RV owners have their work cut out for them. As
enjoyable as recreational vehicles can make on the road living and camping,
there are so many special tools and gadgets that it’s worth your while to carry
because of the unforeseen pitfalls of RV life. There’s also a lot you need to
be aware of. For example, never leave your RV awning open and unattended or
store it wet, and take care to cover your RV tires to protect them from
long-term damage attributable to UV light exposure.
These are just two very small, very specific
instances in which RV owners need to be uncommonly attentive to the details of
RV living and RV care. Here’s another one, that has real consequences for RV
owners - the quality of the water that you run through your pipes.
Here is an unfortunate truth about the quality of
water in the United States. We may have a lot of it, and it may be freely
available, but in most areas of the country, the water sources will be hard.
This is something you need to be aware of as an RV owner - and something
against which you need to take action, for the better of your RV.
Hard and Soft Water
It’s been said that over 80% of the homes in the
United States have hard water, which would then allow it to follow that a
majority of RVs are exposed to the same. Just what is hard water, though?
Hard water is water that contains a high
concentration of dissolved minerals. The two chief minerals that most hard
water contains are magnesium and calcium, although water can be considered hard
if it contains traces of other minerals as well.
The thing about hard water is that there is
nothing categorically wrong with it. You can drink hard water, use it for
cleaning and cooking, and much more. The problem arises when you use hard water
for a prolonged time.
Some of these issues are specific to RV owners
and others of them are general nuisances. For example, hard water can make
dishes and glasses more brittle and prone to chipping and breaking over time.
It can also leave white or yellowish marks or stains on dishes and silverware -
but more on that in a moment.
Hard water is also a nuisance for homeowners
because hard water ruins laundry over time. A few wash cycles and you won’t
notice much of anything, but after repeated exposure to hard water, the colors
of clothing will fade. Your clothes, towels and other textiles will fade and
wear out long before their time when exposed to hard water.
Soft water, by comparison, is water that does not
contain the same concentrations of dissolved minerals, chiefly magnesium and calcium.
Soft water is beneficial for a bunch of reasons, namely because it does not
leave marks on dishes and appliances, and is not damaging to clothing and other
textiles. Soft water also increases the efficacy of soap and detergents and is
better for your skin and hair.
Is My Water Hard?
If you want to know for sure whether your water
is hard or soft, you can always get a test kit with test strips to know for
sure. This will tell you about pH readings as well as what dissolved minerals
are present in the water and in what concentrations. However, in many
instances, a testing kit is not even necessary to determine if water is hard or
soft. Sometimes, hard water will present itself with some of the following
telltale signs.
If your water is soft, you have little to worry
about and probably will not notice anything amiss. However, if your RV is
chronically exposed to hard water, you may notice spotting, staining, or
streaking in your dishwater, on or around your pipes, or on your appliances.
Sometimes this discoloration appears white and cloudy, other times it appears
yellow or even almost brown. You might also notice this type of discoloration
on your dishes, glassware, or silverware.
Another telltale sign is that your clothing,
towels, or other garments appear washed out, dull, or feel prematurely worn out
or rough. Of course, this is not a dead giveaway - it might also mean you
should be using a different detergent - but it is a sign of hard water.
Another sign that you’re experiencing hard water
is if your skin and hair feel “off” after showering. This could be due to the
residue left on your skin by hard water, but it could also be because hard
water limits the efficiency of soap and leaves soap on your skin or hair as well.
Finally, one of the big giveaways is diminished
water pressure, which can indicate that you’re not only using hard water but
that it is actively causing damage to your RV’s plumbing system. If you notice
diminished water pressure from your faucets or showerhead, along with unsightly
stains or spotting, you’re almost certainly laboring under hard water and need
to do something about it. This is because of the scale deposits left behind in
your pipes by the hard water.
What Is Scale?
Hard water scale is, simply put, the deposits of
magnesium, calcium, and other minerals that are left behind by hard water as it
passes through pipes or comes into contact with a surface. The spots and stains
left on dishes and glassware are a form of scale, which, though unsightly, is
not necessarily a material issue.
Hard water scale can become a serious problem
when it is left unchecked and allowed to accumulate within pipes and
appliances. This is because, some of the time, these deposits are accumulating
unbeknownst to the other of the RV and can damage your plumbing system over
time.
When too much hard water scale accumulates within
the pipes in an RV, or the lines of an appliance, the first thing that will
happen is that it will diminish the performance of that appliance. This is
where you may notice that a faucet or showerhead is providing a more sluggish
flow than usual.
If this occurs, it means that the scale within
the pipes has accumulated to the point that it is adversely affecting the flow
of water through them. This is a problem for several reasons. For one, it will
impact the use of your plumbing. For another, it places an immense strain and
terrible pressure on the pipes and fittings. This can result in burst pipes,
damaged appliances, and more. These are expensive to remedy in their own right,
but if a pipe bursts and floods your RV, you’ll be looking at an entirely
different issue altogether.
Luckily, you can remedy the issue of hard water
with a simple system like an On The Go Water Softener
How a Water Softener Can Help
A water softener can help you preserve the life
of your RV’s plumbing system as well as your appliances while providing a wide
range of other useful benefits as well. Generally speaking, a water softening
system will work to remove some of the dissolved minerals from your water
before it makes its way through your pipes and into your appliances. This way,
a water softener can help with some of the following problems:
-
No more spotting or staining on
dishes, silverware, glassware, or crystal
-
No more washed out or faded
laundry
-
Soap and shampoo will work better,
so your skin and hair will feel much better
-
No more staining of appliances
which will adversely affect their value
-
Most importantly - no more scale
buildup in pipes which can damage your plumbing system and appliances
Here at RV Upgrades, we offer quite a range of
solutions in water softeners, including several options in On The Go Water Softeners which will work hard to remove dissolved
trace minerals from your water before you use it.
Some Options in On The Go Water
Softeners
If you’re looking for an On The Go Water Softener to prevent some of
the issues named in this article, consider some of the following:
On The Go Portable Standard RV Water Softener
(OTG4-StdSoft)
The On The Go Portable Standard RV Water Softener
is a highly practical solution for most RV owners that are plagued with hard
water. It not only solves a whole host of problems caused by hard water, but it
is also easy to fit, easy to use, and easy to recharge.
This portable water softener removes magnesium
and calcium from your water before you use it. Its design features an
easy-carry handle and a wide mouth to make it easier to recharge - it’s also
lightweight and easy to hook up.
This On
The Go Water Softener does not require any tools or electricity to operate
and can be hooked up to your RV effortlessly. It takes nothing more than a
standard hose connection between the park faucet and your RV’s inlet hose.
The unit itself contains 8,000 grains and can
soften anywhere between 320 and 800 gallons before it needs to be recharged,
lasting up to 20 days on a single charge. It utilized potassium chloride and
can be recharged with common table salt to continue softening water.
It’s small and lightweight, which means it can be
installed even in tight spaces and stored out of the way if it is not needed, both
traits that are highly valuable on RVs where space comes at a premium.
This portable water softening system comes with
an inlet cap, an outlet cap, a handle, an inlet hi-flow shutoff valve, inlet,
and outlet hose adapters, a backflush adapter, test strips, and a high-pressure
4-foot white drinking hose.
On The Go Double Standard RV Water Softener
(OTG4-DBLSOFT)
If the capacity of the previous Portable On The Go Water Softener is not
adequate for your needs, then you might be interested in the On The Go Double
Standard RV Water Softener. This On The
Go Water Softener can last anywhere from 10 to 32 days - that’s a month -
before it needs to be regenerated.
This water softening system features 16,000
grains per unit of softening, and works great to soften your RV’s water supply,
thereby reducing damage to your plumbing and your appliances.
Like the previous On The Go Water Softener, this water softening system can be easily
installed. It requires no tools for installation and no electricity for
operation and can be easily regenerated with normal table salt within as little
as 30 minutes.
Throughout one charge, it can soften anywhere
from 500 to 1,600 gallons before it will need to be regenerated, depending on
the level of hardness. This portable RV water softener also offers an excellent
water flow rate of around 4.5 gallons per minute. It’s a little larger,
bulkier, and heavier than the former unit, but it is still compact and
lightweight, perfect for taking on the road.
This water softener also comes with a 1-year
manufacturer warranty, as well as storage inlet and outlet caps, along with a
handle, an inlet hi-flow shutoff valve, inlet and outlet hose adapters, a
backflush adapter, and a 4-foot high-pressure white drinking hose.
Questions?
Contact Us!
Whatever your questions are, the team here at RV
Upgrades is here to help you. We’ll put your concerns about hard water to rest,
whether you’re looking for a test kit to determine whether or not you have hard
water or you need an actual water softening system to solve the issue.
Additionally, if you need some help picking out a
water softening system, we are here to help. Contact us via your preferred method
and let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll help you choose the right
water softener. You can reach us by phone at 866-332-7881, but you can also
reach us via the live chat feature that you can use right here on our website,
whichever is easier for you. Soft water is within reach - you just need the
right water softening system for your RV!
