You grab a glass from the cabinet and turn on the faucet to the cool setting. You fill your glass and take a big gulp only to realize it just doesn’t quite taste as fresh and clean as some of the water you’ve gulped down in the past. You put the glass down and head over to the laundry room and as you take the load out of the dryer and begin to fold, you realize your clothes just don’t seem to be as crisp and bold as they once were. What could be the issue?

Well, if it was just one thing or the other, there’s a chance it could be an issue with either the faucet or the appliances. But since you notice that most things in your home that involve water are falling into the same categories, it’s most likely an issue with your water. The solution? You may be a good candidate for a water conditioning or softening system, or you may simply need to have a water filter installed in your home.

What are the differences between water conditioning and water filtration? Find out below!

What is a Water Conditioning System?

This type of water treatment system, also known as a water softening system, works to remove minerals from your home’s water supply. What does removing minerals do? It helps prevent scale buildup from hard minerals such as calcium and magnesium that can have lots of negative effects throughout your home.

What are some things that come as a result of hard water? For starters, you may begin noticing that your skin and hair are drying out, that your dishes and silverware aren’t quite clean when they come out of the dishwasher and that your clothes aren’t as vibrant as they once were. You may also notice issues with your pipes and plumbing fixtures.

So, how does a water conditioning system work?

Water conditioning systems add potassium or sodium to the brine of your water tank, which counteracts the effects of harder minerals and helps keep your plumbing system well-maintained and live a much longer lifespan.

What is a Water Filtration System?

Not all scenarios call for a complete water conditioning system. For low-tech, but highly effective water quality, a water filter might do the trick. There are different types of water filtration systems and their job is to catch a number of different contaminants in your water — whether it’s as simple as some minerals or as complex as harmful chemicals.

See below for the two primary types of water filtration systems:

Point-of-Entry: this type of system is a bit more advanced as it’s a system installed at a point in your home’s pipework where water enters the house. It allows for the continuous filtration of any water that enters your home’s plumbing system.

Point-of-Use: this type of system utilizes a smaller filter that only applies to specific outlets, says one sink or one faucet. Point-of-use filters are great if you only need filtration in one primary area of the house.

So, what is the better choice? There’s no one simple answer when dealing with water conditioning or water filtration systems— it truly depends on your unique situation and your unique needs.

We can say, however, that there are plenty of benefits no matter which route you choose and we’re here to help make your decision a little bit easier.

Ready for incredibly healthy and tasty water right in your own home? Contact the San Diego plumbers at Plumbing Plus at to speak with our experts today! After all, we’ve been serving the entire area since the 80s, so you know you can count on us.