Water softener sizing chart
You can quickly determine what size water softener you need based on your hardness and the number of people in your household, which is used to estimate water usage. Water hardness is measured in grains per gallon (GPG) and you can get your water hardness through testing at home or checking your water quality report.
Using the chart below, you can determine the grain capacity to choose for a water softener based on your water hardness and the number of people in your home.
How to size a water softener
While a softener sizing chart is helpful, it’s more of a rough estimate of the size you need since it’s estimating water usage. You can determine your exact requirements for the right-sized softener by following the steps below:
1. Determine your water hardness
Your water hardness will play a big role in deciding what size softener to get. Depending on where you live, your water hardness can vary. You can find your water hardness level by looking up your local water quality report, having a professional test your water, or using a DIY water hardness tester kit. These methods will provide you with your water hardness measured in grains per gallon (GPG).
2. Check your water usage
Knowing how much water your household uses is equally as important as knowing your hardness level, as you need to ensure your softener will be able to keep pace with your usage to avoid gaps and having to rely on hard water. The easiest way to determine your average water usage is by looking at your water bill. If you have a total monthly usage, divide it by the number of days in the billing period to get your daily usage.
Tip: If you don’t have your water bill, you can use the national average of water a person uses, which is 82 gallons of water per day.
3. Calculate your softening requirement
The next step after finding out your water hardness and daily water usage is to calculate your home’s softening requirements. To find this, you can use this simple formula:
# of people x average daily water use per person x water hardness= daily softening requirement
As an example, let’s say you live in a four-person household, and each person on average uses 82 gallons of water per day. If your water hardness level is 10 GPG, then your calculation should look like this:
4 people x 82 gallons x 10 GPG= 3,280 grains per day
In this example, 3,280 grains will be the capacity your water softener needs to handle for it to be efficient for your home. Furthermore, you can use this calculation to also determine how frequently your water softener would need to regenerate. For instance, if your water softener has a grain capacity of 32,000 grains and your daily softening requirement is 3,280 gallons, then your system would need to regenerate about every 10 days (32,000 grain/3280 grain = 9.75 days between regeneration cycles).
What happens if my water softener isn’t the right size?
Choosing a water softener that doesn’t meet your home’s needs can lead to several issues. Having a water softener that’s too small means it won’t be able to efficiently handle your water usage, meaning you’ll have to wait for regeneration or rely on hard water. If the system is too large, you’ll waste money and energy.
Issues with using a softener that’s too small
Having a water softener that has a smaller grain capacity than your home needs will lead to untreated hard water in your home. Untreated hard water will create issues like soap scum, damage to your appliances, and limescale in your pipes. Furthermore, your water softener will have to work harder and may require frequent regenerations, wearing it out faster over time.
Issues with using a softener that’s too big
On the other hand, if a water softener is too large then you will be wasting money and energy without the additional benefits. The softener will require more salt and water for its size, and you risk channeling if you don’t have enough water to fill your softener. Channeling means that water flows through a narrow path instead of spreading out through the entire resin bed, causing resin beads to clump together and reducing the efficiency of the softener.
Choose the right size water softener for your home
At Aquasana, we know it can feel overwhelming when trying to figure out which water softener size is right for your home.
That’s why free support from our water experts who are committed to helping you find the best solution for your home. It’s as simple as sending a short message with your questions and your contact info through our customer support page. As soon as possible, one of our water experts reaches out to you to assess your water needs and help you figure out the right system for your home.
If you already know what size of softener to get, check out our innovative and adaptive SimplySoft® Grain Water Softeners. Our systems are available in 40,000 and 60,000 grain capacities to ensure a steady supply of softened water for your home. Our softeners are IAPMO certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 44 and CSA B483.1 for the reduction of water hardness, so you can trust that it has high-quality performance.
Our team is eager to help your home find its perfect match, so contact us today and we’ll help you choose the right water softener.
WHOLE HOUSE WATER SOFTENER
SimplySoft® 40,000 Grain Softener
Reduces minerals that cause hard water, providing softer, scale-free water from every tap in your home.
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