Do Descalers Work or Do You Actually Need a Water Softener?

Your countertops have residue, your dishes have a film on them, and your shower doesn’t seem to stay clean. By now, it’s pretty clear you’ve got a hard water issue, Not only is mineral-laden hard water aesthetically annoying, but it can also clog your pipes and significantly impact your washing machines and dishwashers. So, is a water descaler the answer? Or do you really need a water softener?

To help you decide, we’ll explain what exactly descalers do and which solution is your best bet for combatting hard water.

What Is Hard Water?

Hard water is water that's loaded with minerals. As the groundwater works its way over rocks and through soil, it picks up tiny mineral particles such as magnesium and calcium. The dissolved minerals are the source of water hardness.

Hard water can: 

• Leave a residue on your countertops and dishes

• Decrease the lather from detergents, soaps, and bath and shower products

• Dry up your skin and hair

• Cause mineral buildup in your pipes

• Interfere with heating and cooling systems

• Significantly shorten the lifespan of your washing machine, dishwasher, and any other appliance that uses water

To rectify such an issue, many homeowners may opt to have a local water specialist assess their water and then a plumber to fit their homes with a water softener (a logical conclusion, no doubt), but a descaler could also help eliminate some of the problems.

How Descaling Helps Combat the Effects of Hard Water

Descaling uses, well, a water descaler to reduce the impact of hard water on any surface water touches. The descaler itself has coils that wrap around the cold water intake pipe (your water supply) and generate a magnetic field or a low-voltage current that charges the mineral particles. This positive charge holds the particles in the water so that they're less likely to deposit themselves on surfaces, including the insides of pipes, heating elements, countertops, and appliances.

However, the water isn't softened. A magnetic descaler is really stopping the deposits from adhering to your plumbing, thereby thwarting the long-term effects of scale on your systems. 

So, while your plumbing and appliances should fare better, you'll still have hard water and experience the effects like soap scum on your dishes, stiff laundry, and "grimy" hair and skin. As such, it’s not considered a type of water filter, like a softener is.

Do Electronic Descalers Work?

Yes, they work in the sense that they help reduce the impact of hard water on your pipes and appliances. But they do not soften water. If you have the budget and you want to enjoy the benefits of soft water (soft, comfy clothes, shiny hair, and bubbly bathwater, anyone?), you need a water-softening system instead.

Water Descaler vs. Water Softener for Hard Water

While a water descaler holds the minerals in the water to lessen its impact on your plumbing, a water softener works by removing the minerals to produce softer water. Water softeners use sodium chloride-charged polystyrene beads to catch the mineral particles. As the minerals flow over the beads, they switch places with the sodium chloride ions (like magic!).

With a water softener, the sodium chloride content in the water is insignificant and undetectable by taste or smell. The result? Water that doesn't leave your clothes stiffened with soap scum. You’ll also get to enjoy baths with bubbles again. And of course, your appliances and pipework should perform more efficiently and be less prone to breakdown and clogs.

However, water softeners are more expensive and harder to install than descalers. Electronic water descalers cost, on average, $200, which is much lower than the cost to install a water softeners, which totals between $800 and $3,000. You'll need to hire a local water softener specialist to install these systems for you because they require adding new pipework with valves to direct the water into the softening unit and back out into your home.

Keep in mind that, although they come with a higher upfront cost, water softeners last for between 10 and 15 years, depending on a few factors, like how often the softener regenerates. This is usually longer than the 10 years a descaler lasts. Plus, they provide a more permanent solution to hard water.

Make sure to ask your water pro about the best system they recommend for your home. Lastly, you may need to have someone perform regular maintenance on your water softener.