If you happen to live somewhere with hard water, you know the damage it can do to your water fixtures, glassware, pipes, and laundry. Water softeners remove calcium, magnesium, and other minerals that make water hard, so you have purified, soft water at every tap in your home or business. However, you may wonder what size water softener you need.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about choosing a water-softening system. Our team of Las Vegas water softener experts provides expert insight so you know why your water softening system is crucial and how to know what size of water softener you need.
How Do I Know I Need a Water Softener?
First, it’s essential to determine whether you need a water softener or not. In Las Vegas and throughout Southern Nevada, the majority of the water supply comes from Lake Mead. As the water makes its way across several states and climates via the Colorado River, it picks up sediment and minerals that make the water particularly hard.
You’ll notice your water is hard in several ways, including:
- Crusty, white buildup on your faucets and sinks
- Cloudy or spotty dishes
- Dingy and stiff laundry
- Having to use more soap than normal for cleaning
- Dry hair and skin
- Chalky film on your appliances that use water
If you’re experiencing any of the signs of hard water, you’ll definitely benefit from a water softening system. In Las Vegas, there are several sizes of water softeners that will help you avoid the damaging effects of hard water.
Measuring Your Water Hardness
One of the things to consider when choosing which water softener will work best for you is your water’s hardness. You’ll need to enter the hardness value after setting up your water softener for optimal performance, and guessing this number will result in your system not working as it should.
According to the Las Vegas Valley Water District, the water hardness in Las Vegas measures at 278 parts per million or 16 grains per gallon. This level is categorized as “very hard” and can wreak havoc on your plumbing pipes and fixtures. Use this number to guide you when purchasing your water softening system.
Options for Getting Your Water Tested
Reports indicate Las Vegas’s water is among the hardest water in the nation, and signs of hard water may be enough to confirm you need a water softener. However, before you consider what size of water softener you need, you may want to test your water.
If you use city water, you can receive data about your water without running a test. Your municipal water utility tests water quality. Your water utility may have these reports available online, but you can request this data from them if they do not.
You can also perform a soap suds test or a test kit.
Soapsuds Test
To perform this test, you’ll need the following items:
- A clean jar with a lid that seals tight
- Liquid dish soap
Take the following steps:
- Secure water: Your jar should be plastic or glass. Run tap water into the jar until it’s approximately one-third full. You should have no more than 10 ounces of water in the jar and no less than eight.
- Add pure dish soap: Add liquid dish soap to the water in the jar. You need ten drops of pure dish soap. Do not use detergent; add pure dish soap for the soapsuds test.
- Mix: Put the lid on the jar and ensure it’s secure. Shake the jar for no less than ten seconds.
- Observe: When combined with pure dish soap, hard water will have minimal foam. If you have hard water and cloudy water, you’ll have a thin layer of suds. Soft water will be clear, with plenty of suds.
Test Kit
You can purchase water testing kits from hardware stores or online. Select a reputable testing kit that tests for hard water and follow the directions provided.
Your Daily Volume of Water Consumption
The next thing to factor into your choice of water softeners is how much water you use in your home or business. Based on your daily water consumption, you’ll know which water softening system can handle the volume of water you need. You can use your latest water bill to get an accurate idea of your total water consumption over a period of time (usually per month). Then, just divide that by the number of days in the month to get your daily use.
However, keep in mind that it’s very likely you’ll use more water during the hot summer months than at other times. Also, you may use more water if you have visitors or are filling your pool during a particular month. If that’s the case, you can use the average number of 75 gallons per day per person for a generally accurate estimate of your daily water usage.
Calculating Your Daily Water Softening Requirements
Here’s where you apply the numbers we’ve already discussed. Take your daily water usage and multiply that by your water hardness. This number is your daily water softening requirement.
Here is an example to give you an idea of what we mean. Let’s say you live in Las Vegas, so your water hardness is 16 grains per gallon. You also have four people in your household.
- Hardness: 16 grains/gallon
- Daily water usage: 4 people x 75 gallons/day = 300 gallons/day
- Daily water softening requirement: 16 grains/gallon x 300 gallons/day = 4,800 grains/day
In this example, your water softener should be able to remove around 4,800 grains per day. This number is key to knowing which water softening system can handle your needs.
Understanding Water Softener Grain Capacity
The next step is to choose a water softening system that will match your conditions and the volume of water your family uses on a daily basis. Based on the example above, it may seem like any water softener could handle your needs.
However, keep in mind that water softeners typically regenerate once per week. This means you’ll need to take that “per day” number and multiply it by seven to match your grain capacity to the displayed numbers at the store. With our 4,800 grains/day, you’ll need a water softener with a grain capacity of at least 33,600 (4,800 x 7).
Also, remember your water usage will fluctuate depending on the number of people living on the property and the time of year. You may want to consider this when purchasing a water softener with a lower grain capacity.
Standard Water Softener Capacities
Our experts can help you to determine which water softener is best for your needs. One factor to consider is the number of grains per gallon (GPG) of minerals in your water. Water in Las Vegas is 16 GPG, which is one factor to consider when determining what type of water softener you need. The other consideration is the number of people in your home and the typical amount of water used.
Water softeners have to recharge after eliminating the minerals that make water hard. Recommended sizes based on Las Vegas water hardness and the number of household occupants are as follows:
- 32,000 grains for one to two people
- 40,000 grains for three to four people
- 48,000 grains for five to six people
- 64,000 grains for seven to eight people
Rain Water recommends the WS-1 Water Softener for homes with up to four occupants, and the WS-5 Water Softener is suitable for households with five or more occupants.
The Proper Size Water Softener Is Important
Water softeners intercept water when it enters your home. The water softener’s tank has resin beads. Since the minerals that make your water hard are attracted to resin, the resin secures the minerals, allowing the water to pass through the tank and into your home without the high volume of minerals, allowing you to prevent damage caused by hard water.
The water softener has to be recharged. Recharging refers to cleaning the resin. Salt removes the minerals from the resin so that your whole home water treatment system is able to continue removing minerals from your water. You should ensure you get a water softener that’s the right size for your needs before your water softener installation to ensure you continuously enjoy the benefits of soft water.
Can You Get a Water Softener With Too High of a Capacity?
Installing a water softener whose capacity exceeds your needs may seem like a good way to ensure you always enjoy the benefits of soft water. However, water softening systems are designed to extract minerals, recharge, and repeat that cycle continuously. When you have a water softener with a higher capacity than you need, it won’t be prompted to recharge as often, which can reduce its efficiency.
Ideally, it would be best if you chose a water softener with a capacity suited to your regular needs to ensure your water softener performs optimally.
What Happens If My Water Softener Is Too Small?
Ideally, water flows through your water softener, which extracts the minerals steadily and removes the minerals from the resin before demand exceeds the volume of softened water available. However, if your water softener is too small, you’ll need more water before your water softener should recharge.
When you need more water before your water softener typically recharges, your water softener will recharge more often. This means your water softener will recharge more often than it’s designed to, increasing the strain on your water softener.
Your operating costs will increase because your water softener will use more salt to recharge. Additionally, your system is more likely to break down and may need to be repaired or replaced sooner than expected. To ensure your water softener works optimally, it’s crucial you choose a water softener suitable for your typical needs.
Water Softener Efficiency Is Important
An efficient water softener is essential because it functions optimally, and you should enjoy the benefits of soft water for the expected lifespan of your water softener. You’ll save money and time with an efficient water softener because you won’t have to deal with repairs. You also won’t have to worry about scheduling showers or laundry because you’ll have soft water available when needed.
Purchasing Your Water Softening System
When it comes time to invest in a water softener, not all retailers are created equally. A lot goes into calculating what size water softener you’ll need, so you want to work with trusted experts who understand these numbers. Whether you’ve done the calculations yourself or still need to figure out which system is best for you, the team at Rain Water of Las Vegas is ready to help.
Contact us to discuss your water needs today.
Trust Rain Water of Las Vegas for Your Water Softening and Filtration Needs
At Rain Water Conditioning of Las Vegas, we offer a wide variety of water softeners, conditioning systems, and purifiers that will give you the highest-quality water in your home or office.
Our Las Vegas water softener experts are standing by to answer your questions and can help you find the best solution for your water softening needs. Contact our office today to learn more about our water softeners, water softening installation, and other services.
Discover the Rain Water difference and how we can deliver pure, safe drinking water to your home.
Sources:
Facts about our water. (2021).
Home Water Softening. (2022).
Lupiani, J. (2019). Las Vegas has 2nd hardest water in the nation.
McHugh, S. (2024). The 7 Best Water Testing Kits of 2024.
Tags: hard water, las vegas, water conditioner, water softener