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You must have heard that water softeners have some negative effects on water heaters. But is there any truth to the claim? Yes, there is.

Now, how does a water softener affect your hot water heater? Well, the principal side effect of a water softening system is that it reduces the heater's lifespan. Continue reading to learn how to avoid this!

What Is Hard Water And Why Is It Bad?

Hard water refers to water containing elevated amounts of some specific minerals, like calcium and magnesium. While hard water isn’t directly harmful to your health, it does have a number of negative effects.

If glasses are not washed properly, this mineral-affected water can react with soap residue, causing deposits of carbonates, sulfates, and hydroxides of the aforementioned minerals inside them. A similar reaction can occur in plumbing and boilers, resulting in reduced water pressure and inefficient heating.

What Is The Solution For Hard Water?

Since hard water is bad in general, there is a simple fix for this issue. The minerals in hard water can be eliminated with a special kind of water filtration system. And this device is referred to as a water softener since it works to remove hard minerals from hard water in order to convert it to clean soft water.

One of the main advantages of using one of these devices is that it minimizes mineral accumulation in plumbing systems, making it much simpler to wash laundry and kitchenware and preventing sink and bathtub stains.

How Does A Water Softener Affect Your Water Heater?

Despite the fact that water softeners are a fantastic technology, they do have one major drawback.

A typical water heater lasts from 8 to 12 years on average. However, if you use a water softener with it, the service life of the device degrades over time, to the point where it becomes a concern. And because of this, you’ll have to replace the water heating unit with a completely new one.

Corrosion on the internal part of a hot water system is the most common reason for it needing to be replaced. Usually, all water heater systems have an anode rod that is placed inside the unit, which effectively diffuses the various contaminants. To put it another way, the anode burns out to preserve the heater's metal layer.

A water softener strips away hard minerals like calcium and magnesium and substitutes them with soft minerals like sodium whenever you install one to get good quality water.

The filtration system can effectively degrade the anode rod in the water heater more quickly after it converts the water to soft water. If the anode wears out faster, the corrosive components will proceed over to the heater unit sooner, rendering it unusable. In this way, a water softener can substantially reduce the longevity of a water heater.

How To Prevent This Problem?

Despite the fact that this is a significant issue, there is a simple solution. All you have to do is have your system's anode rod tested on a regular basis and replaced whenever necessary. This way, you'll be able to keep the same heater for a long period at a reasonable cost, and you'll always have access to soft water.

Final Words

From reading this article, you now know how does a water softener affect your hot water heater. Basically, it shortens the lifespan of the heater, but this problem can be easily resolved if you follow our instructions!