Mysterious things these water softeners...and one of the least understood appliances in your home.

They come in smaller capacity cabinet models, and they come in larger two-tank models. But just how does adding salt to something make your water softer? And what is soft water anyway?

And when you try and get an explanation of how they work you're hit with words in which few are interested, like "ions", "ion exchange", "resin", "particle charge" and so on.

Well it does not have to be that hard to understand.

In the tutorial Water Softeners - How They Work, I'll explain clearly how they work and you won't even need a chemistry degree. Promise.

You'll learn the secrets of the softener and why water softeners can hurt septic systems if you use salt. You'll also learn why you should use potassium and not salt in your water softener for your health and the environment. It makes a difference.

Vinyl siding is a popular home siding material but can be prone to impact damage. (OK, the example in the photo is a little extreme but you get the point).

Siding also melts when exposed to extreme heat and becomes increasingly brittle as it gets cold. But even in the summer if a baseball or golf ball hits it, your vinyl siding can break or crack.

Then what? With colors and textures often not found in nature as we know it, matching existing vinyl siding can be hard to achieve. And without knowledge of how to separate and remove the strips of siding with a zip tool, you'll never get them apart.

Well, don't worry. I'll show you how to repair damaged vinyl siding for under $10 (if you have spare siding material). And I'll also let you know where you can find discontinued siding styles and colors so that repair looks great!