You have been preparing to move from your old home to the new home that you just purchased. You want to make sure that you are able to get the best price for your old home and make sure that your new home maintains its value. You have a water softener and reverse osmosis system in your old home, will they increase the overall value of the home?
Having a water softener will add value to your home because it protects the plumbing and water fixtures of your home. A water softener can increase the selling price of a home because the home has been protected from the harmful effects of hard water.
Not all homes have hard water and not all water has the same amount of hardness in it, but if you are looking to sell your home and have had a well-maintained water softener and other water treatment systems in your home, they may greatly affect the selling price of your home.
How a water softener can add value to your home.
If there is hard water or iron in your water, a new home buyer will need a water softener anyway, so they will feel more comfortable purchasing your home knowing that you already have one.
No one likes dealing with the harmful effects of hard water. The dry skin, stringy hair, and lack of lather when you wash your hands or hair are not just an annoyance, they are an outright pain in the neck.
If the potential home buying family has dealt with hard water before, the entire family will be happy to know that you already have a water softener in your home so that as soon as they move in, they will have all the benefits of soft water.
Having a water softener means your hot water heating system has been protected from hard water build-up.
Hard water can cause serious problems with a hot water system. When hard water builds-up inside of a hot water heater, it not only greatly affects the efficiency of the system, but can also restrict the water flow significantly.
Check out this quick video about how hard water can ruin your hot water heater tank.
By having a water softener in your home, the softened water will heat up more efficiently so the hot water heater system will not have to work as hard to heat the home and provide plenty of hot water for you and your family.
The fact that a potential new homeowner will know that the hot water system in their new home is working efficiently can definitely increase the value of the home in their eyes.
The water fixtures in your home will look like new!
When looking to buy a new home, appearance is a huge factor in which the value of the home may be judged. A clean-cut lawn, clean windows, fresh paint, and new-looking water fixtures can really set your home apart from other similar homes.
If you have a water softener, your water fixtures will shine with just a quick wipe so that when your home is being shown to a potential buyer, they will notice the clean fixtures from which their future water will be coming from.
You have probably seen a water faucet that has been stained by hard water. What a difference it could make to a home’s value just by having water faucets that sparkle rather than looking like they belong in the trash.
How much value can a water softener add to your home’s worth?
Naturally, the actual cost of a water softener will add to the value of your home so the initial investment of a quality water softener is always a good choice. But the protection of the plumbing and water fixtures will also factor into how much value a water softener will add to your home.
Depending on the age of the water softener, you could expect the value of your water softener towards the purchase of your home to be as much as 75% of the original purchase price of the water softener.
Do all water softeners add value to a home?
Older water softeners or lower-priced water softeners may not add value to your home based on the initial price of the system, but the function that they do may still add value to your home.
Because your plumbing has not had hard water running through it can mean that it is in much better condition than it could be if there was hard water build-up in your plumbing.
Replacing the plumbing of a home due to hard water build-up can be a very costly expense, and even though having a water softener does not mean that the plumbing of a home will never need to be replaced, eliminating the possibility of hardness build-up in your plumbing is certainly a bonus to the overall value of the home.
Not having to replace the plumbing in a home because it has a water softener could add thousands of dollars to the value of even a relatively small home, and even more for larger homes.
The fact that having a water softener will prevent the corrosion of the water fixtures in your home means that they will not have to be replaced as often. Depending on the type and price of the water fixtures, this alone could add thousands of dollars to home value.
Some items in your home that will add value to your home when protected by a water softener.
| Household Item | Average Value Added To A Home | How A Water Softener Protects It |
|---|---|---|
| Sink Faucets | $100 – $999 | Hard water build-up will corrode water faucets and even cause them to leak or not shut-off. |
| Shower heads | $100 – $2399.99 | The small openings of a showerhead can get restricted by hard water build-up causing poor water flow and diverted streams of water in all directions. |
| Toilets | $250 – $4800.00 | Iron in your water will create unsightly yellow/orange staining in your toilets if not removed by a water softener. |
| Dishwashers | $400 – $4000.00 | Not only will hard water ruin a dishwasher, but it will also leave hard water spotting on your dishes and permanent etching. |
| Refrigerators | $1000 – $7500.00 | Hard water can cause your ice maker to seize and your water dispenser to malfunction. |
| Washing Machines | $600 – $9500.00 | When clothes are washing in hard water, they wear out faster and look dingy. Hard water can clog screens and inlets of a washing machine. |
| Hot Water Heaters | $400 – $6000.00 | When hard water goes through a hot water heater, the hard minerals build-up on the inside of the tank making it less efficient and eventually stop working. |
| Hot Tubs | $3000 – $18000.00 | Hard water will leave spots on the surface of a hot tub and can ruin the water heating system. |
Having a quality water softener tells home buyers that you care about your home.
If a potential home buyer sees that you cared enough to have a quality water softener to protect the plumbing in your home as well as the water fixtures of your home, they will feel more confident that you have cared for the rest of your home in the same way.
Your water softener is just one appliance in your home, but it is needed to protect your home from the harmful effects of hard water.
Having a well-maintained and high-quality water softener means that you are likely to care about your entire home enough to have high-quality appliances in your kitchen and everywhere else in your home.
A new home buyer that appreciates quality and taking good care of their things will appreciate that you have taken care of their new home and will consider having a water softener already installed in their new home to be an added value to the home.
How a home buyer will benefit when buying a home with a water softener.
Potential home buyers will be confident that the plumbing in the home is clear of hard water build-up and the appliances in the home have been protected from hard water damage.
We use a lot of water in our homes every day. We rely on the plumbing of our homes to deliver the water that we use to drink, bathe, and clean our home with. Knowing that the plumbing of your new home will provide you with all the water that you will need is a huge value.
They know that their clothes will come out clean because laundry detergent works better with soft water:
Since we need our clothing ready at a moment’s notice for work and for play, we don’t want to be wondering if the water in our new home will get our clothes clean and fresh so we will look our best.
They won’t have to worry about shopping around for a new water softener themselves:
Nobody likes having to hear sales pitches from salespeople about their water softener is the best and you won’t find a better deal than they are offering.
And most people don’t shop for a water softener very often so what was new on the market the last time that you shopped for a water softener is not going to be what’s new on the market today.
So, if you are in the process of selling your home, don’t forget to make sure that your well-maintained water softener is included in the home description because having a water softener will certainly add value to the sale of your home.
To Sum Up!
A water softener is one of the hardest working appliances in the home. Having a quality water softener in your home does not only benefit you while you are living in your home but can also provide significant value to your home when you decide to move-on to your new home.
