How to Soften Water
The best way to treat water hardness is to remove the minerals causing it, and an ion-exchange water softener is the easiest way to treat the problem. When a water softener removes calcium and magnesium, it remedies the symptoms of hard water. Scale inhibitors, like water heater filters or water conditioners, don’t remove minerals but hold them in a solution through a process called sequestration. The minerals in solution cannot break free and create scale. Scale inhibitors do not provide the benefits of softened water; they simply reduce scale buildup.
How Water softeners Work
A water softener has a tank full of resin beads seeking positively-charged ions. The beads capture calcium and magnesium, which stick to the resin beads, to remove hardness from water. A water softener must regenerate once the resin beads are coated in hardness. Salt sits at the bottom of the brine tank in chunks or pellets. When water runs through the brine tank, it contacts the salt and creates a sodium solution called brine. The resin beads are bombarded with salt, so they surrender the calcium and magnesium ions and send them to the drain. Salt in the brine tank recharges the resin with sodium ions, so the softener is ready to treat water again.
Does a water softener reduce TDS?
A water softener does not reduce total dissolved solids (TDS). In fact, it adds dissolved solids to water, removing TDS after softening is most efficient. A water softener exchanges calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions at a two-to-one ratio: two sodium ions for every mineral ion. The amount of sodium added to soft water is minimal but may concern those on a reduced sodium diet or mothers with babies on infant formula. A reverse osmosis system installed after a softener will remove any additional sodium from the water. Use a TDS meter to determine the amount of dissolved solids in your water after softening. Potassium chloride is an alternative to softener salt, but it’s three times as expensive and a maintenance nightmare. Potassium clumps easily, causing softener malfunction and additional brine tank cleaning.
How do high temperatures influence hard water?
Soft water is crucial for hot water heaters and appliances. The hotter the water, the faster the minerals precipitate out of solution and create scale. As water heats, hardness minerals accumulate directly onto the heating elements. The longer you go without softening the water, the thicker the scale will build up. Heating the water will take twice as long because the rock will have to heat before the water. Using hard water in water heaters, dishwashers, coffee brewers, and other hot water appliances ruins their efficiency.
How long should a water softener last?
With proper maintenance, a softer should last many years. Exactly how many depends on the quality of water coming in. Softener resin usually lasts seven to ten years, and valve seals last five to ten years.