist, only water softeners soften water. In the industry these magnets are referred to as “Descalers”, not softeners. They may be effective in certain applications as descalers, but they do not remove the hardness of the water. All of the benefits of softened water are forfeited. These items are sold with testimonials and a money back 90 day guarantee, but there is no scientific evidence to support their claims. If it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is!

Can the discharge from a water softener’s regeneration damage my septic system or drainfield?

In studies conducted by the University of Wisconsin in the late 1970s, it was confirmed that salt brine discharge from water softeners caused no problems in the operation of typical and newer style home treatment plants. High concentrations of calcium and manganese in the softener backwash water have no effect on the biological functions occurring in the septic tank and may, in some cases be helpful. The additional volume of wastewater generated is added slowly to the wastewater stream and does not cause any hydraulic overload problems. (Corey et al., 1977)

Do water softeners waste water and salt?

When you are shopping for a water softener at the Lake of the Ozarks, be sure to check the specifications for efficiency. If sized properly, a water softener will only regenerate 1 or 2 times per week. Always look for an electronic demand softener which meters water usage and adjusts accordingly. With the use of new technology such as upflow brining and metered electronic demand, today’s water softeners are much more efficient than those of yesteryear. It is not uncommon for a good quality softener to use less than 2 pounds of salt and less than 30 gallons of water per regeneration. Remember this piece of trivia – the total amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including tires is 39,090 gallons. Softeners do not waste water!

For many of us, taking a shower is priceless personal time. You’re alone with your thoughts getting ready for the day, or winding down from a workout or hectic daily schedule. You are supposed to get out feeling clean and refreshed. But if you’re showering in hard water, your showering experience could definitely be better. In fact, when you bathe or shower in hard water, you may not be getting as clean as you should. Here’s why…

How Minerals in Hard Water Keep You from Getting Clean

Dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium are what make the water in your home hard. Those minerals also create an undesirable chemical reaction with your soap, shampoo, and body wash as well as shaving cream. What happens is the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water react with fatty acids in soap to form insoluble lime soaps, which are ineffective at cleaning.

The best way to know if you’re dealing with hard water problems in the shower is to look at how well you’re lathering up. Hard water prevents you from getting a nice soapy lather in the shower. When you have soft water, it’s much easier to produce a foamy lather from your soap and shampoo.

After installing a water softener in their home, some people notice their skin feels slick and even slippery after bathing. Part of this may be due to the fact you aren’t accustomed to how truly-clean skin feels. What you feel might simply be the real you. But you may also be in the habit of using too much soap. You won’t need to use as much with soft water.

How Hard Water Affects Your Hair

Have you ever noticed how your hair can look and feel different when you shower in different places? Your hair behaves one way after showering at the gym, turns out another way when you’re vacationing or staying in a hotel, and looks completely different when you wash your hair at home. That’s most likely because the hardness of the water varies from location to location.

If you have hard water at home, your hair may feel dry all the time and become frizzy making it tangled and difficult to manage. It may also have a dull, lifeless appearance. That’s because those minerals and deposits build up in your hair. With a water softener in your home, those hard water issues are eliminated. You will find that your hair has a more-attractive shine when you shower in softened water. And soft water will make your hair more manageable, so it’s easier for you to style it the way you want.

Sometimes people with finer hair complain that soft water can make their hair feel flat or even greasy. This is probably because you’re using too much soap and not rinsing it out of the hair completely. Rinsing your hair in the shower for a little longer may solve that problem. Of all the hard water hair issues, the scariest has to be hair loss. Calcium build up can form around the base of hair follicles causing hair to break off and potentially hindering growth of new hair.

How Hard Water Affects Your Skin

Hard water can give you skin troubles too. Let’s start with the scalp. The calcium salts that build up in your scalp can cause dryness and flaking, AKA dandruff. You might assume it’s the shampoo you buy causing dandruff. But hard water may be the real culprit.

Hard water can make the rest of your skin feel dry and itchy as well. That’s thanks to the soapy residue left on your body, which clogs pores. Plus, the minerals in hard water can suck moisture right out of your skin leaving it even more dry and irritated. In fact, certain studies indicate hard water may cause additional aggravation in people with skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.

Even washing clothes in hard water can be problematic to those with sensitive skin. Hard water leaves soap residue on your laundry too, and that residue is in contact with your skin all day long. If you have sensitive skin, the soft water a high-quality water softener provides could help you avoid much of the dehydration that occurs.

What Can You Do?

If you have a private well, you’re definitely dealing with hard water. But the majority of municipal water sources have levels of hardness as well. According to the USGS, in the United States, 85% of the water is considered hard. There are certainly little tips and tricks you can use to try and improve your showering experience. However, there’s really only one permanent solution…that’s a water softener. Water softeners remove those dissolved minerals from the water in your home. They are an investment that will make life for you and your family more convenient and more enjoyable.

Now that you know just how hard water is affecting your cleanliness during shower time, it's time to start thinking about getting a water softener at the Lake of the Ozarks. Contact Lindyspring Systems, the best water treatment company at the Lake of the Ozarks, to get your water source tested. Not only can we test your water, but we can also recommend and install the best water treatment system to match your specific water needs. Give us a call at 573-348-5044!

Lindyspring Systems at Lake of the Ozarks knows the hard water struggles homeowners and businesses face daily. We're here to tell you that you don't have to continue to deal with those maintenance headaches. We've got several products that can help protect your drinking water at the Lake of the Ozarks. This week we are featuring our Lindyspring Sanitizer Water Conditioning System:

Lindyspring Sanitizer

Ideal for homeowners who use well water.

The sanitizer water conditioning system is recognized for its unique ability to kill and remove iron and sulfur bacteria - a naturally-occurring bacteria that can incubate and grow in water softener beds and other water appliances. Most homeowners experience this problem as red or black slime and stains on plumbing fixtures, and foul smells when operating a tap.

The system safely creates chlorine from the softener's brine solution. The dissolved chlorine then sanitizes the media bed with each regeneration of the system. An exclusive crystalline media acts as a superior filter and softener that removes iron, manganese and hardness - while raising pH to acceptable level and securing chlorine for continued media sanitizing.

Features of the Lindyspring Sanitizer System:

• Bypass Valve
• Digital Demand Controller
• Full One-Inch Riser
• Fiberglass Reinforced Media Tank
• Self-Cleaning Distributors
• Positive-Action Brine Valve
• Crystal Right (CR100, CR200)
• Washed Quartz Underbedding
• Patented KDF Material

Whether you have municipal water or you rely on a private or shared well, chances are you face some level of issues with water hardness at the Lake of the Ozarks. It's just a fact of life around here. One way to prevent hard water problems is by getting a water softener. Now some folks are against this solution because they've heard a number of myths about how soft water is bad for you and how expensive a softener can be. But in reality, NOT having a water softener can be a bigger problem than you realize. Here’s the truth about what happens when you use a water softener in your home as we bust eight different soft water myths.


Myth No. 1 – Water softeners put salt in your water.

It’s easy to understand why people make this mistake. However, you are not drinking salt water if you install a water softener in your home. It’s true that you you’ll need water softener salts, but you shouldn’t taste salt in your water. Water softeners use an ion exchange process to remove minerals like calcium and magnesium, which make the water hard. A special media stored in a mineral tank makes this process possible. That media is charged with sodium ions, which replace the hard minerals in your water. So it isn’t salt (NaCl) that gets added to your water, it’s sodium (Na).

Myth No. 2 – The amount of sodium in softened water is unhealthy.

How much sodium a water softener adds to your water depends on how hard your home’s water is in the first place. That being said, the typical amount of sodium in softened water is too small to have any sort of negative impact on your health. The Mayo Clinic states on its website that “the added sodium shouldn’t be an issue for most healthy adults.”

However, not everyone likes the taste of softened water, but they don’t want to deal with hard water problems either. Thankfully, there are options. You could separate the tap you use for drinking and cooking from your system while still getting the advantages of soft water for cleaning, bathing, and laundry. Better yet, you could install a reverse osmosis system to get pure and refreshing drinking water straight from a faucet at your sink.

Myth No. 3 – Water softeners purify water.

Water softeners are specifically designed to reduce the hardness of water. They do an excellent job of removing minerals and metals that cause scale and create all sorts of household headaches. However, water softeners do not filter out all contaminants. This is another reason why you may need a reverse osmosis system for the water your family actually consumes. You can also look in to other types of in-home filtration systems to deal with iron and sulfur issues.

Myth No. 4 – Water softening takes away healthy minerals.

When some people hear how water softeners remove calcium and minerals they think the softening process is taking away important nutrients. After all, calcium and magnesium can benefit things like bone health. The truth is that the calcium and magnesium deposits in hard water are inorganic minerals, which don’t provide the same benefits as obtaining minerals from food or supplements. The calcium and magnesium in hard water cannot be easily absorbed by the cells in your body.

Myth No. 5 – Soft water leaves a film on your skin.

Some people notice a different feeling on their skin when they first shower in soft water. It feels slick, and some might even say slimy. This is not a film being left behind on your skin, and it isn’t soap that doesn’t wash away either. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When you have hard water it does leave soap scum on your skin. What you notice after showering in hard water is not a sign you’re “squeaky clean,” but instead, that you are covered in a sticky residue. The slickness on your skin when you bathe in soft water is actually your body’s natural essential oils. It’s how clean is supposed to feel!

Myth No. 6 – Water softeners waste water and energy.

It’s true that some water softeners can waste water and salt during the regeneration process. This is a cycle your system goes through to re-charge the media with sodium ions. Today, there are high efficiency models available to homeowners which help save money and energy by learning your home’s water needs and using only the amount of water and salt that’s necessary for regeneration.

There are also other ways in-home filtration can help the environment. Soft water is more efficient at cleaning, that means you’ll use less detergent and chemical-filled cleaning products, which in turn reduces water pollution. Plus, when you have a reverse osmosis system, you can stop buying water in plastic bottles. The environmental impact of bottled water is huge!

Myth No. 7 – You don’t need a water softener if you have city water.

This might be one of the biggest misconceptions of all. Water softeners are most-commonly found in homes where there is a private well using groundwater. In that case, the water almost always needs softening. However, municipal water is rarely ever perfect water. In fact, more than 80-percent of all homes in the United States have hard water. Every city has different water quality. If you’re unhappy with your home’s water – whether its drinking, cleaning, laundry, or bathing – there are things you can do that will provide an effective solution.

Myth No. 8 – Water softeners cost a lot of money.

Putting a water softener in your home will require an initial investment. However, it will save you quite a bit of your hard earned money in the long run. Yes, your water softener will use electricity, you’ll have to buy salt, and it will need to be serviced on occasion. But in reality, water softeners put much more money back in your pocket.

Perhaps the biggest savings come from your water heater. These appliances operate much better on soft water while hard water makes them inefficient and forces you to run the water heater at a higher temperature. That’s one way a water softener will lower your utility bills while extending the life of appliances. Water softeners help keep other appliances running longer, too. Soft water reduces the amount of laundry detergent you use to clean clothes by more than 50-percent, and prevents colors from fading.

Now that you know the truth about what a water softener can do for your household, it's time to look into your water treatment options at the Lake of the Ozarks.  Lindyspring Systems offers a wide array of products and solutions to fit every water treatment need. We sell and lease residential and commercial water treatment systems at Lake of the Ozarks. Any type of water problem can be taken care of by us. We also deliver to your home or business 40 lb. bags of coarse solar salt and 40 lb. bags of potassium chloride. Do you want to learn more about the water services we provide? Visit our website for more information.

For All Your Household Water Conditioning and Treatment Needs Count on LINDYSPRING!