Water Softening involves exchanging calcium and magnesium salts in natural waters with sodium and potassium salts. This process reduces hardness . Sodium and potassium salts are more water soluble than calcium and magnesium, so they do not leave water spots on dishes and do not interfere with detergents producing suds. Water softeners require tanks to which salt must be added from time to time. The use of water softeners may increase the concentration of sodium ions in drinking water, and this may be a health problem for some individuals.
Water softeners require regular maintenance or they can become a health hazard.
The pressure at your house is determined by where you live within a water pressure zone and the demand on the system at the time. The City of Glendale is currently divided into three different pressure zones, with a fourth set to be added by the end of summer, 1997. Peak hour demand can be five to 10 times higher than low hour demand. Arizona has a great deal of geothermal activity, in which heat from the earth's core escapes into the surface layers. The water from some of Glendale's wells is warmed by this geothermal activity.